Hard Rubbish – City of Mitcham

Residents (not commercial/businesses) are entitled to book (per financial year):

  • 1 x General hard waste collection
  • 1 x Mattress and/or ensemble collection
BOOK A HARD WASTE OR MATTRESS SERVICE
IMPORTANT information

Residents (not commercial/businesses) are entitled to place up to two (2) cubic metres (2m long x 1m wide x 1m high, the equivalent of a standard trailer load) out for collection.  Please see below for what items will and will not be accepted.

If you are unsure of the amount you are placing out for collection, use this calculator tool to assist you. Simply tick the items you have placed out for collection and it will calculate the volume for you.

Do you have electrical items (E-waste)?  If so click here.

General guidelines
  • Items must be placed on the verge directly in front of your property. If it is not possible to do this (due to exceptional circumstances), please provide clear instructions as to where the items are located for collection, when booking your collection.
  • If your property is on the corner of two streets, please identify what side of the property your items will be located, or if there are any specific directions to help us locate the property.
  • Items are to be placed out for collection no earlier than 24 hours before your collection date and no later than 6:00am on the collection day. Residents will be asked to remove their waste from the kerbside if placed out earlier than permitted, fines may apply if items are not removed.
  • Items dumped at the kerbside without a confirmed booking could incur a illegal dumping/littering fine. (This is in accordance with the illegal dumping provisions under the Local Nuisance and Litter Control Act 2016—1.7.2017; a continuation of by-laws undersection 240 of the Local Government Act 1999.)

If you require assistance with moving your hard waste please contact your council as elderly residents or those with a disability may be eligible for assistance. Please allow for plenty of time for a booking to be made.

Booking changes or cancellations

If the booking needs to be cancelled or changed, you can do this by no later than 2 full business days prior to your scheduled collection date by:

If changes or cancellations are made 2 or more days before your booking, then a credit will be issued to use towards a future booking.

If no notice is received the booking will count as 1 collection toward the annual allowance and you will forfeit any fees paid.

If your items are not presented for collection by 6am on the day of your scheduled collection, this will still be counted as a collection, and you will forfeit any fees paid.

What CAN be collected as Hard Waste?
Air conditioners (please ensure that they are degassed by a licenced professional before placing them on the kerbside)
Bikes and toys
Blinds and window coverings
Car seats (please cut straps so that old and damaged seats that are unsafe are not picked up and re-used) OR recycle them at RAA Child Safety Centre, 101 Richmond Road Mile End.
Dismantled clothes lines
Furniture
Hot water services
Lawn mowers
Mattresses (must be booked as a separate collection)
Rainwater tanks
Refrigerators and freezers. (Note: they must be degassed and tagged by a licensed professional for safety, with doors removed. Failure to degas them will result in non-collection. Alternatively, contact Your Energy Saving Solutions (YESS) to collect. They may pay up to $150 for a working fridge.)
Sheets of iron and guttering (up to 2 metre lengths)
Small items of scrap metal
Timber off cuts (up to 2 metre lengths) *ensure that any nails are removed or bent over
Washing machines and driers
Wooden pallets – non-refundable/non-returnable
What CANNOT be collected as Hard Waste?
Ammunition, explosives or flares (contact the Police 131 444)
Artificial turf (take to your local waste & recycling depot or licenced transfer station, arrange a skip collection service or donate to a local animal shelter)
Batteries (Click here for options)
Bean Bags; place both bag and polystyrene balls (contained in a bag to prevent spillage), in your blue landfill bin.
Business or industrial waste (take to your local waste & recycling depot or licenced transfer station or arrange a business/industrial waste collection service)
Bricks, rocks, dirt, pavers, PVC pipe, concrete and building materials (Click here for options)
Car tyres (Click here for options)
Car parts (e.g.gear boxes engine blocks and panels can be recycled through a car dismantler or scrap metal business)
Carpet, floor coverings or underlay (book a collection with Recycle360, fees apply ph: 8280 8700)
Co-mingled recycling (place in your yellow lidded recycling bin)
Electronic waste (e.g. TV’s, computers or anything with a battery or cord –see E-Waste information below for other options) 
Fire extinguishers (Click here for options)
Food and Garden Organics (place in your green organics bin)
Gas bottles (Click here for options)
Glass items or items containing glass (take to your local waste & recycling depot or licenced transfer station)
Hazardous materials (e.g. asbestos, chemicals, batteries, liquids, motor oils and paints)
Items too heavy for two people to lift (e.g. water softeners)
Material with protruding nails and screws (please remove or bend over)
Tree and shrub prunnings. Click here for alternative options and garden organics drop off locations
Excess Garden Organics options

Why can’t tree branches and prunnings be collected through the Hard Waste collection service?

When collected through the hard waste collection, garden waste material is not able to be separated and transported to a composting facility. This means that these compostable resources are lost to landfill. Most hard waste items are used for alternative fuel, however green garden waste it not suitable for this process due to the moisture content.

Options for garden waste disposal:

  1. Chop up your tree branches and prunnings into small pieces (no larger than 15cm wide x 60cm long) and place them in your green lidded food and garden organics (FOGO) bin.
  2. Take your garden organics to green organics days at the Lynton Green Organics Drop-off Facillity.
  3. City of Mitcham residents can purchase their own green organics bin. These are available at most hardware stores as well as through the following suppliers:
  4. Use a mulcher to mulch your garden materials then use the mulch in your garden.
  5. The following locations also accept excess garden materials (fees may apply, please contact and check that locations are open):
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is E-Waste.png E-Waste options

Please do not dispose of any e-waste in any of your bins. Many e-waste items contain hazardous substances including lead, mercury and phosphorous, which will become a hazard if they are crushed in collection trucks.

Electronic waste (e-waste) has been banned from landfill since 2013. Placing e-waste items in a bin for collection or transport for disposal at a landfill depot can be an offence and attract expiation fines of $300; fines of up to $30,000 can apply for intentional or reckless breaches.

Did you know you can drop electrical items off for recycling at many locations listed on our Electronic Recycling page? Sites are accessible during most days of the week and accept most items for free. Please check with each location for details.

When will my waste be collected?

General Hard Rubbish Collections:

An available collection date can be selected from the self-service booking portal. Available dates will range from 1-3 weeks time. However during periods of high demand this period may be longer.

Mattress Collections:

An available collection date can be selected from the self-service booking portal. Available dates will range from 1-2 weeks time.

Keep your hard waste safe and tidy

Please ensure the hard waste outside your property is placed and maintained safely until collected. This can be achieved by:

  • adequately securing items so they do not fall out when lifted
  • ensuring items are not obstructing the road or footpath especially sharp or hazardous materials
  • not stacked too high, lay taller items down
  • ensuring items are less than 2 metres in length – break larger items up if possible
  • ensuring items are not greater than 50kg, to be safely lifted by two people
  • removing all doors from fridges and freezers
  • ensuring that air-conditioner units, fridges and freezers are degassed by a licenced professional before placing them on the kerbside
  • removing or bending over all sharp protruding objects such as nails and screws
What happens to hard waste after collection?

Smarter solution for hard waste disposal

Rather than going to landfill, unwanted household hard rubbish items are used to produce alternative fuel. Adelaide SUEZ-ResourceCo’s alternative fuels facility at Wingfield recycles or re-uses 95 per cent of all incoming materials. This compares with about 20-30 per cent if sent to landfill.

Electronic waste, metal and glass are extracted and recycled through specialised recycling facilities. The remainder of the hard waste material is used as Process Engineered Fuel (PEF).  This initiative commenced with City of Burnside in 2016 (read more here) and now all seven of East Waste’s member Council’s hard refuse is processed this way, diverting over 3,000 tonnes from landfill each year.

Mattresses and ensembles are collected separately and recycled through Distribution 360. 75 per cent of the materials are recycled including, timber, materials/textiles, steel springs, and other metal components.

Reuse & recycle options
Avoid or reduce:

Purchasing low quality, non-durable items as these may break and need to be disposed of more readily.

Choose to Re-Use:

Reusing is an important part of the waste avoidance hierarchy and many hard rubbish items can be reused. Consider donating items in good condition to a family member, friend or local charities so that they can be reused, before being recycled or sent to landfill as hard rubbish.

Most Op shops and charities are not able to accept electrical items, so please call and check with them first.

  • Old Furniture: Refurbish and repurpose into new masterpieces for yourself, to sell or donate them to charity.
  • Whitegoods and homewares: Second hand items can be purchased for a fraction of the cost of a brand new item.
  • Sell, Swap, Share or Donate: Durable, good quality items can used again by others. There are several websites promoting the re-use of items through resale, swapping, sharing and donating:
    • Mobo Group’s Salvage and Save can collect good quality items.
    • Lions, Rotary Clubs and Salvos can collect good quality items.
    • Drop off items to your local charity shop; eg. Vinnies or RSPCA
  • Garage Sale: Garage sales are a great way to sell and buy second hand goods.
Repair and Restore:

If it’s broken, why not fix it? There are great ‘how to’ videos and manuals online. If you haven’t got time to do it yourself, take it to a repair shop or get a handyman to help. This will also save you the cost of buying a new item to replace it.

Repair through a Repair Café:

Repair Cafes and shops allow items to be repaired and at the fraction of the price of for purchasing new.

Locations are listed here: https://www.adelaidesustainabilitycentre.org.au/projects/repair-cafes/

Recycle:

Take your unwanted items to a recycling centre. Eg. Electronic waste items.

Recycle your car seats at RAA!

We encourage you to take your old car seats to the RAA Child Safety Centre, 101 Richmond Road Mile End, where they will be recycled.

Cost is $5 per seat and if you are a RAA member you will receive a voucher to go towards your next purchase. If you have any questions about the scheme please contact the RAA Child Safety Centre on 08 8202 4592 or childrestraints@raa.com.au.

Compost and mulch:

Your tree and shrub prunings can be composted or mulched and used in your home garden. Alternatively you can place small cut up pieces into your green

Disposal to landfill should be the last resort option:

If items are not repairable, saleable or reusable then an alternative service to dispose of or recycle hard waste items may be through the following Council Depots or transfer stations:

  1. Mitcham Council Works Depot
    5 Winston Court, Melrose Park
    Ph: 8374 7722
  2. Adelaide Waste and Recycling Centre
    181 Morphett Rd, North Plympton SA 5037
    Ph: 8295 5077
    Open 7 days; Monday to Friday 7 am – 5 pm. Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays 8 am-4 pm. Closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day See Website
  3. Glen Osmond Recycle Centre (GORC)
    389 Glen Osmond Road, Glen Osmond
    Phone: 8379 9955
    Open Monday to Friday 8.30 am – 4.30 pm and open Saturday 8.30 am – 12.30 pm See Website
  4. Blackwood Recycling
    Main Road (behind Blackwood Railway Station), Blackwood
    Ph: 8278 2996
    Open Monday to Friday: 8.30 am – 5.00 pm, Saturday: 8.30 am – 4.00 pm
    http://www.blackwoodrecycling.com.au/
  5. Daws Road Recycling Centre
    6 Daws Rd, Edwardstown
    Ph: 8277 5588
    Open 8.30 am to 5 pm weekdays, 8.30 am to 2 pm Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm Sunday. Closed on public holidays and over 4 day Easter break
    http://www.recyclingsa.com.au/
  6. Lynton Green Organics Drop-off Facility
    Beagle Terrace, Lynton
    Ph: 8372 8888
    Open 9 am – 3 pm on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Saturday of each month (excluding public holidays)
    www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/services/waste-and-recycling/lynton-green-organics
  7. Wingfield Waste & Recycling Centre
    412 Hanson Rd,
    Wingfield SA 5013
    ph: 08) 8345 4318