No, pressurised gas bottles (also called gas cylinders or tanks) should never be put in your garbage or recycling bin at home. If they are compacted in the recycling or garbage truck, they can explode and cause a fire. They must be disposed of safely and responsibly through a refill or recycling service.
Gas bottles can be refilled many times in their life. There are a number of refill, recycling and safe disposal services available in Australia, including:
Household type gas bottles - (e.g. LPG, fire extinguishers, CFC, small-size industrial bottles) may be accepted in household chemical collections in your area. These may be permanent drop-off locations or events run by your council. Check directly with your council or you use the directory on this page to find a recycling service.
Kwik Gas Cylinder Exchange Service - This is a national cylinder swap service, where you swap your empty cylinder/bottle for a new or refurbished filled one. Retail locations are across Australia in selected service stations such as Quix, Caltex, Mobil, Shell and BP outlets, Bunnings Warehouse and others including caravan parks and convenience stores.
Swap'n'Go - Swap any Large, Medium or Camper BBQ Gas Bottle at your local centre. Located at participating Caltex, Mobil, BP, Shell, Kennards Hire, Mitre10 and BOC outlets.
BOC / CIG, Matheson, Linde, GasTech, Air Liquide, LAA or Liquid Air cylinders - should be returned to the manufacturer so that no further rental will be charged to the customer.
Diving tanks should be returned to the manufacturer, most likely via dive centres or re-fillers. Information about the manufacturer should be marked on the bottle. Gas bottles without any identifiable markings should be returned to the original source/agent. Re-fillers may be able to provide further information.
As gas bottles are hazardous waste items, they must be disposed of responsibly. They cannot be disposed of through household recycling or garbage bins, or by dropping them off at the tip.
By recycling your gas bottle through one of the services provided on this page, you will ensure the metal used to make the bottle is used again which reduces our need for mining new resources. You will also ensure the bottle is safely degassed and dealt with responsibly by professionals.
Gas bottles/cylinders and their fittings come in a range of sizes and are generally manufactured using plate steel. All bottles will be degassed and then, depending on the condition of the bottle, it will either be refilled for reuse or it will be recycled as scrap metal.
Gas bottles must never be placed in your household recycling bin. Gas bottles are a fire hazard and should always be disposed of safely.
Check with your local council to see if you can take your unwanted gas bottle to one of their waste transfer stations/recycling facilities. You should also be able to take it to a local household hazardous waste drop off event – your council will have more information on this.
You can also check with the manufacturer to see if they run a ‘take back’ program for their gas bottles. Old gas bottles can be recycled as scrap metal, saving energy and raw materials.
Gas bottles must never be placed in your household recycling or garbage bin. Gas bottles are a fire hazard and should always be disposed of safely.
Check with your local council to see if you can take your unwanted gas bottle to one of their waste transfer stations/recycling facilities. You should also be able to take it to a local household hazardous waste drop off event – your council will have more information on this.
You can also check with the manufacturer to see if they run a ‘take back’ program for their gas bottles.
Yes – gas bottles can explode if compacted and pose a fire hazard. Therefore, you must never dispose of unwanted gas bottles in your home recycling or garbage bin.
Check with your local council to see if you can take your unwanted gas bottle to one of their waste transfer stations/recycling facilities. You should also be able to take it to a local household hazardous waste drop off event – your council will have more information on this.
You can also check with the manufacturer to see if they run a ‘take back’ program for their gas bottles.
Yes, gas bottles do expire – the expiration date is 10 years after the start date (which can be found on the collar of the gas bottle). It is very dangerous to refill an expired gas bottle.
If you need to dispose of an expired gas bottle, you can take it a recycling collection point where it will be safely de-gassed before being recycled by a scrap metal recycler.
Check with your local council to see if you can take your expired gas bottle to one of their waste transfer stations/recycling facilities. You should also be able to take it to a local household hazardous waste drop-off event – your council will have more information on this.
You can also check with the manufacturer to see if they run a ‘take back’ program for their gas bottles.
LPG bottles must never be placed in your household recycling or garbage bin. Gas bottles are a fire hazard and should always be disposed of safely.
Check with your local council to see if you can take your unwanted LPG gas bottle to one of their waste transfer stations/recycling facilities. You should also be able to take it to a local household hazardous waste drop-off event – your council will have more information on this.
You can also check with the manufacturer to see if they run a ‘take back’ program for their gas bottles.
Old gas bottles must never be placed in your household recycling or garbage bin. Gas bottles are a fire hazard and should always be disposed of safely.
Check with your local council to see if you can take your old gas bottle to one of their waste transfer stations/recycling facilities. You should also be able to take it to a local household hazardous waste drop-off event – your council will have more information on this.
You can also check with the manufacturer to see if they run a ‘take back’ program for their gas bottles.
