Detox Your Home initiative
Toxic items should never go in your bins or down the drain. Instead, use the Victorian Government's free chemical drop-off service.
Do you need to safely dispose of unwanted, highly toxic household chemicals? Household chemicals can be dangerous – they can harm your family and your pets, add extra fuel to a house fire, release toxic fumes and pollute the environment for future generations.
Detox your Home is a free and convenient service for householders to safely dispose of unwanted toxic chemicals.
Detox your Home events are staffed by expert chemists who understand how to safely manage toxic household chemicals. Chemicals are safely stored during the event then transported to a licensed processing facility at the end of each event.
Events are held across Victoria to provide you with a local and accessible option to dispose of your household chemicals. The program is administered by Sustainability Victoria in partnership with local councils and is funded by the Victorian landfill levy.
Visit the Detox your Home website for a complete list of upcoming events and accepted products.
Detox your Home. Do the right thing for your loved ones and your environment. It’s easy and it’s free.
Upcoming collections
There are nearby Detox Your Home chemical drop-off services each year.
Find the next Detox Your Home drop off
To get more information, visit Sustainability Victoria's website or call 1300 363 744.
In 2020, nearly 3,800kg of unwanted hazardous chemicals were collected!
What do Detox Your Home accept?
You can take any of these products to a Detox Your Home drop-off point:
- Acids and alkalis, including spirit of salt, bleach, rust remover, and hydrochloric acid
- Aerosol cans (empty cans can be put in your recycling bin)
- Cleaners (ammonia based), drain, shower and glass cleaners
- Disinfectants
- Floor-care products and waxes
- Oven cleaner
- Fertiliser
- Fuel (old lawn mower/power tools fuel)
- Herbicides
- Weed killers/herbicides
- Insect sprays and pesticides
- Pool chemicals, including liquid pool chlorine and pool salts
- Anti-freeze
- Brake fluid
- Car body filler
- Car care products and wax
- Coolant
- Fuels, including petrol, diesel and kerosene
- Glues, including water-based and solvents
- Machine oil and lubricant
- Rat poison
- Transmission fluid
- Turps, thinners and paint strippers
- Wood preservatives and finishes
- Glues, including water-based and solvents
- Photographic chemicals
- Wood preservatives and finishes
- Butane gas canisters
- Hand sanitiser
- See Cleaning products above
- Insect sprays
What don't Detox Your Home accept?
Detox Your Home don't accept paint. You can leave unwanted paint at the Darebin Resource Recovery Centre for free all year round.
Detox Your Home no longer collects items that can be disposed of through other existing schemes (i.e. batteries, paint and cosmetics) and/or have a low level of toxicity. Items that will not be collected include fire extinguishers, cosmetics, aerosols and oils.
For a full list of what Detox Your Home don't accept, visit Sustainability Victoria's Detox Your Home website.
Permanent drop-off sites for paint and other products
Detox your Home is a free service designed specifically to collect unwanted, highly toxic household chemicals.
Household paint, batteries, and fluorescent lights – which are less toxic than household chemicals (but also a more common waste item) can be disposed of throughout the year at a permanent drop-off site.
There is a nearby permanent drop-off site at:
Darebin Resource Recovery Centre
30 Kurnai Avenue
Reservoir
Phone: 03 8470 8777
For more information and a full list of permanent drop-off sites visit Sustainability Victoria's website.