ACT residents can drop-off a range of items that either don’t fit or don’t belong in household bins at various facilities.
Resource management centres
ACT residents can drop off a range of items that either don’t fit or don’t belong in your household bins at resource management centres located in Mitchell and Hume. For more information see resource management centres.
Recycling drop-off centres
Excess household recycling can be dropped off for free at recycling drop-off centres across Canberra. The centres include hoppers for glass, metal and rigid plastic containers and packaging.
- Flattened cardboard can be placed into the carboard recycling cages.
- Sharps are accepted in dedicated sharps bins at all recycling drop-off centres.
- Polystyrene, soft plastics and landfill waste are not accepted at recycling drop-off centres.
- CCTV cameras operate 24 hours a day. Fines apply for illegal dumping.
The following recycling drop-off centres are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:
You can also drop-off recycling for free at Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre which is open 7:30 am - 5:00 pm, 7 days a week (except Good Friday and Christmas Day).
ACT Container Deposit Scheme
You can access a 10c refund by returning eligible empty drink containers to an ACT Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) location across Canberra. The containers are then recycled based on the type of material they are made from.
Most containers between 150 ml and 3 litres are accepted and can be redeemed for the 10c refund per eligible container – look out for the label on the container.
See ACT Container Deposit Scheme for more information.
Reuse shops - Goodies Junction
The ACT Government has 2 reusables facilities which are located at the Mitchell and Mugga Lane Resource Management Centres. These facilities, known as Goodies Junction, are operated by St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn (Vinnies).
These facilities provide a safe and convenient location for the public to drop-off or shop for a wide range of reusable items. Items dropped off must be in an acceptable condition and meet a range of other requirements.
Find out more at Goodies Junction.
Please note: These facilities are not air conditioned or heated.
Mattress recycling - Soft Landing
Mattresses cannot be disposed of in landfill and must be sent to be recycled. Soft Landing is a social enterprise which diverts thousands of tonnes of mattresses and ensembles from landfill each year by recovering up to 75% of mattress components. ACT residents can arrange a collection of their mattress, or drop-off to Soft Landing at John Cory Circuit, Hume between 7:30 am and 3:30 pm Monday to Friday. Fees apply.
Mattresses can also be taken to the resource management centres at Mitchell or Hume, however additional fees will apply in order to transport them to Soft Landing.
Infrastructure projects
Mugga Lane Landfill
Mugga Lane is the main ACT landfill site and has been in use since the 1970s.
Find out more about the Mugga Lane landfill rehabilitation works.
Mugga Lane landfill gas-to-energy
LGI Limited (LGI) is contracted by the ACT Government to undertake gas capture and power generation at the Mugga Lane landfill gas power station. The power station captures methane from decomposing waste converting it into reliable renewable energy for the ACT – reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Find out more about Mugga Lane landfill gas-to-energy.
Material Recovery Facility
In December 2022, the ACT Material Recovery Facility was destroyed by fire. Since the fire, the ACT Government has continued to collect and transport ACT recycling material to several interstate material recovery facilities.
A new recycling facility will be built on the same site as the previous facility on Recycling Road in the Hume Resource Recovery Estate. Find out more about the new Materials Recovery Facility.
Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) facility
There is currently a small-scale FOGO processing facility located at Hume to process FOGO material from the FOGO pilot. Planning is underway for a large-scale FOGO facility, to be located at Hume. Find out more about the FOGO Facility.
Find out more about the FOGO pilot program.
West Belconnen Green Waste Facility
The ACT Government is committed to ensuring continuous green waste drop-off services for North Canberra residents. To deliver these services while at the same time supporting the ongoing development of Ginninderry, the ACT Government has undertaken a short-term relocation of the West Belconnen Green Waste Facility. The new entrance is approximately 1 kilometre north of the existing entrance on Parkwood Road.
Planning is underway on establishing a long-term facility for North Canberra. Find out more about the West Belconnen Green Waste Facility.
