How to Recycle E-Waste, Old Phones and Chargers in Australia
Open your bottom desk drawer. Go on. I'll wait.
If it looks anything like mine did before I started Banish, you'll find three dead phones, a sea of cables, a couple of chargers no one can identify, and at least one tangled pair of headphones you haven't used since 2019.
That drawer is where a lot of Australian e-waste lives, because no one has ever told us what to actually do with it. E-waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams on the planet, and the stuff inside our devices is a combination of genuinely precious metals (gold, copper, rare earths) and genuinely nasty ones (lead, cadmium, mercury). In landfill, it leaches. Recycled properly, it becomes the next generation of electronics.
Here's exactly where each category goes in Australia. And a note upfront: BRAD does not handle e-waste. The risks around lithium batteries and the technical needs of electronics processing mean specialist pathways do this job better than we ever could.
Why e-waste can't go in the yellow bin
Kerbside recycling in Australia is sorted for paper, cardboard, glass, metal cans and rigid plastic bottles. Electronics have batteries, circuit boards and mixed materials that contaminate the whole stream. Thrown in the yellow bin, a dead phone can spark a truck fire. In landfill, the metals inside it poison soil and water for decades.
Every state and territory has rules about this. Victoria banned e-waste from kerbside and landfill in 2019, and South Australia followed. The rest of the country is catching up.
Option 1: MobileMuster for phones and accessories
MobileMuster is the phone industry's free recycling program. They accept mobiles, batteries, chargers, headphones and accessories. You can post items free using a prepaid label from their website, or drop them off at thousands of participating retailers, including Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Officeworks stores.
They've recycled over 15 million handsets. If you've only got a handful of old phones, this is the simplest path.
Option 2: TechCollect for computers, laptops and peripherals
TechCollect is a national program funded under the federal Product Stewardship Act. They take desktops, laptops, keyboards, mice, printers, scanners, modems and routers at drop-off points across Australia.
Free to use. Find your nearest location on their website.
Option 3: Officeworks drop-off bins
Officeworks has in-store recycling bins that take a broader range of small e-waste than most other retailers. Think cables, chargers, printer cartridges, batteries and small electronics. If you're already popping in for paper, throw a bag of cables in the boot. This is usually the cleanest pathway for a mixed bag of chargers, USB sticks, earbuds and power adaptors.
Option 4: Cartridges 4 Planet Ark
Printer cartridges and toner cartridges have their own scheme. Cartridges 4 Planet Ark collection boxes are at every Officeworks, Harvey Norman, The Good Guys and many council offices. Accepts all major brands free.
Option 5: Re.Smart doorstep pickup (metro only)
Re.Smart (formerly RecycleSmart) accepts e-waste as part of its doorstep pickup service. If you're in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth and would rather not leave the house, book a pickup through their app.
Option 6: Your council
Most Australian councils run an annual or on-demand e-waste collection. Some run permanent drop-off centres at transfer stations. This is the place for big stuff: microwaves, TVs, computer towers and monitors.
Check your council's website before you drive across town. Rules vary significantly.
Before you recycle: wipe your data
Every recycling program will tell you this, and it's worth saying twice. Before you send a phone, laptop or tablet for recycling, factory-reset it, remove the SIM and remove external storage.
- Back up anything you want to keep
- Sign out of all accounts (Apple ID, Google, iCloud)
- Factory reset through the device settings
- Remove SIM cards and SD cards
- Cover the screen with tape if it's cracked so no one cuts themselves during handling
A note on circular economy
The greenest e-waste is the device you didn't replace. If your phone is working and you're replacing it for a small upgrade, consider trading it in for refurb rather than recycling. Sites like Mazuma, Mobile Monster and Apple Trade-In give working phones a second life. Recycling should be the last stop, not the first.
What about BRAD?
BRAD is our recycling program at Banish, and it's built for consumable packaging (cosmetics, coffee pods, blister packs, toothbrushes, chip packets and so on). E-waste isn't on that list, and that's a deliberate choice. Lithium batteries posted in a household box create a fire risk, and the technical sorting required for electronics is different from what our facility is set up to do. Sending your e-waste through the right specialist stream is what actually delivers the best recycling outcome.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put a phone in the yellow bin?
No. Phones contain lithium batteries that catch fire when crushed, and metals that contaminate the recycling stream. Use MobileMuster.
Does BRAD accept cables and chargers?
No. BRAD is for consumable packaging, not electronics. Take cables and chargers to an Officeworks drop-off bin or to a council e-waste collection.
What about my old Apple Watch or Fitbit?
Small wearables are accepted by MobileMuster alongside phones.
Are cables and chargers really recyclable?
Yes. Cables contain copper, which is one of the most valuable recoverable metals. Officeworks accepts them.
Where do I take a broken TV?
Your council. Most run free or low-cost bulky waste pickups or transfer station drop-offs for televisions and monitors.
What happens to the materials?
Devices are disassembled, plastics are separated from metals, circuit boards go to specialist smelters that recover gold, silver, copper and palladium . The recovered materials re-enter the supply chain for new electronics.