Household Chemical CleanOut

Our Household Chemical CleanOut is a great opportunity to clean out your home, shed or garage of leftover household chemicals and dispose of them correctly.

Leftover chemicals you have at home - including paints, solvents, pesticides and even cleaning products - should not be put in your household bins. Pouring substances such as paints or cleaning fluids down the drain means they can end up in Sydney Harbour.

Help protect our environment and precious marine life by disposing of household chemicals correctly and safely.

Everyone is welcome - you don’t have to live in inner Sydney to take part.

What to expect and how to get ready

• Stay in your vehicle: our team will show you where to drive and will unpack items for you. By staying in your vehicle, you’re helping reduce the spread of germs, and we’ll help you get on your way faster. If you're unwell, stay home.
• Bring items in tubs, sealed and in the boot: this way, you don’t breathe anything in and our team can quickly and safely unpack items for you.
• Leave the sorting to the pros: don’t mix anything and keep your chemicals in their original containers to make them easier to identify. If you’ve lost the original label or don't know the contents, just label the item with ‘unknown chemical’.
• Cycle or walk up: people walking or cycling can access a separate drop-off area.

What you can bring

• solvents and household cleaners
• paints and thinners
• pesticides and herbicides
• poisons
• pool chemicals
• motor oils, fuels and fluids
• acids and alkalis
• car batteries
• household batteries
• hobby chemicals such as photographic chemicals
• printer ink and toner cartridges
• gas bottles
• fire extinguishers
• fluorescent lamps
• light globes
• smoke alarms
• cooking oils.

Only household quantities are accepted. Business-related and commercial quantities are not accepted. The maximum container size is 20kg or 20L per item, except for paint. Up to 100L in 20L containers of paint is accepted.

If you are a building manager or bringing items from multiple households, please email council@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au to discuss quantities for drop-off.

Learn more about our Chemical CleanOut event, including what happens to chemicals collected on the day.

To find dates for other drop-off days, visit the Household Chemical CleanOut website or call the NSW Environment Line on 131 555.