Free Dumping Days help Cook Shire residents clear selected waste from around their homes and prepare their properties for the wet season.

During each campaign, residents can take eligible, pre-sorted waste to participating Council waste facilities free of charge during regular opening hours.

Upcoming Free Dumping Days are announced on Council’s website and Facebook page.

Participating waste facilities

Free Dumping Days are generally available at:

• Ayton Waste Transfer Station
• Cooktown Waste Transfer Station
• Lakeland Waste Transfer Station
• Laura Waste Transfer Station.

Check the opening hours for your local facility before travelling.

What can be dumped for free?

During Free Dumping Days, residents can dispose of:

• green waste
• mixed construction waste, including treated timber, old posts, pallets, plasterboard and plywood
• plastic and cardboard packaging
• outdoor furniture, excluding beds and mattresses
• broken wheelie bins
• up to 200 litres of asbestos, correctly double-wrapped in 0.2 mm plastic, securely taped and clearly labelled.

Items accepted free throughout the year

You do not need to wait for Free Dumping Days to dispose of the following items free of charge during regular facility opening hours:

• scrap metal, excluding whitegoods containing refrigerant gas and pressurised vessels such as fire extinguishers, gas bottles and oxygen bottles
• car batteries
• e-waste, including televisions, computers and accessories
• household and power tool batteries
• products containing embedded batteries
• cooking oil
• up to 20 litres of regulated waste, including waste oil, paint and coolant
• up to five litres of chemicals and pesticides.

What is not included?

Items not eligible for free disposal include:

• tyres and old vehicles
• mixed general or household waste
• commercial waste
• beds and mattresses
• fridges, freezers and air conditioners
• concrete, soil and bricks.