By Ali · Updated July 2026
A rusty BBQ gas bottle in the shed is one of those things nobody knows what to do with, so it sits there for years. It cannot go in any kerbside bin, and it should not go out with the hard rubbish either. The good news is that getting rid of one is easy and usually cheap, because the same swap system that refills them also takes the old ones back.
LPG cylinders are built to hold gas under pressure, and even a bottle you believe is empty keeps a residual amount that is enough to ignite. Crushed in a collection truck or compacted at a sorting facility, a cylinder can rupture or explode, and gas bottles sit alongside batteries and aerosols as a known cause of serious waste truck and facility fires.
The rule is simple and has no exceptions: no gas bottle, camping canister or aerosol style cylinder goes in the red, yellow or green bin. Most councils also specifically exclude gas bottles from hard rubbish collections for the same safety reason, so leaving one on the kerb is not the answer either.
The common LPG bottles, the 3.7kg to 9kg ones used for barbecues and patio heaters, are covered by national swap programs run by the major gas suppliers. You take your empty or old bottle to a swap point, pay for a full one, and walk away with a refilled, in date cylinder. The old bottle becomes their responsibility, which is exactly what you want.
Swap cages sit outside service stations, hardware stores, Bunnings, supermarkets and many convenience stores. A few things make the process painless:
When you do not need a replacement, your council transfer station or resource recovery centre is the reliable drop off. Most accept gas bottles, sometimes free and sometimes for a small fee, and they handle the safe storage and bulk collection that keeps cylinders out of the general waste stream. The address lookup on this site will tell you which council you are in if you are not sure which facility to search for.
Gas and camping retailers are the other route, and a couple of safety rules apply no matter where the bottle ends up:
The small butane and propane canisters used for camping stoves are a different problem to the refillable BBQ bottle. They are single use, cannot be swapped, and often still hold gas even when the stove has stopped working. They do not go in any bin. Most transfer stations accept them, and some councils run chemical or hazardous waste drop off days that take them.
Aerosol cans follow the same logic on a smaller scale. A fully empty aerosol is accepted in most yellow recycling bins, but any can with product or pressure left in it goes to a hazardous waste drop off instead. If in doubt, treat a part full pressurised can as hazardous rather than recycling.
Every LPG bottle has a test date stamped on the collar, and cylinders must be retested ten years from that date before they can legally be refilled. A bottle past its date is not dangerous to own, but a swap retailer will retire it rather than refill it, which is a good reason to swap it rather than hoard it. If you are buying a bottle second hand, check the stamp.
While a bottle is waiting to be dealt with, store it upright, outdoors or in a well ventilated space, away from heat and ignition sources, with the valve closed. A cool, shaded spot outside is far safer than a hot shed or the boot of a car.
No. Even a bottle you believe is empty holds residual LPG and stays pressurised, which is enough to cause a fire or explosion if it is crushed in a truck. Swap it or take it to a transfer station instead.
Swapping is not free because you are buying a full bottle, but handing over the old one through a swap program usually adds nothing. Transfer stations are often free or charge only a small fee. Either way the cost is minor.
It cannot be legally refilled until it is retested, but it still has swap value. Take it to a swap cage and exchange it for an in date, full bottle. The retailer handles the retesting or retirement.
Those are single use and cannot be swapped, but they must not go in a bin either. Take them to a council transfer station or a hazardous waste drop off, and never puncture or burn them to empty them.