Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF)

The Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) will come into effect on 1 July . Council is legislated to collect this levy on behalf of the Victorian Government through the annual rates notice. Find out more >

Waste drop-off days

Key points

  • You can dispose of excess green waste at one of our free green waste drop off days.  
  • You can also dispose of chemicals and other hazardous liquids through the Detox Your Home collections offered by the Victorian Government. You can also drop off eligible empty agvet chemical containers at drumMUSTER events. 
  • Check if you need to book or register for specific drop-off events.

Green waste drop-off

  • We hold free green waste drop off days for Cardinia Shire residents.
  • Green waste can be dropped off in residential vehicles and trailers only. Commercial business operators cannot use the service. 
  • You need to bring Photo ID that shows your home address in Cardinia Shire. 
  • The green waste is shredded and taken to a composting facility. It is then broken down and turned into high-quality soil conditioner to help grow food and gardens in Victoria.

Drop-off dates and locations

Pakenham – Saturday 2, Monday 4 to Saturday 9 August

Future Recycling Transfer Station, 30-32 Exchange Drive, Pakenham   

  • Saturday 2 Aug: 8am - 2pm
  • Sunday 3 Aug: Closed
  • Monday 4 Aug: 8am - 2pm
  • Tuesday 5 to Friday 8 Aug: 7:30am - 3:30pm
  • Saturday 9 Aug: 8am - 2pm

Lysterfield - Friday 3 to Monday 6 October

Cleanaway Resource Recovery Centre, 840 Wellington Rd, Lysterfield

  • Friday 3 Oct: 7am-3:30pm
  • Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 Oct: 8 - 11:30am
  • Monday 6 Oct: 7am - 3:30pm

Pakenham – Saturday 6, Monday 8 to Saturday 13 December

Future Recycling Transfer Station, 30-32 Exchange Drive, Pakenham   

  • Saturday 6 Dec: 8am - 2pm
  • Sunday 7 Dec: Closed
  • Monday 8 to Friday 12 Dec: 7:30am - 3:30pm 
  • Saturday 13 Dec: 8am - 2pm

What you can drop off 

Residential amounts of garden waste, including:

  • flowers
  • garden prunings
  • grass clippings
  • leaves
  • tree branches and trunks up to 30 centimetres wide and 1 metre long
  • weeds

What you can't drop off 

  • Rocks, stones, soil or potting mix
  • Building and renovation waste (such as timber and fence palings) 
  • Commercial quantities of green waste
  • Treated timber
  • Green waste in a bag
  • Food
  • Manure and animal waste
  • General household rubbish or recyclables
  • Plant pots
  • Medical syringes
  • Clothes and shoes
  • Hessian or plastic bags
  • Hazardous waste or chemicals. 

Other ways to dispose of green waste

Recycling drive and drop

Drive through and drop-off your e-waste, polystyrene, soft plastics, textiles and excess cardboard for free!

All these accepted items will be reused, repurposed or recycled.

Event details

When:

  • Saturday 5 July, 9am – 1pm
  • Sunday 6 July, 9am – 1pm 

Where: Council depot (18A Purton Road, Pakenham) 

Cardinia Shire residents only. No bookings or registration required, however residents must present photo ID as proof of residence within Cardinia Shire to access the free service.

We will be collecting unlimited volumes of accepted items from residential vehicles and trailers; commercial business operators cannot use this service. 

Accepted items

  • Textiles - Good quality and end of life textiles including clothes (no underwear or bras), shoes, fabrics, towels, and bed linen. They can have minor rips, holes or stains but must be clean and dry.
  • E-waste - Any batteries and small electrical items such as phones, tablets, chargers, vapes, gaming devices, toys, power tools, kettles, hair dryer and other small appliances or devices. Large e-waste items or appliances are not suitable for this event. For these items, we recommend booking a hard waste collection or taking to your local transfer station
  • Cardboard -  Flattened cardboard without any plastic film or wax coating.
  • Polystyrene - White polystyrene packaging and produce boxes. 
  • Soft plastics - Any ‘scrunchable’ soft plastics including plastic bags, bread bags, pasta and rice bags, chip packets, produce bags and frozen food bags. Please bag all soft plastics together.

What happens to these items?

  • Good quality textiles will be sent to charity partners in Australia and overseas where affordable clothing is most needed.
  • End of life textiles will be repurposed into rags or recycled.
  • E-waste will be processed to recover valuable metals and minerals that can be reused.
  • Cardboard will be turned into new paper and cardboard products.
  • Polysterene will be melted down and turned into new plastic products such as outdoor furniture.
  • Soft plastics will be turned back into oil for use in plastic manufacturing and energy.

Detox Your Home collections

  • Detox Your Home provides a way to safely dispose of unwanted household chemicals such as cleaners, fuels and pesticides.
  • Commercial business operators cannot use the service.
  • Residents wanting to attend will need to book in advance.

Upcoming events near Cardinia Shire

There are no events planned for Cardinia Shire in 2025. For information on upcoming events go to Sustainability Victoria's Detox Your Home webpage

drumMUSTER collections

DrumMUSTER provides agricultural and veterinary chemical users with a way to recycle eligible empty agvet chemical containers.

For more info or to find another drop-off point, visit the DrumMuster website

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