Dispose of toxic household items (Detox Your Home)
Highly toxic items, such as chemicals, should never be put in your rubbish bins, poured down the drain, or left out on the nature strip during hard rubbish collections.
You can drop off unwanted household chemicals at our free Detox Your Home events, which are licensed to accept toxic chemicals and staffed by trained specialist chemists.
Around 40 pop-up events are hosted around Victoria each year in partnership with local councils.
Disposing of toxic items correctly will:
- reduce the risk to the environment and human health
- help keep our waterways clean
- prevent chemicals from ending up in landfill
- reuse precious resources
Note: Household chemicals cannot be accepted at waste transfer stations due to the risk of fire or explosion when these items are combined or stored in large volumes.
Items accepted
Check the full list of items that are accepted.
Detox Your Home events are for households. Businesses should use a commercial waste disposal company.
Paint drop-off
Take your unwanted household paint to permanent drop-off sites operated by Paintback across Victoria. To find your nearest location, visit the Paintback website.
Upcoming events and registration
Detox Your Home event dates and locations are released regularly throughout the year and listed on this page (see below).
To hear when event locations are announced, sign up to our quarterly newsletter or revisit this page.
Upcoming event locations
You’re welcome to register to attend events outside of your local area. There is no limit on the number of events you can attend.
Detox Your Home - Croydon
28 Lincoln Road, Croydon, VIC 3136
Detox Your Home - Lilydale
103-105 Nelson Road, Lilydale, VIC 3140
Detox Your Home - Pakenham
18 Purton Road, Pakenham, VIC 3810
Detox Your Home - Notting Hill
380 Ferntree Gully Road, Notting Hill, VIC 3168
Detox Your Home - Shepparton
Wanganui Road, Shepparton, VIC 3630
Detox Your Home - Altona
Sugar Gum Drive, Altona, VIC 3018
Detox Your Home -Echuca
510 McKenzie Road, Echuca, VIC 3564
Detox Your Home - Knox
14 Henderson Road, Knoxfield, VIC 3180
Detox Your Home - Plenty
290 Yan Yean Road, Plenty, VIC 3090
Detox Your Home - Keilor Park
Stadium Drive, Keilor Park, VIC 3042
Detox Your Home - Frankston
20 Harold Road, Skye, VIC 3977
Detox Your Home - Daylesford
16 Ajax Road, Daylesford, VIC 3460
Detox Your Home - Ballan
118 Monteville Lane, Ballan, VIC 3342
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Before the event
Ensure you pack only items accepted at Detox Your Home events.
The maximum acceptable weight or size of a single container is 20 kilograms or 20 litres.
Decanting is not permitted on site, so bring chemicals in disposable containers that you can leave with us.
You must clearly and accurately label your items:
- use the original packaging if possible, if not, write the contents clearly using a permanent marker
- decanting is not permitted on site, so bring chemicals in disposable containers
- if you’re unsure of the contents, label them ‘unknown’.
Put your items in your empty car boot or vehicle tray.
Read our tips to safely handle toxic chemicals.
At the event
There will be signs and directions for you to follow as you drive in.
Stay in your car. You won’t need to unload anything yourself. Our trained staff and qualified chemists will unload everything for you.
Generally the wait time is less than 10 minutes.
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Toxic chemicals dropped off at a Detox Your Home event are immediately sorted by qualified chemists. They’re placed in sealed drums and transported to a specialist waste treatment facility.
Every effort is made to recycle chemicals or use them for other purposes. Some chemicals are used to create energy.
As a last resort, a small amount of chemicals will be stored in secure landfills in accordance with the Environmental Protection Authority Victoria’s requirements.
