How Do I Get Rid of My Old Sofa?

It can be hard saying goodbye to your old sofa. Most sofas enjoy years of being central to family gatherings, children growing up and pets playing, so much so, that it’s like they’re a part of the family themselves. That’s why it’s always such a surprise to see sofas abandoned by the roadside or left out to rot in the garden.

The truth of the matter is that many people find sofas difficult or costly to get rid of. With that in mind, we’re here to help. As the UK’s largest ‘Man and Van’ style clearance company, Clearabee know a thing or two about settee and sofa removals. We’ll showcase a number of different options for getting rid of your old sofa but the easiest will be a Clearabee collection. Not only will you not have to do any of the work or heavy lifting but your sofa will be responsibly disposed of too. For quotes on sofas, armchairs or any other piece of furniture, visit our sofa removal page.

Can you take a sofa to the dump?

Providing you’ve got the physical ability (as it’s almost always a two-person job) along with a vehicle large enough to safely contain the sofa, there’s nothing stopping you from taking the sofa to the tip. Most tips or Local Recycling Centres, as they’re officially known, will happily accept your sofa and, where possible, will recycle or reuse as much of the sofa as possible.

However, if you are using a van to transport your sofa, you may need to pre-book admission via the Local Recycle Centre’s official website and access is dependent upon availability.

It’s the physicality, vehicle availability and access to the Local Recycling Centre which are often a significant deterrent to transporting a sofa to the tip yourself. Luckily, most councils provide a furniture collection service, but this, of course, has a cost attached.

How much does it cost to remove an old sofa?

Most local councils provide a sofa collection service, and this can cost anywhere between £23 to £63, depending on the size of your sofa and your location. Availability is on a first come, first served basis and collection dates are dependent on demand.

Some councils operate a rota-style service where free collections take place in each location every two weeks or two months, depending on the area.

In almost all cases, councils operate a collection only service (unless you are elderly or registered as disabled) and you will have to arrange the removal of the sofa from your property before it can be loaded onto the van and taken away. In all instances, you should consult your council’s website to make arrangements.

How can I get rid of furniture for free?

Like most pieces of furniture, there are several options for getting rid of them for free, as well as plenty of people who are looking to make good use of them. Sofas, settees and armchairs can be of particular use to local charities who are able collect them, sell them in their stores and use the proceeds to support their cause.

For full compliance, the furniture must be in good condition with the Fire Safety label still attached so it can safely be used by someone else. More often than not, the furniture needs to be left outside of your property so you will need to arrange the removal of the sofa yourself.

There is also often up to a two-week waiting period before the collection can take place. However, there are plenty of charities which offer this service so you’re more than likely to find one who can collect your sofa within those two weeks. Many such charities are featured on our location pages where you are sure to find one in your area.

Clearabee’s sofa removal service

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Clearabee are the UK’s largest ‘Man and Van’ style clearance company and are experts at safely removing sofas. We offer a same-day sofa collection service if you order before 1pm of that day so you won’t be stuck trying to find space for a sofa you no longer need.

You needn’t worry about the weather either. We are able to remove sofas from the inside of your property and we’ll send a two-person team to remove them from either upstairs or downstairs, if needs be.

If the sofa is too big to fit through a door, and as long as it is safe to do so, we will deconstruct the sofa. However, we are not permitted to remove doors from frames or lower furniture out of windows. If doors need to be removed though, then this should be taken care of at the customers’ expense and before our team arrives.

Our sofa recycling scheme ensures that all used sofas are taken to local Waste Transfer Stations, which are designed to process the furniture that we collect. In many parts of the country we can guarantee 100% landfill diversion, which includes most major towns and cities.

So, let us take care of your old sofa for you. All while you put your feet up.

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. We have also worked together with Forest Carbon to plant our Clearabee forests and become a carbon-neutral company.