Point 4 of 6 · Brisbane
Brisbane’s resource recovery centres
Brisbane City Council runs four resource recovery centres, at Nudgee, Willawong, Chandler and Ferny Grove, open 7 days a week, including public holidays, from 6.30am to 5.45pm. They take recyclables, general and green waste, bulky items and some hazardous waste, and they refuse asbestos, tyres, large lithium batteries and more than a ute load of soil, concrete, bricks, rocks and masonry, among other things.
General information about Brisbane City Council’s facilities, not advice about your load. Council’s resource recovery centres page is the place to check before you go.
Council notes that these centres used to be called transfer stations, and that people also know them as the tip or the rubbish dump.
The four centres
| Centre | Council calls it | Vehicles over 4.5 tonnes |
|---|---|---|
| Nudgee | A major centre | Accepted |
| Willawong | A major centre | Accepted |
| Chandler | A minor centre | Not accepted |
| Ferny Grove | A minor centre | Not accepted |
The weight is the combined gross vehicle mass, and a vehicle over 4.5 tonnes cannot use waste vouchers at any centre. All four keep the same hours, and the gates close strictly at 5.45pm.
What the centres refuse, in Council’s words
“Resource recovery centres do not accept:
Resource recovery centres, Brisbane City Council
- ammunition, fireworks and flares
- asbestos or materials containing asbestos
- commercial quantities of recyclable materials
- engineered stone and bagged crushed concrete
- hazardous waste not included in the accepted items list above or not accepted at free hazardous waste drop-off days
- large lithium batteries, including car and solar
- quantities exceeding a ute load of soil, concrete, bricks, rocks and masonry
- radioactive material
- tyres.”
If you are filling a skip during a renovation, this list is worth reading against what is going in it. Residents use the centres; the landfill is not open to them.
What they take
As at 8 October 2026, Council’s page says the recycling facilities at its centres take household amounts of many kinds of material without charge, some hazardous items among them, all year round. The free drop-off is for vehicles under 4.5 tonnes combined gross vehicle mass. A selection from its list, with the limits it sets:
- “electronic waste (up to 15 items)”
- “white goods and large appliances (e.g. fridges, washing machines, dryers, freezers, air conditioners, ovens, cooktops).”
- “metal (e.g. steel, tin, iron, copper, aluminium, cast-iron pipes, trailers)”
Batteries are on the list too, including lead acid car batteries and small lithium batteries. Mattresses carry a flat fee whatever their size, and one waste voucher covers up to 3 of them. Council checks good-quality furniture and other reusable things to see whether they can go to its Treasure Troves; anything that can be neither donated nor recycled goes as general waste, and a fee applies.
General waste, green waste and fees
General waste that won’t fit in your red bin, and garden waste that won’t fit in your green bin, can come here, paid with a waste voucher or a fee. Fees depend on the vehicle type and the load’s weight, and domestic and commercial waste are charged differently. The garden waste guide covers vouchers and packing a load.
Hazardous waste
Some hazardous waste is accepted every day; other hazardous items can only go to Council’s hazardous waste drop-off days. Nitrous oxide, helium and industrial CO2 bottles, for example, are taken only on those days.
On the day
Council’s tips for a visit:
Resource recovery centres, Brisbane City Council
- “Sort your items before you arrive and drop off your recyclables first to help reduce your disposal fees.
- Wear enclosed footwear and sturdy clothing to stay safe on site.
- Follow all safety signs, exclusion zones, and staff directions while on site.
- Keep children under 12 and pets in the vehicle at all times.
- Bring someone to help if you have heavy or bulky items to unload.
- Smoking is not permitted anywhere on site.”
The landfill is not the tip
Asked whether you can take waste straight to the Brisbane landfill, Council’s answer is no: residents cannot dispose of anything there, because there is no public access. The landfill, at Rochedale, takes the waste from the resource recovery centres that can’t be recycled or reused, along with general waste from kerbside red bins, and approved contractors go there only with formal approval and a confirmed appointment.
What you drop at a centre is sorted. Council says recyclable materials are recovered and processed, and the rest is disposed of appropriately.
Along the kerb: what Council collects from your kerb, and Queensland’s rules on regulated waste.