Bulky Waste Collections in your Area: A Guide

Big and bulky waste items such as sofas, wardrobes and mattresses can often be difficult to get rid of. Collections from charities, local councils and rubbish removals experts are all available across the country but offer varying collection services. To find out which one is most suitable for you, let’s look at the best ways to remove bulky waste.

Local Council’s Bulky Waste Collections

Most councils across the UK offer a bulky waste collection, although they differ when it comes to the conditions of the services they provide. Some councils charge a fee for an entire collection, whilst others charge to remove a single item. In some instances, a three-piece suite which separates may count as three items. With this in mind, it’s important to check on your local council’s website so you avoid any unwanted complications (or charges).

Unless you’re elderly or registered as disabled, many councils are only able to collect bulky items from the pavement line at the edge of your property. In cases like this, you’ll need to arrange the items to be safely moved yourself beforehand, with particular care being given to manual handling techniques in order to avoid strain or injury.

Each council also differs with regards to the days they make collections. Some operate collections on a rota-style-basis, so you may need to coincide removing your furniture from your property with weekly or fortnightly collections. Some guarantee collection within an 8-day period, whilst others may be able to make emergency collections if the situation warrants it.

It’s worth noting that due to demand, not all councils can guarantee landfill diversion or recycling of your bulky collections and it’s best to enquire about this when making your booking.

Bulky Waste Collections from Charities

Whether we’re talking about sofas, settees or sideboards, if you have bulky items of furniture which are in a good, resellable condition, there are always other people who can make good use of them. As long as the items still have the fire safety label attached (where applicable), there are plenty of charities across the UK who will come and collect your furniture from you and sell them to support their cause.

If you can transport the items to the store yourself, it will reduce the cost to charity, but in most cases, the organisation will come and collect the furniture from your property. Some may have a two-week waiting list whilst others may operate a named-day collection. Some may also charge a small additional fee for removing the furniture, especially if it’s inside your property. In any case, it’s important that you check with the charity before going any further with donating bulky items.

On the Clearabee website, you can find a list of local charities offering sofa collections in your area that might help you in your search.

Clearabee’s Bulky Waste Collections

As the UK’s largest ‘Man and Van’ clearance company, Clearabee can collect bulky waste items from the vast majority of locations around the UK.

Our ‘Man and Van’ rubbish removal teams are experts in collecting sofas from inside properties. We are able to remove a settee or sofa from the upstairs of a property as long as it is safe to do so. The only restrictions in place for this service are as follows: we are unable to remove sofas through windows on health and safety grounds and if the furniture exceeds the width of the doors of a property, then the doors should be removed before our teams arrive.

If booked before 1pm, the collection can take place on the very same day, so there’s no need to wait around or have your old furniture sitting in your garden or on your driveway waiting for a collection to turn up. On the day of collection itself, we’ll send you a tracking link and a text alert so, even if you’re not at the property, you can be sure your bulky waste has been removed.

This service can also collect multiple bulky items at once to make sure you get the most out of your money. If you change your mind about how much you want to have collected, our friendly field staff can simply add more, take away, and amend the charge accordingly. Mattresses, TV’s, washing machines, mattresses and cupboards… we’ll get rid of them all for you.

What’s more, you’ll know that you’re getting rid of your bulky items responsibly. Whether it’s a sofa, a TV or a washing machine, over 95% of all that we collect is recycled or diverted from landfill so you can rest easy, knowing that with Clearabee, you’re doing your bit for the planet.

Once your bulky items have reached the Waste Transfer Station, you’ll receive a digital Waste Transfer Note which forms your Duty of Care, describes the contents of the collection and what the recycle rate of the collection was. This is kept on file for future reference, meaning you can have complete confidence in Clearabee.

If you’ve got bulky items that you’re ready to have collected, book your rubbish removal online or contact our friendly office staff today.

Removing rubbish. It’s what we do.

About Clearabee

Clearabee operates nationwide on-demand rubbish clearance and waste removal services, with over 120 vehicles and 300 directly employed staff. Our core services include our industry-leading rubbish clearance service as well as our skip bag, skip hire and sofa removal services.

Clearabee has been ranked as the fastest-growing waste management company in Europe for 3 years running and featured on The Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track for the last two years.