Since 2019 it has been illegal in Victoria, Australia, to put e-waste in household rubbish or landfill. EPA Victoria defines e-waste broadly, includes batteries, and sets duties and permissions for businesses that handle it.
In this guide
Anyone clearing a home or business in the Australian state of Victoria needs to know that anything with a plug, battery or power cord is e-waste and cannot go to landfill. This guide summarises the Victorian Government’s e-waste ban page (updated 14 March 2024) and the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA Victoria) page on electronic waste (updated 9 May 2025). It describes Victoria only; other Australian states, the United Kingdom and other countries have different rules. It is general information, not legal advice.
What counts as e-waste
The Victorian Government says e-waste is any item that has a plug, battery or power cord, and includes e-cigarettes, televisions, computers, mobile phones, battery-operated toys, kitchen appliances and white goods. EPA Victoria explains that e-waste is defined in the Environment Protection Regulations 2021 and is generally waste from things that involve an electric current or an electromagnetic field. Its examples are batteries including rechargeable ones, computers, kitchen appliances, mobile phones, photovoltaic panels, flat panel and cathode ray televisions, and white goods. Products with minor electrical components, such as toys, are also e-waste.
The ban and what it means at home
The government states that since 2019 it has been illegal to put e-waste in household rubbish or landfill in Victoria. EPA Victoria adds that landfills in Victoria are not able to receive e-waste and that it is also illegal to dump waste, including e-waste. Householders should not dispose of any e-waste in the household bin, and this includes recycling bins not specifically marked for e-waste recycling. Instead, EPA Victoria directs people to a household e-waste drop-off location.
The state body that used to publish the drop-off directory, Sustainability Victoria, has closed. Its page, updated on 24 September 2026, says that programs, services and resources it previously managed, including household waste and recycling information on what belongs in each bin and where to dispose of problem items, are now available through the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA).
Batteries, fire and health
EPA Victoria warns that lithium-ion batteries can cause fires if disposed of incorrectly and that batteries must not go into household waste bins, bins destined for landfill, or recycling services not marked for e-waste or battery recycling. Its guidance for people who manage e-waste is to manage all e-waste as if it has a battery. It describes e-waste as combustible, releasing harmful gases and particulate matter including heavy metals, dioxins and fluorinated compounds when burnt, and generating fine dust containing hazardous materials such as cadmium, chromium and flame retardants if dismantled or shredded incorrectly. Chemicals including lead and mercury can contaminate soil and groundwater when e-waste is illegally landfilled or stored poorly. EPA Victoria also notes that smoke detectors can contain a small amount of radioactive material and should not be crushed, shredded or dismantled. The risks of batteries in the United Kingdom are covered separately in the guide to lithium-ion battery waste.
Duties for businesses and industry
EPA Victoria says most e-waste from business and industry is pre-classified as priority waste under Schedule 5 of the Regulations, including most types of battery waste. Used lead-acid batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries are classified as reportable priority waste, although a designation for used lead-acid batteries can change that classification. Under the Environment Protection Act 2017, duties for priority waste and reportable priority waste apply to the generator, transporter and receiver of e-waste. The general environmental duty also applies: a business must eliminate or reduce the risk of harm from its electronic waste so far as reasonably practicable. If e-waste causes a fire, or harms land or groundwater, further duties to respond, manage and notify may apply.
Permissions, standards and transport
A person who wants to reprocess e-waste needs permission. EPA Victoria names two: an A02b development and operating licence for other waste treatment of more than 500 tonnes of e-waste, and an A02c registration for 500 tonnes or less. Used lead-acid and nickel-cadmium batteries require an A01 licence to contain, store, treat, reprocess or dispose of them, and sending reportable priority waste batteries interstate needs an A12 permit to transport waste out of Victoria. The Australian Standard AS 5377:2022 sets out standards for collecting, transporting and treating end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment, and transporting batteries may bring obligations under the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail.
A national scheme in development
The Victorian page points to the Commonwealth Government’s work on a mandatory product stewardship scheme to recover valuable materials from small electrical products and solar photovoltaic systems. Meanwhile the state ban remains the practical rule for Victorian householders and businesses. Comparable rules for electrical waste in other places are explained in the guides to the UK WEEE regulations and recycling electronics in the United States.
FAQs
Can I put a broken kettle in the kerbside bin in Victoria?
No. Anything with a plug, battery or power cord is e-waste under the Victorian Government’s definition, and it has been illegal since 2019 to put e-waste in household rubbish.
Are batteries covered by the ban?
Yes. EPA Victoria includes batteries, including rechargeable ones, in its list of e-waste and says they must not go in household or landfill-bound bins.
Who enforces the ban?
EPA Victoria, which the Victorian Government names as the source of guidance on safe management and enforcement of the ban.
The bottom line
In Victoria, Australia, e-waste means anything with a plug, battery or power cord, and since 2019 it has been illegal to put it in household rubbish or landfill. Batteries are covered and are a particular fire risk, businesses face duties as generators, transporters and receivers of priority waste, and reprocessing needs a licence or registration. With Sustainability Victoria closed, its household waste and recycling information is now available through DEECA. This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
This guide draws on the following primary sources, current as of 9 October 2026:
- Victorian Government, E-waste ban, updated 14 March 2024 (vic.gov.au)
- EPA Victoria, Electronic waste, updated 9 May 2025 (epa.vic.gov.au)
- Sustainability Victoria has closed: find former programs now managed by DEECA, page updated 24 September 2026 (sustainability.vic.gov.au)
Related guides
Lithium-ion battery waste
WEEE regulations explained
Recycling electronics in the US
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