Knox Transfer Station at 251 George Street, Wantirna South charges $74 for a sedan boot of general waste, $154 for a level 6×4 trailer, $230.50 heaped, and $406.50 per tonne for trucks and tipping trailers from 1 July 2026. The minimum charge is $38.50 for general waste and $27.50 for green waste. Televisions, batteries and cardboard are free. It is open seven days and is the main gate for Wantirna, Bayswater, Boronia, Ferntree Gully, Rowville and Scoresby.
At a glance
| Address | 251 George Street, Wantirna South VIC |
| Hours | Monday–Saturday 7:30am–4:30pm; Sunday and public holidays 9:00am–4:30pm; all vehicles out by 4:45pm |
| Fees effective | 1 July 2026 |
| Pricing basis | By vehicle/load size; tandem trailers and trucks by weight |
Knox gate prices from 1 July 2026
| Load | General waste / timber | Green waste |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum charge (up to 0.25 × 0.25 m) | $38.50 | $27.50 |
| Sedan car boot | $74.00 | $35.00 |
| Small trailer, van or ute, level (up to 6×4) | $154.00 | $68.50 |
| Small trailer, van or ute, heaped (up to 6×4) | $230.50 | $99.00 |
| Large trailer or van, level (above 6×4) | $214.00 | $77.00 |
| Large trailer or van, heaped (above 6×4) | $318.50 | $126.50 |
| Tandem trailer, level | By weight | $82.50 |
| Tandem trailer, heaped | By weight | $143.00 |
| Truck or tipping trailer, per tonne | $406.50 | $181.50 |
Item charges and free drop-offs
Fridges $24, tyres $19–60 depending on size and rim, mattresses $38.50, paint $8 per litre, motor oil $3 per litre. Televisions, batteries and cardboard are accepted free.
At $406.50 per tonne, Knox's weighbridge rate is $229 above the 2026-27 levy of $177.19; that gap is the facility's handling, haulage and margin, and it is typical of the eastern suburbs (Whitehorse is $407 per tonne, Future Recycling $452).
How a Melbourne tip fee is built
Every general-waste gate fee in metropolitan Melbourne has three layers. The Victorian landfill levy is $177.19 per tonne from 1 July 2026 (EPA Victoria), up from $169.79 the year before. GST is added on top of the whole fee. The rest is the operator's cost of handling, transport to landfill and margin, which is why two councils 15 minutes apart can charge $220 and $250 for the same cubic metre. Recyclable streams (cardboard, scrap metal, e-waste, batteries) carry no levy, which is why they are free or cheap at almost every gate.
When a business should stop tipping and get a bin
Tip runs make sense for one-off clean-outs. They stop making sense once someone is driving to the gate every week. In Melbourne's east a 1100L general-waste bin collected weekly costs $125–225 a month on Bundle Waste's 2026 benchmarks: that is about 4.4 m³ of waste a month, collected from your door, with the levy already inside the price. Against gate fees of $200–250 per cubic metre plus fuel and an hour of someone's time each trip, the bin wins well before the first month is out. A free waste audit prices the exact bin size and frequency for your volumes.
Ways to pay less at the gate
- Sort before you go. Cardboard, scrap metal, e-waste and batteries are free at most metro facilities. Hidden recyclables inside a mixed load are charged at the general rate.
- Know the minimum charge. Small loads are billed at the minimum regardless of weight; combining two half-loads into one trip usually saves the second minimum.
- Weight beats volume for dense waste. Where a facility offers per-tonne pricing on a weighbridge, soil, concrete and timber are usually cheaper by weight than by trailer size.
- Use resident vouchers. Several councils issue two or three free-disposal vouchers a year with the rates notice. They do not apply to commercial loads, but they do apply to the owner's own household waste.
- Green waste separately. Green waste is typically 40–60% cheaper than general waste at the same gate.
Sources
- Knox Transfer Station, Gate prices as of 1 July 2026
- EPA Victoria, Waste levy rates 2026-27
Frequently asked questions
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