White Goods Collection

White goods such as fridges and freezers are frequently replaced in the UK due to flash sales, Black Fridays and Christmas bargains. But used white goods such as these cannot easily be removed and disposed of responsibly due to the harmful chemical components within. As the UK’s largest clearance company, Clearabee can quickly and conveniently arrange a white goods collection using our on-demand waste clearance services. But why are white goods so difficult to dispose of?

White goods collection – the problem

Fridges, freezers and certain other white goods are harmful to the environment due to the presence of Ozone Depleting Substances (‘ODS’). These coolants or refrigerants were more prevalent in older models of fridges and freezers and air-conditioning units but still exist in modern models today. These chemicals include CFCs and HCFCs and are illegal to dispose of in any way which might release them into the environment.

Such disposals must be carried out by an approved contractor. After assessing if any of the fridges’ component parts can be reused, the contractor extracts any oxygen or remaining greenhouse gases as well as the refrigerant, before using a machine to reduce the white goods to small shreds of plastic.

The AO Recycling Plant in Telford accepts almost a quarter of the UK’s fridge total each year, with 70,000 stacked up to be responsibly disposed of. Most local household recycling centres will responsibly dispose of white goods items for you but with lockdown restrictions in mind, be sure to check their websites for details around appointments, essential journeys and whether or not they are currently accepting white goods.

Removing most white goods will also depend on having a vehicle suitable for transporting them to your local Waste Transfer Station yourself or at least being able to borrow a van to move them yourself. In most cases, you’ll also need another pair of hands, especially if you’re dealing with fridge freezers, washing machines, ovens, dishwashers or boilers.

Used white goods and fly-tipping

Due to the difficulty in disposing of white goods, which can include dishwashers, boilers, ovens and washing machines, many often fall foul to fly-tipping. The cost of responsibly disposing of white goods gives unreputable waste carriers the opportunity to capitalise by undercutting others on price. Although this system is currently being reformed, it is relatively easy to acquire a waste carrier’s licence but this doesn’t guarantee that the removals company will act responsibly or legally.

There were 1,072,000 fly-tipping incidents recorded in 2018/19 alone at a cost of £58 million to British taxpayers. But that’s not all. Each year, more and more cases are being traced back to the original owners of the waste, who can be punished with up to five years imprisonment or £50,000 in fines for failing to practice due diligence in hiring an irreputable waste clearance company.

It’s never been more important to research your waste clearance company beforehand and ensure that your Duty of Care has been met. That’s where Clearabee comes in.

Clearabee’s white good collections

Not only are Clearabee registered waste carriers, but we supply each customer with a digital Waste Transfer Note once their white goods have reached their end destination of a local Waste Transfer Station. This note forms part of your Duty of Care, evidences due diligence and is kept on record for future reference. The Waste Transfer Note details the items that have been collected, the vehicle that collected them, the end destination and the landfill diversion rates.

Clearabee audit and approve each Waste Transfer Stations we use to ensure that they achieve the highest levels of compliance and landfill diversion, the latter of which is at least 95% on average. Our clearance vehicles are built on an ultra-light chassis and, on average, travel less than 15 miles per journey. This works in conjunction with our reforestation project, which is made up of 19,674 trees and is expected to offset 1,886 tonnes of CO2, making sure our services are carbon neutral. Read more about Clearabee’s environmental credentials here.

For white goods removal, we deploy our on-demand ‘Man and Van’ clearances. If you order before 1pm, using our hassle-free online booking system, we can usually attend your property and collect your used white goods on the very same day as your order. As long as it is safe to do so, we are able to remove items from either inside or outside of your property which means you don’t have to do any heavy lifting.

White goods Collection: the cost

From a price point of view, our waste calculator is a great tool for working out how much it will cost to responsibly remove your unwanted items in an eco-friendly way. You can add and remove as many items as you want and, of course, you’re not restricted to just white goods. For example, you can have a single stand-up fridge (at a size of 1 cubic yard and weight of 75kg) removed for £114.99, whereas the price for removing an 50kg oven is £84.99. Try our waste calculator for yourself.

If you find that you need much more collecting than just white goods, it might make sense for you to explore the option of our WEEE Disposal and house clearance services. Rather than use the waste calculator, you could contact our customer service centre to discuss your needs so we can provide you with a bespoke quote.

Similarly to the ‘Man and Van’ clearance, our house clearances can attend your property on the very same day. We encourage all customers to send photos of the rooms that they want clearing so we are able to provide a more accurate quote beforehand, or we can simply assess the items that you want removing when we arrive on site. However you choose to do it, let us take care of your clearance.

To book your white goods collection, either use our hassle-free online booking service or give Clearabee a buzz.

We have produced a set of guides on how to remove other appliances such as:

how to disconnect an oven

How to Remove Built in Hobs

and more

The prices featured in this article are correct at the time of publishing.