Batteries and e-waste of any size can be dropped off for free at the Anglesea, Lorne or Winchelsea Transfer Stations. This includes household items such as microwaves, hair dryers, coffee machines, speakers, TVs, computers, cables or cords, keyboards and mice, power tools and battery packs, and e-bikes or e-scooters (with the battery removed). 

See below for a full list of accepted e-waste items.

Drop off small e-waste items such as batteries, mobile phones, chargers for free at our new community drop-off locations. We can accept items roughly the size of your hand (no greater than 20 cm wide x 15 cm high). For larger e-waste items please take these to the Anglesea, Lorne or Winchelsea Transfer Stations where they are accepted for free. 

TORQUAY

Feed Me Surf Coast

3/22 Cylinders Drive

Open: Monday & Wednesday 10am-4pm, Tuesday & Friday 12pm-4pm, Thursday 4:30pm-6pm, Saturday 10am-2pm 

P: 0422 798 791

Surfcoast Wholefoods

104/41 Bristol Road

Open: Monday to Saturday 8am-6pm, Sunday 8am-5pm

P: 03 5261 5555

Surf Coast Shire Civic Office

1 Merrijig Drive

Open: Monday to Friday 8:30am-5pm

P: 03 5261 0600

Torquay Community House

14 Price Street

Open: Monday to Thursday 9am-3pm

P: 03 5261 2583

Torquay Library

Surf City Plaza, Beach Road

Open: Monday to Friday 10am-5:30pm, Saturday 10am-1pm, Sunday 1:30pm-4pm

P: 03 4201 0667

Torquay Residential Waste and Recycling Drop-Off

130 Messmate Road

Open: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 8am-12pm

P: 0418 352 538

Wurdi Baierr Stadium

Wadawurrung Way

Monday to Friday 8am-8pm, Saturday 8am-5pm, Sunday 8am-3pm

P: 03 5264 9200

WINCHELSEA

Winchelsea Community House

28 Hesse Street

Open: Monday to Friday 9am-2pm

P: 03 5267 2028

ANGLESEA

Anglesea Community House

5 McMillan Street

Open: Monday to Friday 9am-2:30pm

P: 03 5263 2116

LORNE & DEANS MARSH

FoodWorks Lorne

1/3 Great Ocean Road

Open: Sunday to Thursday 7am-7pm, Friday 7am-8pm

P: 03 5289 1645

Deans Marsh Community Cottage

10 Pennyroyal Valley Road

Open: Tuesday to Thursday 8:30am-3pm

P: 03 5236 3388 

E-waste covers a whole range of household items from phones and refrigerators to fluorescent light tubes and game controllers. E-waste can include:

Household appliances, such as:

• air conditioners
• alarm clocks (digital)
• batteries
• battery packs and rechargers
• Christmas lights
• clothes dryer
• coffee machines
• cookers
• curling tongs
• digital clocks
• e-cigarettes (vapes)
• electric fans
• electric frying pans
• extension cords / leads
• fairy lights
• hair dryers / hair straighteners
• irons
• kettles
• light globes (CFLs & LEDs)
• microwaves
• mobile phones
• musical instruments e.g. keyboards
• power banks / portable chargers
• radios
• rice cookers
• sandwich makers
• sewing machines
• toasters
• toys e.g. electric trains, racing cars (all batteries must be removed)
• televisions (LCDs, CRTs, Plasmas, OLEDs, projection TVs)
• vacuum cleaners
• vapes
• video games (hand-held)
• watches

Audio visual electronics, such as:

• amplifier
• cameras
• DVD players
• electronic games and toys e.g. joysticks, Xbox & Play Station consoles
• extension cords/leads
• hi-fi equipment
• remote controls
• stereos and speakers
• televisions (LCDs, CRTs, Plasmas, OLEDs, projection TVs)
• video cameras

Computer equipment, such as:

• cables and cords
• circuit boards e.g. motherboards, video cards, sound cards
• desktop PCs
• extension leads
• hard drives
• laptops
• keyboards
• mice
• monitors
• network and memory cards
• photocopiers
• printers
• scanners
• tablets
• USB sticks

Tools and gardening equipment, such as:

• power tools e.g. drills, circular saws, angle grinders, sanders
• battery packs and rechargers
• electric lawnmowers (with battery removed)
• e-bikes (with battery removed)
• e-scooters (with battery removed)
• extension cords
• wiring / cables

No. Put them in your landfill bin.

There are two problems with sending e-waste to landfill. It contains:

• hazardous materials that can harm the environment and human health
• valuable materials that can be reused.

The Victorian Government banned all e-waste from landfill in 2019 because most e-waste contains hazardous materials. Even in small amounts, these dangerous chemicals can cause fires in collection trucks or at the landfill.

When millions of e-waste items are dumped in landfill, the situation becomes much more serious. They can leach dangerous amounts of hazardous substances into our groundwater, soil and air. As these substances don’t break down easily, the result can be long term environment pollution.

Never put e-waste in your kerbside bins, even if it's only one item.

E-waste contains a whole range of precious metals including:

• tin
• copper
• nickel
• silver
• zinc
• gold
• aluminium
• platinum

While each individual object contains only a small amount of each precious metal, this can quickly add up when we consider how many items and devices are incorrectly disposed of each year.

It’s important to reuse these valuable materials because they are non-renewable. Once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. But if e-waste is properly recycled, these materials and parts can be recycled and reused endlessly.

E-waste is taken to a processing facility in Melbourne where the e-waste is dismantled to remove batteries, steel, printing toner, and glass (from TVs). The remaining components are shredded and all data is destroyed. Valuable materials such as lithium, steel, aluminium, cobalt, copper and nickel are recovered. 

Raw materials once separate can then be used to make almost anything such as new batteries, electronic items and TVs.

Read more about where your e-waste goes.

Yes. It’s important that battery terminals (the end bits) don’t touch, as this can cause them to spark and ignite. The safest way to transport used batteries is to tape the end terminals with non-conductive tape (like duct tape, electrical tape or clear sticky tape), and place them in a clear plastic bag. Make sure you don’t cover the brand name or battery chemistry information. Please don’t put batteries into paper bags, as this creates a fire hazard. This applies to all batteries, including AA, AAA, button batteries, lithium/rechargeable batteries, and batteries with two terminals at the same end like 9V batteries.

LEDs, CFLs and fluorescent lights no bigger than 20 cm x 15cm (roughly the size of your hand) can be accepted at community drop-off locations. Any light bulbs larger than this need to be taken to the Anglesea, Lorne or Winchelsea Transfer Stations where they are accepted for free.