Household waste and landfills

Learn about household waste and municipal landfills, and how to reduce your household waste.

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Waste in landfill:

  • contributes to greenhouse gas emissions
  • has other impacts on the environment.

When waste is buried underground in a landfill, microorganisms break it down and produce gas.

These gases are mostly methane and carbon dioxide. However, there can be other trace gases and vapours. It depends on the waste deposited.

There are different types of landfills. Municipal solid waste landfills accept household waste that is not reused or recycled. Waste that cannot be accepted at municipal waste landfills must be disposed of at a place authorised to receive it.

Other landfills accept:

The principle of waste management hierarchy states that disposing of waste to landfill is the least preferred option.

There are things you can do to reduce the amount of waste you send to landfill.

Waste that cannot go into municipal landfills

Do not send waste and materials to landfill if they:

  • are toxic
  • will corrode metal
  • will burn or explode.

Examples include:

Take these materials to a hazardous waste drop-off site.

For more information, visit Detox Your Home(opens in a new window) on the Sustainability Victoria website.

Reduce your waste to landfill

Disposing of waste to landfill is our least preferred option for managing waste. Instead, follow the principle of waste management hierarchy set out in the Environment Protection Act 2017(opens in a new window).

To reduce the amount of waste you produce, you can:

  • follow your community's recycling program
  • compost organic waste
  • use leaves and grass clippings as mulch
  • buy recycled paper products and products with less packaging
  • buy durable products rather than disposable ones
  • reuse jars and containers.

For more information about reducing waste, visit Sustainability Victoria(opens in a new window).

Hiring a skip bin: your responsibilities

When you hire a skip bin or waste disposal service, you are still responsible for your waste and where it is taken. All waste must be taken to a lawful place. It's your responsibility to correctly dispose of waste from your home and know where it is going.

If you hire a skip bin or waste removal service, you need to make sure they are reputable. You can receive a penalty if the business you hire illegally dumps your waste.

Always check where your waste is going and ask the skip bin or waste disposal service to confirm this in writing.

Examples of information to help you confirm where your waste will be taken:

  • a contract or invoice showing where your waste will be taken and details of the transporter, including company name, ABN, vehicle registration, and transport date and time
  • copies of waste dockets or receipts from the waste. The dockets or receipts should include the date and time of delivery, waste description, and waste amount, a name and address of the facility, facility ABN, and the transporter vehicle registration.

Check the facility accepting your waste can lawfully receive it. It’s important to check it accepts the type of waste you have produced.

Keep all invoices and documents.

It can also be helpful to take a photo of the loaded skip bin or waste pile before collection.

Common warning signs

The skip bin business or waste disposal service:

  • offers to dispose of your waste at a much lower cost compared to other businesses
  • will only accept cash and won't provide a receipt
  • can't provide a business name, address or ABN
  • refuses to say where the waste will go
  • says your waste will be dumped, buried or burnt on private land
  • can't confirm if the receiving site accepts the waste type
  • discourages you from keeping records
  • uses unmarked bins or vehicles and provides no identifying information
  • asks you to provide false information about your waste.

Help stop illegal dumping

Report suspicious behaviour or illegal dumping to us.

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