Hazardous waste

The Albury Waste Management Centre (AWMC) is licensed to accept asbestos that has been removed and packed in accordance with legislative requirements.

To ensure the safety of all Albury Waste Management Centre users and the environment, it is essential to declare asbestos waste either on entry or prior to arrival.

Transporting Asbestos within NSW and interstate

Commercial Purposes

Asbestos transporters must report the movement of asbestos waste to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA). To help industry meet its legal obligations, the EPA has developed a new Integrated Waste Tracking Solution (IWTS) for tracking and reporting on hazardous and regulated waste.

If you’re involved with the transport or disposal of asbestos waste weighing more than 100 kilograms, or more than 10 square metres of asbestos sheeting in 1 load in NSW, you must track and report this waste to the EPA using the new IWTS.

Weather inhibits asbestos disposal, where wet conditions are present please contact 02 6043 5860 to seek disposal approval.

The IWTS generates a unique EPA consignment ID that allows each load to be monitored from the place of generation to the site of disposal. If you are planning on disposing of this waste at the AWMC, you will need to present this consignment ID upon entry. Persons not supplying the necessary information will be referred to EPA for their review.

For more information on the IWTS system, refer to NSW EPAs website Integrated waste tracking solution (nsw.gov.au)

Commercial asbestos disposals will only be accepted during business hours between Monday and Fridays unless otherwise authorised.

Residential Purposes

Council will only accept less than 100 kilograms of asbestos waste material from residents. All asbestos receivals need to comply with the triple wrapping requirements. Loads exceeding this volume are to be managed by an experienced asbestos removalist. The resident will be responsible for removing asbestos from their vehicles and placing in an area whereby onsite staff can pick up the package using bucket and loader machinery.

For any questions, please contact 02 6043 5860 .

Asbestos disposals will be accepted during business hours between Monday and Sunday.

Used syringes pose a health risk to the community and so safe disposal bins must be provided and used. Needle and syringe disposal bins can be found in hospital grounds, council amenity buildings, parks and reserves. Medical sharps can also be taken to participating pharmacies and public hospitals in a puncture-resistant container such as a coffee or paint tin.

People working with sharps should ensure they’re stored correctly to there’s no risk of harm to anyone who comes into contact with them.

Here are some basic guidelines:

• Store sharps in a puncture-proof container (a yellow sharps container)
• Store containers in a safe place that can’t be accessed by children
• Do not recap needles before placing them in the container
• Seal the container lid when full

How do I dispose of Clinical and related waste?

Medical waste containers can be brought into the pharmacies listed below for disposal free of charge. Alternatively you can visit safesharps.org.au, which gives a comprehensive list of all stores or locations in NSW where sharps can be disposed of safely.

Terry White Chemist
Centro Lavington
Griffith Road
Lavington 2641
Phone: 02 6025 4733

Fifield's Pharmacy
Cnr Dean & Townsend Streets
Albury 2640
Phone: 02 6021 3255

Terry White Chemist
543 Dean Street
Albury 2640
Phone: 02 6021 2714

Mayo's Northend Pharmacy
3/330 Urana Road
Lavington 2641
Phone: 02 6040 2204

Soul Pattinson Chemist
Thurgoona Plaza
Shuter Avenue
Thurgoona  2640
Phone: 02 6043 1444

Chemist Warehouse
483 Olive Street
Albury 2640
Phone: 02 6022 4088

Chemist Warehouse
Shops 3-5, 338 Kaitlers Road
Springdale Heights 2641
Phone: 02 6025 3007

Leftover paint is one of the most common sources of liquid waste in landfills but we can dispose of old paint in a safe and practical way – and disposal is free.

Australians buy more than 100 million litres of paint a year. About five million litres ends up in landfill, along with the packaging and materials that go with it.

Leftover paint can contaminate groundwater and should not be put into garbage bins.

However, if you deliver unwanted paint to the Albury Recycling Centre, it will be mixed with other waste solvents and used as an alternative fuel in cement kilns. The metal containers are also recycled.

Remember, you should never mix your paint with other chemicals, and if possible you should keep your paint in its original containers.

We have partnered with Paintback, which collects the paint and packaging from the Albury Recycling Centre and transports it for treatment. The packaging and waste liquid are separated. Waste paint is treated in a number of ways including energy recovery for solvent and liquid/solid separation for water-based paint, significantly minimising pressures on our landfill.

Household users and trade painters can drop off the following items for free:

• Interior and exterior architectural paint
• Deck coatings and floor paints
• Primers, undercoats and sealers
• Stains and shellacs
• Varnishes and urethanes (single component)
• Wood coatings
• Packaging

Used motor and cooking oil can be recycled, so rather than risk contamination or a spill at your place, bring it to us and we'll have it cleaned and put to good use.

Each year, Australians buy more than 500 million litres of motor oil. Just one litre of motor oil is enough to contaminate one million litres of water, and a single oil change in your car produces four to five litres of oil waste.

Used motor oil picks up toxic chemicals when used in engines and transmissions and is hazardous to the environment.

Sump oil - which includes engine oil, two-stroke, diesel oil and lubricating oils along with cooking oil - can be dropped off for free at the Albury Recycling Centre.

Fortunately, used motor oil can be recycled because instead of wearing out, it just gets dirty. The contaminants can be removed and the oil recycled time after time.

Some uses of recycled oil are industrial burner fuel, re-refined lube oil, or it can be used in other products as an additive.

If you have small quantities (20 litres maximum) of old motor oils or unused/used cooking oil make sure it is in a secure oil container and bring it to the Albury Recycling Centre.

Households are not charged for oil disposal but a fee applies for commercial operators.

Here are some useful tips for recycling oils:

• Dispose of old oils straight away otherwise you risk it entering the soil and contaminating ground water if it spills or leaks
• Do not mix oils with other chemicals as contamination may cause the oil to be unrecyclable. Keep liquids in original containers

Ensure all containers are sealed and have clearly identifiable labels.

The Issue

Sending batteries to landfill is a huge waste of beneficial resources.

When disposed of correctly, around 95% of alkaline and lithium battery components can be recycled in Australia and can be made into new products such as streetlights and car parts!

In Australia, about 350 million batteries are purchased every year. More than two thirds of them end up in landfill, where they can cause health and environmental problems.

Councils and waste contractors have seen a significant rise in the number of truck and rubbish fires caused by batteries, which if damaged are explosive and cause fires that are difficult to put out.

Heavy metals in batteries include cadmium, nickel, lead, and mercury, are all toxic and dangerous to human, animal and environmental health if not managed properly.

The environment is damaged by batteries in landfill because once their casings disintegrate, metals and chemicals inside the battery leach out.

How Can You Help?

You can prevent this type of environmental damage by dropping batteries at a designated drop off point. Once we’ve received them, they can be made into new products such as streetlights and car parts.

Some of the new uses for your old batteries include:

• Recycling nickel to produce stainless steel.
• Recycling acid to form sodium sulphate, which is used to make detergents, glass, and textiles.
• The production of new batteries, fertilisers, waste bins and plant pots

Small household batteries

In Albury, you can dispose of your unwanted household batteries at either the Albury Recycling Centre located at the Albury Waste Management Centre or at the many local drop off locations listed here around town:

Accepted batteries include: AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, 6V, button batteries and batteries from detachable or removable household devices, appliances and power tools.

Please note: Tape both ends of battery terminals before dropping them off at a designated collection site.

Handheld lithium batteries can also be returned to Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, IGA and Bunnings.

Vehicle Batteries

Your unwanted vehicle batteries can be dropped off at the Albury Recycling Centre located at the Albury Waste Management Centre.

Embedded Batteries Trial

The NSW EPA has established a trial, in partnership with AlburyCity Council, to accept products with embedded batteries at the Albury Recycling Centre. This includes e-cigarettes and vapes.

To find out more, please visit: Embedded Battery Trial

Commercial Lithium-ion batteries

The Albury Recycling Centre does not accept Commercial lithium-ion batteries. These require direct disposal at a specialist recovery facility.

Battery Recycling | Livium are an EPA-licenced lithium-ion battery recycling facility located in Melbourne, Victoria.

More Information

Safe battery recycling

Australia’s official battery stewardship scheme - B-cycle

What products are accepted at the Albury Recycling Centre as part of the Embedded Batteries Trial?

Common items you might have at home that may contain an embedded battery are:

• Bluetooth speakers and headphones
• Electric toothbrushes
• E-scooters, e-bikes and hover boards
• Flashing/light up toys – particularly wands or other hard plastic products
• Personal care devices (e.g. shavers)
• Powerpacks and portable charging devices
• Remote controlled and ride-on toys
• Vacuum cleaners (cordless hand-held and robotic)
• Vapes
• Wearable devices such as smart watches, trackers and medical aids

If you have an unusual product, please phone ahead to the ARC to see if it can be accepted.

Many products have removable batteries, so if the batteries can be easily removed, please only bring the loose batteries.

What products are not accepted as part of the Embedded Batteries Trial?

Products covered under the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS) should be directed to your Council’s e-waste collection, usually also located at the Community Recycling Centre. This includes e-waste such as televisions, computers, printers, computer parts and peripherals. E-waste products containing an embedded battery, such as rechargeable gaming controllers and laptops, are accepted as part of the NTCRS rather than through the trial.

Mobile phones and associated accessories should be directed to your nearest MobileMuster collection point. MobileMuster is the product stewardship scheme for the collection and recycling of old and broken phones, chargers and accessories. These can be recycled at any MobileMuster location: https://www.mobilemuster.com.au/recycle-a-mobile/

For more information on the NTCRS, please visit: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/product-stewardship/products-schemes/television-computer-recycling-scheme

Oversize items are also not accepted. Check with Council before presenting anything over 20kgs or that is bulky/requiring special delivery and/or more than one person from a manual handling perspective.

Where is the Albury Recycling Centre located?

The Albury Recycling Centre is located at the Albury Waste Management Centre at:

565 Mudge Street
Lavington, NSW 2641
Phone: 02 6043 5860.

Are other Community Recycling Centres participating in the Embedded Batteries trial?

There are 21 Community Recycling Centres participating in the Embedded Batteries Trial. Visit www.epa.nsw.gov.au/embedded-batteries to find other trial locations.

How long is the Embedded Batteries Trial for?

The Embedded Batteries Trial will began September 2024 and will run until September 2026.

Because they contain mercury, fluorescent lamps are damaging if they end up in landfill - so let us take care of them for you.

While the risk of mercury poisoning from broken lights is low, 95% of mercury contained in waste lights in Australia end up in landfills which poses a significant environmental concern.

Over time, mercury converts to methylmercury, a toxic chemical that spreads into the environment through the air, water and soil.

The mercury from one fluorescent tube is enough to pollute 30,000 litres of water. But to eliminate the risk, fluorescent lights can be safely collected and recycled, creating positive uses for potentially dangerous products.

You can dispose of your waste lights for free by separating them and placing them in the correct receptacles at the Albury Recycling Centre.

The following can be recycled:

• Compact fluorescent lamps
• Fluorescent U-tubes
• Linear fluorescent lamps
• Mercury vapour lamps
• Metal halide lamps
• Sodium vapour lamps
• UV lamps
• LED tubes

Gas bottles that can no longer be refilled can be recycled for scrap metal

Gas bottles that are unfit for reuse can be recycled. High pressure gas bottles pose a significant safety hazard if compacted in landfill.

You can recycle your unwanted gas bottle for free at the Albury Recycling Centre.

Gas bottles have residual gas captured for reuse. Undamaged bottles are retested, restamped and entered into the hire industry. Damaged bottles are punctured and recycled as scrap metal.

Please do NOT put gas bottles into your kerbside bins as they pose a significant safety hazard if compacted in landfill.

Fire extinguishers are made from steel that can be fully recycled, while smoke detectors contain batteries and harmful materials. As long as they’re not generated by business or commercial use, you can dispose of them at the Albury Recycling Centre for no charge.

Like gas bottles, fire extinguishers are made from steel which is 100% recyclable, and can be recycled for scrap metal.

Smoke Detectors can contain batteries and in some cases harmful content that could react if it comes into contact with other materials.

To dispose of these items correctly, simple place them in marked container at the recycling centre.