Paint & Chemical Disposal

Paint

If disposed of incorrectly paint can pose a significant risk to the environment. At the current time South Gippsland Shire waste transfer stations are not permitted to accept liquid paint and the Detox Your Home chemical collection program no longer accepts paint.  However, there are options for the safe disposal of paint.

Paintback

Paintback is the industry-run paint recycling scheme, transports the paint from the collection point for treatment. The packaging and waste liquid are separated and the containers are recycled. Waste paint is treated in a number of ways including energy recovery for solvent and liquid/solid separation for water-based paint, significantly minimising landfill over current practices. South Gippsland Shire is currently working with Paintback to establish collection points in South Gippsland Shire. Currently the nearest collection points for South Gippsland residents can be found at www.paintback.com.au

Make the paint set hard

If the paint is set hard we can accept it at any waste transfer station. Tins that have set hard need no further attention. Tins with significant amounts of liquid still in them need some work. There are commercially available paint hardeners available through hardware and paint stores. Alternatively, lay out a thick layer of news paper on a sunny day and pour the paint onto the paper to dry. Once dry the set paint can go in your garbage bin and the empty tin to the waste transfer station (free).

Household Chemical Disposal

Household chemicals are not permitted to be put in your kerbside bins or dropped off at waste transfer stations. Sustainability Victoria runs a program called Detox Your Home which is a free service for Victorian residents to safely dispose of unwanted household chemicals.

Collection schedules in South Gippsland Shire are irregular with none currently scheduled. For more information about upcoming collection locations and what can and can’t be disposed of through the service, please click here.

Farm Chemical Disposal

As is the case with household chemicals, agricultural chemicals are also not permitted to be dropped off at Council’s waste transfer stations.

ChemClear is a program aimed at safely disposing of agricultural chemicals. For information about collections and the service in general please visit www.chemclear.org.au/