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Hills Environment Centre

HEC Recycling

Household Batteries | Light Bulbs | Mobile Phones | Printer Cartridges

Recycling available at HEC

HEC offers recycling of some household items as a free service to the community, please note we do not accept additional items and encourage you to scroll down to ‘more recycling options’ to see your options for items which we do not accept at HEC. 

Household Batteries

Most batteries contain harmful chemicals that are leached into the soil from landfill. Bring them into HEC to be recycled.
Officeworks recycling

Mobile Phones

We collect for Mobile Muster. All phones and accessories are accepted.

Mobile phones can also be recycled at Officeworks stores, Salvos stores and anywhere that takes eWaste items (see below.)
Learn more about Mobile Muster

Printer Cartridges

We collect used printer cartridges that are recycled by Planet Ark.

Used printer cartridges can also be recycled at Officeworks, and Harvey Norman, stores.
Lern more about Planet Ark

More Recycling Options

For additional recycling options, we recommend visiting the websites below. Scroll down to find recycling and disposal options for specific items.

Heathfield Resource Recover Centre

The Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority

Adelaide Hills Council Small eWaste

Officeworks Recycling

Textiles

SCR Group has collection points throughout Adelaide, often at shopping centres, for ‘wearables’/ textiles and fashion accessories. They collect approximately 1kg per second every day! This a fast-growing waste stream and whilst they are doing great work to manage this, it would be great to avoid this waste in the first instance if possible.

If you have the privilege, please take the time to really consider your purchases, buying quality that will last and can be repaired is possible. You may also like to engage with your local repair cafes for learning textile mending skills-see below. 

H&M and Zara both have a scheme for fabric recycling, and  Upparel is an online company which specialises in clothing/textile recycling but also takes clothes and shoes.

A local mechanic or animal shelter may also be able to make use of any old blankets/ cloth.

There is also now an initiative to recycle shoes, called the ‘Save our Soles footwear recycling initiative’. 

Note also that rubber soled shoes/runners, can be taken to Athletes Foot for recycling to make rubber mats.

For more information on fabric recycling, see the East Waste ’Tricky Items’ page. 
East Waste 'Tricky items'

eWaste

Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre can accept most eWaste items free of charge. Adelaide Hills Council offer sfree small eWaste recycling located at the Stirling, Woodside and Gumeracha libraries,.

residents can visit the Hubs during open hours and drop off batteries, old mobile phones, small e-waste items and cables and x-rays. These items are taken to the Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre before making their way to the appropriate recyclers.

JBHi-Fi offers free in-store e-waste drop off for small consumer electronics and home appliances such as laptops, tablets, monitors, headphones, hair dryers, stick vacuums, and blenders. Simply drop your e-waste in the bin located near the counter and hand any larger items to one of our team members and we’ll send it to an e-waste recycling facility.

All Good Guys stores are equipped to take back household batteries, small e-waste items like phones, laptops, cabling and accessories, and small domestic appliances like kettles, toasters and personal care devices.

Harvey Norman sotres accept Larger electrical items and TV's.
Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre

Soft Plastics

Return your clean and dry household soft plastics to dedicated recycling bins located at the front of over 700 participating stores Woolworths stores across Australia.

In partnership with Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia (SPSA), your soft plastics will be recycled into new products such as building materials and food grade packaging, helping to create a circular economy.
Soft Plastics Recycling Store Locator

Used Mattresses

Metrowaste Adelaide (Thebarton) accept and process all old and unwanted mattresses.

Old mattresses can take up a large amount of space in landfill if not broken down and recycled effectively, and Metrowaste has a conveniently located waste transfer station just 5 mins from the Adelaide CBD.

The recycling of mattresses in Adelaide is important as they can contain many materials that can be efficiently reused. Materials such as foam, latex, springs and scrap metal can all be recycled and reformed into a range of other products helping our environment.

Metrowaste also accept and dispose of commercial volumes of old mattresses in Adelaide, so whatever your requirement, give us a call to discuss how we can assist.

Please, note: Metro Waste do not collect mattresses
Metro Waste Matress Recycling

Medicine Blister Packs

Medicine blister packs can be recycled at most Chemist Warehouse and National Pharmacy stores through the Pharmacycle program.

The empty blister packs are put through a series of mechanical recycling processes to separate the aluminium foil/seal from the plastic blister. The steps include shredding, grinding, air-density separation, and finally electrostatic separation.

Once separated the aluminium and plastic material is kept in bulk bags until enough material is ready to be sent to end-users.
Pharmacycle drop off locator

Green Waste Organics

Adelaide Hills Council offer free Green Waste drop off at heathfield Resource Recovery Centre, Woodside Council Depot and Gumeracha Council Depot on specified dates.

Outside of these times, green waste can be taken to the Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre for a fee.
Free Green Organics Drop-Off Days

Coffee Pods

coffee capsules and pods (both plastic and aluminium) should never be put in your recycling bin at home. They can only be recycled through specialised recycling programs. Due to their small size, coffee capsules and pods that are incorrectly put in recycling bins will fall through the cracks at recycling centres. Coffee pods also cause contamination in the recycling stream and may prevent other items from being recycled.

You can recycle coffee pods at the following locations:

Durable Recycling (Hackham Recyclers – 16 Cottage Lane, Hackham

Chemology, 4 Walla Street, Lonsdale

Woodcroft - Morphett Vale Neighbourhood Centre, 175 Bains Road, Morphett Vale

Willunga Environment Centre, 15 High Street, Willunga

Good Guys – 820 Marion Road, Marion
More Information on Recycling Coffee Pods

Sports Footwear and Balls

TreadLightly is operated by the Australian Sporting Goods Association and allows you to recycle your old shoes and divert hundreds of tonnes of waste from landfill at the same time.

You can recycle sports footwear and balls at any Rebel Sports store.

Macpac Burnside accept sports footwear for recycling at the following two locations:

Shop Tenancy 1001 / 2 Burnside Village AND 447 Portrush Rd, Glenside. SA 5065
Rebel Sport Store Locator

Light Globes

You can recycle light globes through the Backlight program by dropping them off at participating Mitre 10, True Value Hardware, and Ikea stores. Simply take them to the store and place them in the light globe recycling box/bin.
More Information on Recycling Light Globes

Dental Products

You can recycle light globes through the Backlight program by dropping them off at participating Mitre 10, True Value Hardware, and Ikea stores. Simply take them to the store and place them in the light globe recycling box/bin.
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