I had a copper pipe plumbing project to work through & decided to buy at Bunnings their Trade Flame MAPP bottle gear. These are truly handy and very useful for heating up things, brazing and soldering. Good kit. HOWEVER, I have encountered a major problem : no way to dispose of the MAPP "Disposable" Bottle once empty! * All my nearby Bunnings, who sell the disposable Trade Flame MAPP bottles, have repeatedly offered no solution for their product's disposal. Note these bottles stop producing useful flame pressure once close to empty, so by empty I mean "nearly empty". Good gear, just a fact to note gas is still in them. * All the Victorian waste processing centres refuse to take them, or over the phone said they "may" take them but will charge $29 for each bottle (A bottle that cost me under $16 to buy at Bunnings)! * Sustainability Victoria investigated this for me and concluded its actually the responsibility of Bunnings to provide a disposable solution as its their product line to customers. As such I was advised to write directly to Bunnings Head Office (some where) to seek a solution. Before I do that, I hope this forum can guide a safe no cost solution for me. Hoping a Bunnings Representative can also reply. Sincerely Kurt Seemann (Nintiblue) Tradeflame MAPP Bottle from Bunnings Victoria

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How to dispose of the Bunnings Trade Flame MAPP bottle?

I had a copper pipe plumbing project to work through & decided to buy at Bunnings their Trade Flame MAPP bottle gear. These are truly handy and very useful for heating up things, brazing and soldering. Good kit. HOWEVER, I have encountered a major problem : no way to dispose of the MAPP "Disposable" Bottle once empty!

All my nearby Bunnings, who sell the disposable Trade Flame MAPP bottles, have repeatedly offered no solution for their product's disposal. Note these bottles stop producing useful flame pressure once close to empty, so by empty I mean "nearly empty". Good gear, just a fact to note gas is still in them.
All the Victorian waste processing centres refuse to take them, or over the phone said they "may" take them but will charge $29 for each bottle (A bottle that cost me under $16 to buy at Bunnings)!
Sustainability Victoria investigated this for me and concluded its actually the responsibility of Bunnings to provide a disposable solution as its their product line to customers. As such I was advised to write directly to Bunnings Head Office (some where) to seek a solution. Before I do that, I hope this forum can guide a safe no cost solution for me.

Hoping a Bunnings Representative can also reply.

Sincerely

Kurt Seemann (Nintiblue)

Tradeflame MAPP Bottle from Bunnings Victoria

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Accepted answers

Noyade

I made eight phone enquiries yesterday.

Three today and I walked into three establishments.

Long stories.

But an hour ago I took a MAPP gas bottle and same size butane bottle into a private (not council) scrap metal merchant and they took them with "thanks".

No fee.

All comments

EricL

Hello @Nintiblue

Please allow us to make a few inquiries in regards to the disposal of the Tradeflame MAPP Bottle. As soon as we have more information, we'll get back to you.

Thank you for your patience.

Eric

Nintiblue

Dear Eric,

Thank you. That would be awesome. I know from searching the net on this topic there are many who are eager to know the answer. It's a real problem, and if Bunnings can develop a way to safely and freely dispose of the bottles as they do for say Batteries and Swap for BBQ Bottles, that would be huge.

Nintiblue.

Noyade

"and concluded its actually the responsibility of Bunnings to provide a disposable solution as its their product line to customers."

To quote The Castle - ''they're dreamin!" 😁

Based on that response every outlet that sells MAPP gas should have a "disposable solution."

A quick Google of Reece, Total Tools, Repco, Auto One, Gasweld, Super Cheap Auto, Plumbing Trade Centres and your average hardware store - reveals around 8,000 locations.

Then consider flame propane, butane and purified butane.

MitchellMc

Hi Kurt (@Nintiblue),

I've passed your feedback along to Tradeflame and our sustainability manager for further investigation.

At this stage, disposal options include Victorian waste processing facilities and recyclers listed on the Planet Ark website. You can enter your location and select 'gas cylinders' to find the nearest recycling options.

As with most hazardous materials, there may be a fee associated with safe disposal.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Nintiblue

Dear Mitchell

thank you for passing this on to Tradeflame.

I and others I note have already contacted those sources you mention but they almost all do not accept the MAPP bottles and the few at some distance away charge twice the cost of the MAPP purchase as noted on my original blog post. The issue is the websites only refer to regular LPG gas bottle disposals not MAPP butane bottles.

I have a foreboding sense this issue is already entering another infinite loop of responses.

I hope Bunnings HQ with TRADEFLAME can reply with a cost free, safe or cheap solution.

looking forward to to the update.

Kurt (@nintiblue)

Noyade

I made eight phone enquiries yesterday.

Three today and I walked into three establishments.

Long stories.

But an hour ago I took a MAPP gas bottle and same size butane bottle into a private (not council) scrap metal merchant and they took them with "thanks".

No fee.

Nailbag

Hi @Nintiblue

As with @Noyade discovery, my local metal scrap recycler accepts these smaller sized bottles, but you have to show its already depressurised.

I also found this site which has links to more specific recyclers around the country which maybe of use.

Nailbag

Nintiblue

Just to reply, the ideas is not that Bunnings HQ has to find a solution, Bunnings need not be the company that takes the bottles but the product provider of has to offer a solution for all customers and let Bunnings know.

Nintiblue

Now to find a "private" scrap metal merchant near me in the Dandenong Ranges that would do the same...

Still. Its should not be this arduous.

Nintiblue

Thanks @Nailbag

Sadly the Vic Sustainability folk had no solution other than pay $29 per MAPP bottle, and contact Bunnings HQ.😣

Nailbag

Hmm thats pretty disappointing @Nintiblue

Nintiblue

PS. Still a NO. The nearest Scrap metal yards to me said NO:

https://www.norstar.com.au/prohibited-materials/

Noyade

G'day @Nintiblue

"Its should not be this arduous."

I totally agree with you. Some of the phone calls and visits were totally bizarre. One place I visited - three staff came over to look.

"What is it?"

"What does it do?"

"Where's it from?"

I have one more plan/experiment. I'm going to buy another bottle of MAPP gas and take it to my council recycling depot (33km round trip).

On the phone to council a very young "Ruby" put me on hold and came back with...

"We take any gas cylinder up to 9.5 kg."

I asked, "including semi-empty MAPP gas canisters?"

"We take any gas cylinder up to 9.5 kg."

"Would there be a fee?"

"We take any gas cylinder up to 9.5 kg."

😣

I'll let you know how I go.

This is the list from the private metal scrap recycling I dealt with.

Noyade

Here's how the mission fared @Nintiblue.

I packed a lunch and headed off with the bottle.

At the weighbridge - I felt uneasy - but the staff member couldn't have been more courteous.

"Can I drop off a full bottle of MAPP gas with no charge?"

"How many have you got?"

"Just the one I'm showing you."

She laughed and said of course and gave me directions.

I drove on 500 metres, waited five minutes beside the road and put the bottle under the passenger seat.

I did a U-turn and headed back.

At this point I planned to 'produce' the bottle should she have changed her mind and wanted to charge me.

Just paranoia.

We exchanged courtesies on the other side of the booth - the boom-gate was raised and I was free.

That's now two places for free disposal of a MAPP gas cylinder in a regional NSW town.

Nintiblue

So there is hope for me yet.

I am getting the feeling it’s a Victorian thing!

CosgroveAU

Anyone find a solution to this in VIC?

I have 2 i need to get rid of, even happy to pay, just cant find anything other than detox your home events that are hard to get into or almost now non-existent (sustainability vic who runs them seems to be being shut down end of 2026)

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @CosgroveAU. It's wonderful to have you join us and many thanks for your question on gas bottles.

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you.

I have contacted Tradeflame again to confirm whether any updated disposal processes are now in place. At this stage, my understanding is that the bottles need to be taken to a hazardous waste management facility for disposal. Alternatively, if the bottles have been properly decommissioned and clearly marked as empty, they are generally accepted as scrap metal.

I will provide an update as soon as I receive further information from Tradeflame.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions in the meantime.

Mitchell

CosgroveAU

thanks Mitchell, sadly you may get a similar reply as I have from Adventure Operations Customer Service Team. In my view its a bit poor to cite thy have no legal responsibility, happy to sell the item, not help recycle the item.

"we unfortunately do not have a legal responsibility to arrange or cover disposal once they have been used. Disposal requirements can vary depending on your local council and state regulations."

Maybe Bunnings can look into this more and possible recycling schemes, as vic local council and state programs are almost not existent for this item, they have no idea, options are hours drive away, or are soon to be non-existent. Many understand the issue, just have no power to change process.

Update: I have found a local place about 40 mins drive from my home that have said they can take for a fee.

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