Lane Cove Tips on Recycling, Donating and Disposing of Hard To Recycle Items

We have the lowdown on where to recycle, donate or dispose of items (including hard-to-recycle items) for Lane Cove Locals.

General Information

Four Free Council Pick Ups

Nearly every Lane Cove house/ individual apartment is entitled to four free council pickups a year. There are some exceptions, such as the Meriton Arise Development at 150 Epping Road. Items picked up as part of the general household pick up go to landfill. Details on how to book online here.

Organic Waste

In the Cove also receives numerous enquiries about reducing the amount of garbage going into the red bin and, in particular, food waste.

Lane Cove Council has a contract with a facility where food waste/organic matter is mixed with the non-organic waste in your red bin and turned into “soil” that’s used for mine rehabilitation. This differs from other councils that offer a compost/organic waste bin.  Lane Cove Council has recently been part of a pilot programme for Food and Organic Waste, at this stage the small compost bin and the purple bin for organic waste will not be introduced  – read more here.

Homecycle

Recycle without leaving the house.

At the end of an agreed 12-month trial period with RecycleSmart, Lane Cove Council went out to the market to assess offers from service providers in the doorstep recycling industry.

After reviewing the doorstep recycling proposals, Lane Cove Council selected HomeCycle as the preferred supplier for the Council-funded doorstep recycling service.  Lane Cove Council are of the view that  HomeCycle is able to provide quality services with greater cost efficiency for the long-term sustainability of the service.

HomeCycle has now replaced the service Council provided through RecycleSmart.

The RecycleSmart program is still available in Hunters Hill and Willoughby City Council.

The Canopy Recycling Station Trial

Return and Earn

There is a return and earn machine located in the Little Street Car Park.  ITC has often watched people with numerous bottles and can loading them into the machine.  They would be better off taking them to Lane Cove Return and Earn in Lane Cove West Business Park.

They have a machine which quickly sorts the containers and they can quickly process your payment.

Furniture and Beds

Furniture and Beds are often hard to donate.  Recently ITC found out about Re-love which works with domestic violence refuges to provide furniture to set up new homes.

The following is on their website:

We support people to restart with great quality furniture to make their house a home to love.

Photos are needed to speed up the process by helping us to check the size and condition.

We are often moving people into smaller social housing apartments and may not be able to accept large, heavy or worn items.

*** We are seeking great quality bedside tables, coffee tables, chests of drawers, sofas (no sofa beds) and beds (mattresses must be completely free of marks or stains).  

We currently have enough dining tables and chairs.

Unfortunately we do not take washing machines or dryers.

Please deliver your donation to us at Botany

We are flat out doing deliveries to the people we are supporting and cannot collect furniture at this time.

Delivering items to our Botany warehouse is a huge help and gives us the ability to support more families in need.

The Lane Cove Toy Library

The Lane Cove Toy Library will be opening on 30 June 2024.  You can donate name brands, good quality toys to the library.  The Lane Cove Toy Library has been lucky to have some amazing donations.  To ensure no duplications and that the toys comply with insurance requirements, please fill out this form.

A to Z Item List

[table id=2 /]

The Sydney Library of Things

The Sydney Library of Things is a not-for-profit service that provides the local community with access to a collection of extremely useful but only occasionally used items that can be loaned out for a short time.

Two founders live in Lane Cove, Cr Bridget Kennedy and ITC.

Why buy an item you will only use once and take up room in your garage?

You can donate items that others may find useful, or you can borrow items that you would only use once. The most popular items that have been borrowed are the food dehydrator, paper shredder, gazebo, camping gear and of course, a water gurney.

You can join as a member for one month, quarterly, or year; you can donate items or help with a financial donation (the most significant expense is insurance). If you want to make a small monetary donation, you will hear us cheering – donate at our fundraising page here.

Find out more here.

There is now a Sydney Library of Things in Lane Cove this is open every Thursday at 47 Burns Bay Road (opp Harris Farm) from 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm.

The Repair Café

Before you get rid of an item, it could be repaired for free by the volunteers at The Repair Café.

The Repair Cafe is about breaking the cycle of buy, use, toss it out. Various items such as jewellery, ceramics, shoes, toys, clothes, zips, bags, umbrellas, small woodwork repairs, and household battery-operated and electrical items can be repaired.

More information here.

Facebook Groups

In the Cove is a Lower North Shore Free Stuff and Low Waste Living Facebook Group member. Last year, ITC was decluttering, and we posted heaps of items on this site to pass on to someone who needed an item (a trampoline, saxophone, handbags and much more). It was such a lovely feeling to give items to people who would reuse them.

There is also the North Shore Sydney Sell, Buy, Swap and Giveaway Group.

If you see any dumped rubbish, you can help the circular economy by sharing the location of the dumped rubbish. The Northern Beaches and North Shore Bounty Facebook Group informs members about rubbish piles with some items that can be reused or recycled.

You can always list items you are giving away for free on Lane Cove Chat by ITC – one post per day, please.

Lids For Kids

Lids4Kids aims to rescue plastic bottle lids from landfill.

They partner with new and existing plastic recycling workshops to make products that benefit kids. They only accept plastic lids with recycling numbers 2 and 4 found on:

• Milk bottles
• Soft drink bottles
• UHT milk cartons
• Water bottles

As Volunteers run lids for Kids, most of the collection points are home addresses – there is one in Ryde.  Visit their NSW Facebook Group here for further information.‍

THE BOWER Reuse & Repair Centre (Marrickville, New South Wales)

The Bower is an environmental not-for-profit committed to reducing landfill. Their range of services and programs is based on reuse and repair ethos – this principle guides everything they do.

The Bower has agreements with over 20 Sydney metropolitan councils to collect unwanted household goods and rehome them, including Lane Cove Council, Hunters Hill, and Willoughby.

When you donate your household goods to the Bower! They resell them back to the community at low cost or get them to people in need via their House to Home  program.

As Lane Cove, Hunters Hill, and Willoughby are participating Councils, you can request a free collection from Bower via the Web Booking Tool.

Bower accepts various pre-loved goods, including household items and building materials.

Please note that all donations are accepted at the discretion of the Bower staff, depending on the space and resources available.

Accept

• White goods* (microwaves, fridges and washing machines in good working condition)
• Electrical items* (kettles, toasters, televisions, vacuums complete and in working order)
• Furniture* (complete bed frames of all sizes, tallboys, chests of drawers, small lounges, bedside tables, mattresses in pristine condition, small dining tables with chairs, small wardrobes, rugs)
• Kitchenware
• Clothing
• Books & Music
• Doors & Windows
• Gardening Items
• Hardware & Tools
• Timber
• Plumbing
• Bric-a-Brac
• Sports & Leisure goods
• Bikes & Bike Parts
• Paint
• Boxed Tiles & Pavers

Do Not Accept

• Baby & Children’s Items
• Column Heaters & Plastic Fans
• Dishwashers
• Ensemble Bed Bases
• Entertainment Units (Large)
• Furniture made from chipboard / MDF
• Gas Appliances
• Large exercise equipment
• Mattresses & Sofa beds
• Office Furniture
• Pianos, Pianolas and Organs
• Printers, Scanners and WiFi Modems
• Soft furnishings
• Ovens

Remote Op Shops

The Remote Opshop Project supports the development of op-shops in Aboriginal communities throughout remote Australia. These community-driven social enterprises generate independent funding used to seed local start-ups, creative projects, and answer local needs.

Via this micro-enterprise, Remote Opshop Project facilitates capacity building workshops to develop entrepreneurial competencies, that strengthen and enhance families and community. The op-shop provides a safe and supportive learning environment to develop and grow ideas. The Remote OpShop Project aims to foster community-based enterprises and cooperatives operating with a circular economy model. Tackling resource constraints in remote Indigenous communities by reimaging waste into a valuable commodity that can be used locally or exported.

It’s an exchange-framework, diverting pre-loved goods from landfill to support the development of the op-shops. The platform is intentionally designed to send goods directly from donors to community groups.   The person donating the items pays for the postage or delivery costs. This significantly reduces overheads by removing the need for large-scale infrastructure, transportation, and administration, incurred by a traditional op-shop model.

This structure also encourages the responsible disposal of pre-loved goods by the original manufacturer or purchaser and minimises the dumping of un-usable and broken items.

This ensures precious funds are distributed to support the organisation’s impact-driven mission, vision, and goals.

For example, the Halls Creek Op Shop need the following:

• Clothing, Men and Women, kids, and babies
• Mainly cotton and natural fibres
• Shoes and socks – all sizes. Runners or enclosed shoes are best.
• Sheets, pillow slips, towels, tea towels, bedding, and linens.
• Kids Hats
• Babies’ clothes and other items such as bottles, bibs, nappies.

Dress for Success

What would you wear to a job interview? That is exactly the type of clothing Dress for Success is looking for to distribute to their clients. Your fabulous suits and other professional apparel could furnish another woman with the confidence to enter or return to the workplace, make a great first impression and land a job that could change her life.

You can find out more here.

Second Hand Footy Boots

Do you have old boots lying around? Why not donate them to a good cause? Kick It Forward will has a collection tub in ProHealth Physio & Fitness . They are located on Longueville Road underneath Patchit Thai.

Your donations will support communities that lack access to proper gear.

More info here – https://www.kickitforward.com.au/

Boots For Africa (B4A) is a not-for-profit organisation that collects pre‐loved football boots and delivers them to children and young adults across Africa. The charity began in 2011 in Australia and was founded by Sarah Gardner.

One of this charity’s main goals is to make the sport more accessible to young people in developing nations.

DONATE your old football boots and sports equipment (e.g., headgear, shin pads, witch’s hats, balls, etc.) to the people of Africa to help build communities and social understandings through the power of the game.
Details here or email [email protected]

The Sewing Basket

The Sewing Basket supplies a wide range of donated fabrics and patterns, patchwork, embroidery materials, knitting and crochet yarn, haberdashery, and more, while providing employment opportunities for people with disability.  You can donate to their shop in Balmain items the items below.  Click here for further details (note they are currently not accepting donations but will be accepting more later in 2022)

• Fabric: All types of dress and sewing fabrics and interfacing of usable lengths over 1 metre.
• Sewing: Dress patterns, thread cones, machine needles and feet, tools and accessories, machine thread, machine embroidery thread, scissors, new cushion inserts. Please no cut patterns with pins.
• Haberdashery: Buttons, buckles, bias binding, ric rac, grosgrain ribbon, lace, braid, cord, fringing, ribbons, blanket binding, tassels, elastic, cotton tape, boning, velcro, motifs, piping, hemming web, tracing paper, zippers, pins, safety pins, needles.
• Fibres: Hessian, macrame cord, rug wool, tapestry wool, fleece, leather, felt.
• Patchwork and quilting: Fabrics, patterns, wadding, kits, accessories and tools, completed quilts and quilt tops, finished and unfinished projects.
• Knitting and crochet: Wool and yarn, cotton, patterns, knitting accessories, crochet hooks, knitting needles.
• Canvas: Waste canvas, tapestry canvas, rug canvas.
• Embroidery: Threads of all types, silk ribbon, linen, aida cloth, wool fabric, perle cotton, embroidery wool, finished and unfinished projects, needles, hoops and frames, storage, accessories and tools, kits, charts and booklets.
• Linens: Embroidered linens of all types, stencilled linens, doilies, tablecloths, linen hankies.
• Special items: Vintage pieces, sewing machines and overlockers, sewing and craft kits.

Reverse Garbage

Reverse Garbage accepts donations of items that can be used for craft and art and their educational programmes.

They accept dropped off donations on a case by case basis. Please email or call 02 9569 3132  first to make sure they can take your donation and that space in the warehouse, room in the loading dock, and people on hand to accept your delivery.

Their loading dock is open from 9 am to 4 pm, Monday to Saturday. Note that Reverse Garbage cannot cover the cost of couriers or removalists.

They have a small number of vehicles available to pick up large donations. Please call 02 9569 3132 or email to discuss arrangements. Note they usually require two to three weeks’ notice to add a pick-up to their regular schedule.

All donated products and materials must be clean, safe and suitable for reuse.

They will accept Acrylic commercial offcuts, Artists paints – watercolours, acrylic, oils, etc., Books relating to craft, art, building, gardening, or particular interest. Encyclopedias on approval, Bottle tops (only CLEAN plastic milk/juice bottle tops), Containers (plastic, glass, cardboard and metal containers and drums, boxes, bottles, pots), Coreflute – commercial offcuts, Corks, Doors and windows, Fabric and textiles (rolls, swatches and samples) min 1m pieces, Film and theatre props and costumes (theatre props, costumes, set pieces, wigs, costume jewellery), Film and theatre set materials (flats, columns, treads, staging pieces, plinths, lighting gels, cradles), Film reels, Foam core commercial offcuts, Lighting foils and films, Haberdashery (zippers, buttons, thread, belts, clips, braid, ribbon, padding), Leather (belts, rolls, skins, offcuts), Merchandising (mannequins, body shells, core flute, props, display items, signage), Metal (punch-outs, brackets, wire, sheets), Moving boxes (delivered to us, in good reusable order),Netting and shade materials, Novelty and promotional items, Paper and cardboard (leftovers and offcuts), Pavers (approval required depending on capacity – delivered to us, no pickups), Plastics and foam (Perspex, acetate, polypropylene, vinyl, medium to high density polystyrene (not domestic packaging), polyethylene foam, latex foam, foam rubber, neoprene, EVA skins, closed cell foam as sheets, blocks, cut-outs, stencils, O-rings), Rope, cord and twine, Stationery (notepads, pens, pencils, envelopes.) No lever arch files or binders, Timber and plywood (de-nailed, including structural timber, flooring, spools and frames), Tools, Tubing (plastic, cardboard, rubber), Vinyl records…and anything that is suitable for crafting and making, including commercial over-runs and industrial offcuts.

Upparel

UPPAREL is the leader in textile upcycling and is at the forefront of the circular fashion economy, revolutionising the reuse, repurpose, and recycling of textiles.

They accept:
Clothing items (jeans, shirts, coats, etc)
Hats
Wireless Bras
Swimwear
Socks and stockings
Shoes
Linen (bedding, towels, tea towels, etc)
Fabric mattress protectors (not waterproof/plastic)
Fabric off-cuts and sewing scraps
Fabric couch covers and curtains
Bathers & Swimwear
Wetsuits

They do not accept:
Unwashed items
Underwear
Carpet
Duvets/Doonas
Pillows/Cushions
Bags (handbags, duffel bags, etc)
Soft Toys
Wired Bras

This is a for-profit business and there is a fee – Upparel note on their website:

“The cost of a pick up is $25 and is fully redeemable in the form of a $25 store credit, it also helps to contribute towards a number of the costs involved in operating a textile recycling initiative. The average cost to collect 10kg across Australia is $22.03 (though you can imagine how this increases for rural collections). There are also the costs associated in storing items, separating them, sorting them based on their second life use and preparing new or fit-for-wear items to be distributed to our epic Australian partners; Save The Children, Sacred Heart Mission, Ready Set Australia, St Kilda Mums and Good360 Australia!

Not to mention then sending the remaining items onto our textile recycling partner to be repurposed or recycled. It costs $2 per kg to recycle the textiles sent to us, so for a 10kg box that amounts to $20! These costs add up quickly, which may be the reason so few retailers are engaging in textile recycling initiatives. The $25 collection fee is really important in contributing towards these costs and supporting our mission as a small Australian start-up to keep textiles out of landfill and create a circular life-cycle for the products we manufacture.”