You’ve got a dead washing machine in the laundry, a broken bookshelf in the garage, and a mattress you’ve been meaning to deal with since Christmas. The Stonnington hard rubbish collection sounds like the answer, and often it is. The catch is that the council won’t take everything, and finding that out on collection morning is a bad time to learn it.
Here’s a plain run-down of what Stonnington’s hard rubbish service actually collects, what it leaves on the nature strip, the size and weight limits, and what to do with the bits that fall outside the rules.
Rob started It’s Done back in 2008 after years working at Stonnington City Council, so we know this collection from both sides of the truck.
How Stonnington hard rubbish works
Stonnington gives every eligible household two free area-wide hard waste collections a year. The council works through the municipality suburb by suburb, and you get a brochure in the mail with the date for your street. The next area-wide round is set for spring 2026.
If you can’t wait for your scheduled date, you can also pay for a booked collection on a day that suits you. Either way, the service is for residential addresses only. Industrial and commercial premises, and businesses run from home, aren’t covered.
To find your date or book a paid pickup, search your address on the Stonnington City Council website. Councils tweak the rules and dates every year, so check the current page rather than last year’s brochure.
Who’s covered
The City of Stonnington takes in Prahran, Windsor, South Yarra, Toorak, Armadale, Malvern, Malvern East and Kooyong, among others. If you’re in one of those, the collection is yours to use.
What Stonnington hard rubbish takes
The service is built for genuine household hard waste, the bulky things that don’t fit in your bins. As a rule, it’ll collect:
- Furniture: lounges, bookshelves, tables, chairs, bed frames
- Mattresses (these must be booked with your collection, or they get left behind)
- White goods: washing machines, dryers, dishwashers
- Fridges and air conditioners (also pre-booked, because the gas has to be removed safely)
- Scrap metal, wire and piping
- Small amounts of clean timber
If you’re not sure whether one big item makes the cut, the council’s online list is the place to confirm before you drag it out to the kerb.
What Stonnington hard rubbish won’t touch
This is where most people come unstuck. The collection will leave behind:
- E-waste: anything with a plug, battery or power cord. That means TVs, computers, printers, power tools, kettles and electronic kids’ toys. E-waste was banned from Victorian landfill in 2019, so it has to go to an e-waste drop-off instead.
- General household rubbish and bagged waste: that’s what your weekly bins are for.
- Building and renovation material: bricks, concrete, plasterboard, tiles, soil and rubble.
- Hazardous material: paint, chemicals, asbestos, gas bottles and anything flammable.
- Car parts and tyres.
- Green waste: branches, prunings and lawn clippings belong in your green bin or a garden service.
Leave the wrong things out and they’ll simply stay on the nature strip after the truck has been, which becomes your problem to clear, and in some cases a fine.
The limits: size, weight and volume
Even for accepted items, Stonnington sets firm limits:
- Each item must weigh under 20 kg, so one person can lift it
- Each item must be shorter than 1.5 m, mattresses excepted
- The whole pile must fit within 5 cubic metres (roughly 1 m high, 1 m wide, 5 m long)
A single heavy item, like a full wardrobe or a slate-bed pool table, can fail the weight rule on its own. And if your clear-out is bigger than a small trailer load, you’ll go over the volume cap.
How to put it out
A bit of prep keeps the crew moving and stops items being skipped:
- Stack everything neatly on the nature strip, clear of the footpath, driveways and the road
- Keep it away from trees, powerlines and parked cars
- Put it out the night before your collection date, not weeks early
- Book fridges, air conditioners and mattresses ahead of time
- Don’t bag general rubbish in with it
When a paid pickup makes more sense
The free collection is great when your timing lines up and everything fits the rules. It falls short when:
- You can’t wait months for the next area-wide round
- You’re clearing a whole garage, a deceased estate or an end-of-lease, and you’re over the 5 cubic metre cap
- You’ve got e-waste, renovation rubble or other excluded items mixed in
- The heavy lifting isn’t something you want to do yourself
That’s the gap we fill. It’s Done is a two-person crew, so we lift the heavy items without your help, we sort recycling and e-waste properly, and we take the things the council leaves behind. You pick the day, with no waiting for a scheduled run. It’s the easy way to handle household rubbish removal across the inner south and east.
If you’d rather not work out what’s in and what’s out, give the team a call on (03) 9820 1927 for a free, no-obligation quote. We’ll clear it on a day that suits you, and we leave no mess behind. You can also book a household rubbish removal pickup online and we’ll come and quote it.
Frequently asked questions
Two free area-wide collections a year, scheduled suburb by suburb. You can also pay for a booked collection on a date that suits you.
No. Anything with a plug, battery or power cord, including TVs, computers and power tools, has to go to an e-waste drop-off. It has been banned from Victorian landfill since 2019.
Yes. Fridges, air conditioners and mattresses must be booked with your collection, or they’ll be left on the nature strip.
Each item must weigh under 20 kg and be shorter than 1.5 m (mattresses excepted), and the whole pile must stay under 5 cubic metres.
That’s when a paid service helps. It’s Done clears excluded items and larger loads right across Stonnington, on a day you choose. Call (03) 9820 1927 for a free quote.
