Waste facilities, charges and accepted items

To help reduce the spread of COVID-19 residents are urged to delay non-essential visits to waste facilities in Castlemaine and Maldon.

Please do not visit if you are unwell, have been overseas or have been in contact with someone who has or is suspected to have COVID -19.

Both waste facilities are still open. Payments for waste charges at the Castlemaine facility have moved to EFTPOS only. Cash payments are still accepted at the Maldon facility.

Due to social distancing measures heavy items (those which you cannot lift into the bins yourself) and mattresses are not accepted at this time. Paddy’s Market has now reopened, however, to ensure we continue to manage the shop in accordance with the current social distancing requirements the number of customers allowed into the store at any one time will be restricted. Please follow all advice provided to you by the site management team.

Council operates two waste management facilities, also known as landfill and transfer stations.

Castlemaine Waste Facility
Sluicers Road, Castlemaine
03 5470 5348
Monday to Sunday 8:00 am to 4.00 pm
(Except Total Fire Ban days, Christmas Day, New Years Day and Good Friday)

Payment methods:
EFTPOS and Credit Cards accepted
Note: cash and cheques are not accepted.

Maldon Transfer Station
Morris Street, Maldon
03 5471 1700
Wednesday and Friday 9.30am to 1.00pm; Saturday and Sunday 9.00am to 1.00pm
(Except Total Fire Ban Days, Christmas Day, New Years Day and Good Friday)

Payment method: Cash only. Cheques are not accepted.

Please note the Castlemaine and Maldon waste facilities are in the North Central Fire District. The waste facilities will be closed on Total Fire Ban days or at short notice to protect public safety as required if conditions deteriorate. More information can be found on the Fire Prevention - Fire Ready page.

To find about what goes in each bin, what you can recycle, and how to dispose of different types of waste read our Recycling and Waste Guide page. To help you save time and money at the Waste Facility please also refer to the 'Sort your load before you go' section below.

Did you know you can recycle a wide range of materials at the Castlemaine Waste Facility and by taking a little extra time to sort your load before you leave home, you can save yourself plenty of time by easily disposing of the different materials at each of the designated collection points.

The Castlemaine Waste Facility has a large co-mingled recycling collection point which collects paper products, rigid plastics (excluding polystyrene), glass bottles and jars, steel cans and household aluminium.

You can also recycle timber, scrap metal, green waste, building rubble, waste oil and filters, car batteries, electronics, mattresses and the list goes on.

Specialised items including chemicals, batteries and light globes can be recycled at various places within the shire. For a list of these recyclables, see our Recycling and Waste Guide page which provides information on what bin different waste items need to go in.

For a detailed list of the separation categories, see the Loddon Mallee Waste and Resource Recovery Group website.

Tips and tricks

• Check - check ahead to find out what can be recycled.
• Sort and separate - sort your load so it is easy for the operator to see what will be recycled and make it easier to unload.
• Secure – secure your load with appropriate straps and covers to reduce roadside litter and ensure safety of all road users.

Waste disposal costs are affected by a number of factors, distance from recycling hubs, general populations, size of the landfill and infrastructure. Council relies on a range of methods to come up with the item costs for depositing waste materials. We work closely with the operator, bench mark against other Councils (with landfills), use quotes from the industry and calculate actual costs for each service (including landfill levies imposed by the Environmental Protection Authority). The service charges are reviewed and checked each year.

Please note that the Maldon Transfer Station and the Castlemaine Waste Management Facility do not accept commercial quantities of waste.

If you are unsure and require more information, please contact Council on 5471 1700.

You can take domestic quantities of asbestos to the Castlemaine Landfill for disposal. Domestic quantities are defined as 'no more than half a cubic metre'.

When disposing of asbestos you must follow the following procedures:

1. Call the Landfill on 5470 5348 to arrange a suitable time to deliver the material.
2. Double wrap all asbestos in industrial plastic (for example the thick black plastic available by the metre from hardware stores).
3. Make sure each parcel is small enough to be carried by one person.
4. Make sure each parcel is completely sealed with tape.

For further information, please visit the Victorian Asbestos website.

Landfill owners must submit quarterly and annual statements to the Environment Protection Authority (Landfill Levy Statement), declaring the amount of waste received at the waste facilities. These statements determine the levy amount payable. The landfill levy is collected by the EPA to provide additional and ongoing funding to support efforts by government, industry and the community to reduce waste. Landfill levies create an incentive for waste generators to investigate ways to reduce the amount of waste they generate and dispose of to landfill. The current and future levy rates are set by the EPA and can be found on the EPA website.

For further information or to speak with a member of our Infrastructure Team contact us.