Book a doorstep recycling collection for tricky household items

It’s free to recycle clothes, batteries, polystyrene, electronics and other tricky items from your doorstep or apartment lobby.

Free

Project Status: When you need to do this

If you live in the City of Sydney’s local area and have small, tricky items to recycle that don’t belong in your regular household bins.

To dispose of large items like furniture, whitegoods, mattresses and large electronics book a free pick-up for bulky items.

Recycle It Saturday

Drop off clothes in great condition, old electronics, polystyrene, x-rays, small metal items, bicycles, blister packs from tablets or pills and more. Our next Recycle It Saturday event will be held on Saturday 23 November from 9am to 3pm at Alexandra Canal Depot. For City of Sydney, Waverley and Woollahra council residents only.

See event details.

What you need to do

Check that your items can be collected

- Small electronics like old phones, cords, laptops, tablets, game consoles, kettles, toasters, remotes, headphones and toys. Delete data from old phones, laptops and tablets.
- Clothes, bed linen and fashion accessories in good condition including shoes, belts, hats, gloves, handbags, sheets and towels
- Toys in good working condition
- Worn and torn clothing
- Rigid polystyrene/styrofoam from furniture, appliance or delivery packaging. We also accept rigid, clean food-grade polystyrene, like food containers. Keep pieces whole and remove all tape and glue. Put bendy or squishy items like foam wrap, foam sheets, packing peanuts and bean bag filling in your red lid bin at home.
- Empty blister packs – these are the pill packets made of plastic and foil. We also accept empty, fully foil pill packets. If your blister pack came in a cardboard box, recycle the box separately in your yellow lid bin at home. No business quantities.
- Small batteries
- Light bulbs
- Printer cartridges
- X-ray films – first put envelopes and any paper scans in your yellow lid recycling bin at home.
- Paint – water and oil based paints in original containers. Tins must weigh less than 10kg each. Maximum 5 tins per booking.
- Aluminium coffee pods
- Large items: furniture, whitegoods, mattresses and large electronics. Instead book a free pick-up for bulky items.
- Chemicals: oils, flammable liquids, poisons, pesticides, household and pool cleaners, motor oil, cooking oil. These can be recycled at a Household Chemical CleanOut collection.
- Cosmetic containers: take them to participating Mecca, Priceline, David Jones or Woolworths stores
- Large batteries: car batteries, power tool batteries, e-bike batteries. See our battery guide for where to recycle them.
- Medicines: drop them off at any pharmacy
- Soft plastics: plastic bags, bread bags, wrappers, chip packets or bubble wrap. Regrettably, these must go in your red lid bin.
- Gas bottles, smoke alarms or fire extinguishers
- Underwear and socks in any condition
- Carpets, rugs, curtains, cushions, electric blankets, pillows and doonas/quilts/duvets
- Items that can go in your recycling bins at home: bottles, plastic containers, glass, cardboard, foil and cans. Put them in your yellow lid bin.

Make a booking with SCRgroup

Book a free collection of unlimited bags with SCRgroup online or by calling 02 9066 5833.

Book a collection

Prepare your items for collection

Separate your items into 2 categories:

1. Clothes, bed linen, and toys

2. All other items including electronics, light bulbs, x-rays, polystyrene, batteries, printer cartridges, paint, vapes and mobile phones.
- Place coffee pods in a soft plastic bag and tie it up to stop leaks.
- Tape the ends of batteries with sticky tape or duct tape to prevent fires and place them in a soft plastic bag.
- Write a note “Doorstep recycling service” and attach it to the bags so your neighbours know it’s being collected.

Put your items out before 8am on your scheduled pick-up day
- A driver will come by to collect your items before 3pm.
- If you live in an apartment building with secure access, you can leave your bags outside near the entry or letterboxes. Or if you’re home, leave them in the lobby and buzz the driver in.
- If you live in a house or terrace, leave your bags at your doorstep.

Retrieve your empty bags

The driver will leave your empty sturdy reusable bags where you left them – don’t forget to retrieve them.

What happens next

The driver picks up your bags between 8am and 3pm.
You’ll receive a notification when your items have been picked up.
Your preloved items are collected and sorted by our team and sent to local service providers for processing. This contributes towards a circular economy.

If something doesn’t go to plan 🙁

If your bags aren’t picked up before 3pm on your scheduled day, contact SCRgroup at [email protected] and you’ll receive a response as soon as possible.
If you need to change or edit your booking, log in to your account online or call 02 9066 5833. Changes need to be made by 4pm the day before your scheduled pick-up.
If you forget to put out your bags, SCRgroup will be in touch with you to reschedule your booking.
If items were left in your bag, they are likely not accepted. SCRgroup will contact you with more information.

Why we’re doing this

We’re providing residents with a convenient way to recycle tricky items that don’t belong in kerbside rubbish or recycling bins.

The doorstep recycling service will help us reach our goal of zero waste to landfill by 2050.

Spread the word about the doorstep recycling service

If you’re a City of Sydney resident or you manage a building in the area, print this poster in A4 or A3 size and display it in your apartment building or share it with your neighbours.

Download and print a doorstep recycling service posterPDF · 2.73 MB · Last modified 9 April 2024