We are often asked if customers can bring in an old container to refill. The answer is always no — and it is a safety decision, not a money one.

Cross-contamination is invisible and dangerous

You cannot see what was in a bottle before. Trace residues of an incompatible chemical can react with the new contents, generating heat, pressure or toxic gas. Some combinations — like bleach and acid, or oxidisers and solvents — are genuinely dangerous.

Labels and SDS must match the contents

Australian dangerous-goods rules require that the label and Safety Data Sheet match exactly what is inside. A reused bottle with the wrong label is a hazard to you, your family, and any emergency responder who reads it in an accident.

Container integrity

Solvents slowly degrade plastic. An old bottle may be brittle, stress-cracked or have a perished seal that fails when you least expect it. New UN-rated containers are rated for the product they carry.

The safe alternative: buy the size you need, or grab inexpensive new UN-rated empty containers and a drum tap from our accessories range, and always label exactly what you decant.