Why Melbourne matters
Southern hemisphere collection catchment and BESS demand. Active names in and around the city include Yarra Trams, AGL.
Metro zones are where vehicles live and retire: ride-hailing and delivery fleets, e-bus depots, multi-brand workshops and dealer service centres. Volumes are steady but spread across many small sites, with a wide mix of chemistries and conditions.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Serving site | Melbourne — Victoria Collection Yard (Reverse Logistics Yard) |
| Pickup SLA | 24 hours |
| Coverage radius | 87 km |
| Collection cadence | Scheduled milk runs, weekly in dense areas |
| Regulatory framework | Product Stewardship Act 2011 and state waste legislation |
How collection works here
Collection runs as a scheduled milk run across depots, dealers and workshops, so single packs never sit for weeks in unventilated storage. Fleet operators can plan retirements against telematics data and book depot collections in batches.
Loads move in Class 9 compliant transport with pre-filled dangerous goods paperwork to Melbourne, Victoria, where they are weighed, logged and graded.
- Ride-hailing and delivery fleets
- Electric bus depots
- Dealer and multi-brand workshops
- Battery swap operators
What the rules require in Australia
Australia has no mandatory national EV battery take-back scheme yet. Small batteries are covered by the voluntary B-cycle stewardship scheme, while an industry-led stewardship approach for EV and large-format batteries is still being developed. In practice, end-of-life packs are handled under state EPA waste licensing, and the export of battery waste or black mass needs a federal permit.
Road movements follow the Australian Dangerous Goods Code, with lithium-ion batteries shipped as Class 9 under UN 3480 or UN 3481.
- Use a facility licensed by the relevant state EPA for storage and processing
- Hold a federal permit under the Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989 before exporting battery waste
- Keep dangerous goods documentation under the Australian Dangerous Goods Code for road transport
- Track state landfill bans on e-waste, which in several states capture batteries
Field note
What you get paid and what you file
Settlement is quoted per pack after measured state of health, not by guesswork on age. Modules holding 75% or more of rated capacity settle at second-life rates; the remainder settle against black mass metal content.
Certificates carry achieved recovery percentages and downstream vendor disclosure for reporting under Product Stewardship Act 2011 and state waste legislation.