Help protect our environment by disposing of your household waste in the right way

What is household waste?

Waste is anything around the home that we don’t use anymore, and we've discarded. Waste can also be a form of pollution. If it is not disposed of in the right way, household waste can harm human health and the environment.

How to dispose of waste in the right way

 

You can report illegal waste and littering to EPA. This includes the dumping of waste on unlicensed properties, tyre stockpiling, or rubbish thrown from a vehicle.

 

How to help waste collectors

Local councils collect household (municipal) waste and recycling through kerbside collections. It is an important part of our waste management system, and there are things you can do to help.

  • Before putting rubbish in your kerbside general waste bin, ensure the waste is compacted so it takes as little space as possible. 
  • Don’t compact waste if it is already in the kerbside collection bin. It may become stuck and not empty properly. 
  • Don’t overfill kerbside bins.
  • Don't put kerbside bins where they may easily tip over or spill out.  

There are special rules for some types of waste

There are schemes to help prevent products like household chemicals and paint going to landfill.

You must manage industrial waste in the right way, especially if it's:

  • hazardous, like asbestos 
  • bushfire waste
  • construction and demolition waste
  • prescribed industrial waste (PIW).

Hiring skip bins: know your duty

If you hire a skip bin to get rid of waste, it’s your responsibility to check that it goes to a licensed receiver or disposal site. This is part of your general environmental duty (GED) that applies to all Victorians.

If you have hired a company to help you dispose of waste, it is still your responsibility to ensure your waste is going to the right place. 

Managing waste in households impacted by Coronavirus

COVID-19 is spread from person to person. The most likely sources of infection are from:

  • close contact with an infectious person
  • contact with droplets from an infected person’s cough or sneeze 
  • touching objects or surfaces (like doorknobs or tables) contaminated by cough or sneeze droplets from a person with COVID-19, and then touching your face.

Advice for householders

  • Make sure you regularly wash your hands.
  • Put all of your usual items in your bin which goes out for kerbside collection.
  • Put paper, cardboard and other recyclables that have mixed with the above disposable items into general waste as well.  
  • If you take your bin to the kerb, make sure you wash your hands before and after you bring it back in.
  • If you take a bin out on behalf of others who may be infectious, make sure you wear gloves and dispose of the gloves appropriately.  

Wash your hands straight after handling disposable items (like used tissues) or items that may have become mixed with them (for example if items were in the same bin as used tissues, etc).  

How to dispose of used tissues and other disposable items

  1. For those who may be infected with Coronavirus, put the following items into a sealed plastic or paper bag:
    • used tissues 
    • used cleaning cloths 
    • used masks 
    • used gloves. 
  2. Place the bag in your general waste bin (not recycle or green waste). This is the household waste that goes out for kerbside collection.
  3. Wash your hands.

 

If you take your bin to the kerb, make sure you wash your hands before and after you bring it back in.

 

Find out more about waste

Reviewed 27 September 2021