What goes where in Canberra.
Straight answers on the yellow bin, tip fees, free drop-offs, e-waste, green waste and bulky collections — without digging through a council website.
Mugga Lane & Mitchell
7:30am - 5pm, 7 days
Card only — no cash
Loads of items free
Resource Management Centres
Mugga Lane, Symonston and Flemington Road, Mitchell.
Open every week
7:30am–5:00pm, closed Good Friday and Christmas Day.
Free bulky collection
One booking per household, per financial year.
Battery drop-off points
B-cycle points at supermarkets, Bunnings and both centres.
Clean paper, cardboard, cans, glass and rigid plastic. Loose - never bagged.
If it’s clean, empty household packaging, it almost certainly belongs in the yellow bin. If it has a battery in it, is made of soft plastic, or is made of fabric, it almost certainly doesn’t.
Yes - straight in the yellow bin
- Clean paper and flattened cardboard
- Glass bottles and jars
- Aluminium and steel cans
- Accepted rigid plastic containers
- Empty household packaging
No - keep these out
- Batteries of any kind
- Electronics and e-waste
- Soft plastics: bags, bread bags, chip packets, bubble wrap
- Clothing and textiles
- Anything sealed inside a plastic bag
The one rule people get wrong
Put recycling in loose. A bagged load can send the whole lot to landfill - even when everything inside it was recyclable.
Worth 10c each
Eligible drink containers can be returned through the ACT Container Deposit Scheme for 10 cents each. Anything you don't return still goes in the yellow bin.
Canberra's two Resource Management Centres
Both centres take general rubbish for a fee, and accept a long list of recyclable and hazardous items free of charge. Same hours, seven days a week.
Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre
Mugga Lane, Symonston
- Open 7:30am – 5:00pm, 7 days
- Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day
- General rubbish (fees apply)
- Free e-waste: TVs, computers, electronics
- Free batteries, scrap metal and whitegoods
- Free residential green waste facility
Mitchell Resource Management Centre
Flemington Road, Mitchell
- Open 7:30am – 5:00pm, 7 days
- Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day
- General rubbish (fees apply)
- Free e-waste: TVs, computers, electronics
- Free batteries, scrap metal and whitegoods
- Free household recyclables drop-off
Overflowing yellow bin?
Canberra also has free Recycling Drop-Off Centres for excess household glass, cans and rigid plastic packaging. Handy after Christmas, a party or a big clean-out.
Card only
Both centres are card only. Leave the cash at home.
A lot of it is free. Some of it isn't.
The rule of thumb: if it can be recovered, recycled or reused, it’s usually free to drop off. If it’s headed for landfill, expect a charge.
Free to drop off
- E-waste - TVs, computers and electronics (item limits apply)
- Batteries, through B-cycle collection points
- Scrap metal and anything over 80% metal
- Whitegoods
- Household glass, cans and rigid plastics
- Cardboard, including large quantities
- Residential green waste at Mugga Lane
Fees apply
- General household rubbish going to landfill
- Mattresses - $51.25 each at the tip
- Tyres
- Construction and demolition waste
Prices were current at the time of writing and change from time to time. Confirm current ACT Government pricing before you load the trailer.
Skip the tip run altogether.
Loading a trailer, queuing at the weighbridge and paying landfill fees is a whole Saturday. Capital Rubbish Removals do the lifting, loading and disposal for you — single items, mattresses, general rubbish and full household clean-outs across Canberra.
Enquiries through their website only — please don’t call for general recycling questions.
Got one specific thing to get rid of?
The twelve items Canberrans ask about most, and exactly where each one needs to go.
Batteries
Never in either household bin. Canberra has 50+ B-cycle drop-off points, including supermarkets, Bunnings, Mugga Lane and Mitchell.
Televisions
Free drop-off at Mugga Lane and Mitchell. TVs must never go in a household bin.
Computers
Free through ACT e-waste facilities. Take out printer cartridges and any removable batteries first.
Whitegoods
Fridges, washing machines and dryers are accepted free at both Resource Management Centres.
Scrap metal
Anything more than 80% metal can generally go free into the metal recycling areas at either centre.
Green waste
Grass, leaves and prunings are free at the Mugga Lane green-waste facility for ACT residents. Conditions apply.
Cardboard
Flatten it for the yellow bin. Large quantities go free to recycling drop-off centres, Mugga Lane or Mitchell.
Soft plastics
Shopping bags, bread bags, chip packets and bubble wrap must stay out of the yellow bin.
Bottles & cans
Yellow bin, or claim 10c per eligible container through the ACT Container Deposit Scheme.
Furniture
Donate anything still good, or drop it at Goodies Junction. Mostly-metal furniture may be free to recycle.
Mattresses
$51.25 each at the tip, or $46.35 per mattress or base when included in a booked bulky-waste service.
Hazardous items
Battery-powered items belong in the designated e-waste and hazardous waste area, not in a bin.
One free 2 m³ collection per household, every financial year.
Every Canberra household is generally entitled to one free bulky-waste collection of up to 2 cubic metres each financial year. Furniture, many appliances and other bulky items are accepted. Conditions apply.
Be realistic about 2 m³
Two cubic metres is roughly one three-seater lounge. That's the whole allowance - not one item from every room.
One booking per financial year
Use it on the thing you can't move yourself.
Furniture and many appliances accepted
Conditions apply to what can be collected.
Mattresses cost extra
$46.35 per mattress or base when added to a booked service.
When 2 m³ was never going to be enough.
Whole-house clean-outs, hoarder clean-ups, garage and yard clearances – the jobs that go well past a free bulky collection. Canberra Rubbish Removals have been doing this locally since 1982.
Enquiries through their website only.
Clearing a loved one's home.
Deceased estates are the hardest clean-out there is. Deceased Estate Canberra handle full estate clearances with care – sorting what’s kept, what’s donated, what’s recycled and what’s removed, so families don’t have to do it on their own.
Enquiries through their website only.
Full estate clearances, handled with care.
You might find your answer here
The questions Canberrans search for most, answered in a sentence or two.
Think clean paper and cardboard plus empty household packaging: aluminium and steel cans, glass bottles and jars, and accepted rigid plastic containers. Keep batteries, electronics, clothing and soft plastics out of the yellow bin.
Both Mugga Lane and Mitchell Resource Management Centres are open 7:30am to 5:00pm, seven days a week, every day of the year except Good Friday and Christmas Day.
It depends entirely on what you’re bringing. Many recyclable items are free to drop off, including e-waste, scrap metal, whitegoods and batteries. General household rubbish, mattresses, tyres and construction waste attract disposal fees. Confirm current pricing with the ACT Government before you go.
No. Canberra’s Resource Management Centres are card only. Bring a card, not cash.
TVs, computers and many other electronic items can be dropped off free at Mugga Lane or Mitchell, subject to item limits. Battery-powered items should go to the designated e-waste and hazardous waste area rather than a general pile.
Mattresses can be taken to Mugga Lane or Mitchell for $51.25 each at current pricing, or included in a booked bulky-waste service at $46.35 per mattress or base. If you’d rather not move it yourself, a removals service can collect it.
Never in either household bin. Canberra has more than 50 B-cycle drop-off points, including major supermarkets, Bunnings, and both Mugga Lane and Mitchell.
Residential garden waste such as grass clippings, leaves and prunings can be dropped off free at the Mugga Lane green-waste facility, subject to conditions.
Each Canberra household is generally entitled to one free collection of up to 2 cubic metres per financial year. Furniture, many appliances and other bulky items are accepted, and conditions apply. As a guide, 2 m³ is about the size of a single three-seater lounge.
No. Shopping bags, bread bags, chip packets and bubble wrap must not go in the yellow recycling bin — they tangle sorting equipment and contaminate the load.
Never. Put items in the yellow bin loose. Recycling that arrives sealed in a plastic bag can be treated as contaminated and sent to landfill.
Furniture in good condition can be donated or dropped at Goodies Junction. Households can also use their free annual bulky-waste collection, and furniture that is largely metal may be recyclable free at either centre.
Yes. Eligible drink containers can be returned through the ACT Container Deposit Scheme for 10 cents each. Containers you don’t return can still go in the yellow bin.
Not all of it, but plenty is. Residents get one free bulky-waste collection of up to 2 m³ each financial year, and a long list of recyclable items — e-waste, batteries, scrap metal, whitegoods, cardboard and green waste — can be dropped off free at the Resource Management Centres.
This guide is free to read because these Canberra businesses pay for it. Please reach them through their websites.
Before you load the trailer
Canberra Recycling Guru is a free, independent information site. Fees, opening hours and accepted items change from time to time - always confirm details with the ACT Government before making a trip. Prices shown were current at the time of writing. This site is supported by its sponsors.
A plain-English guide to recycling, tip runs and rubbish disposal in the ACT. No jargon, no guessing, no phone queue.
Smart tips. Less waste. Better Canberra.
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Good to know
- Mugga Lane, Symonston
- Flemington Road, Mitchell
- 7:30am – 5:00pm, 7 days
- Closed Good Friday & Christmas Day
- Canberra tip fees - Card only, no cash accepted
© 2026 Canberra Recycling Guru. Information only – we don’t take phone enquiries. Please contact sponsors through their websites.