4.9 out of 5 based on 26,473 reviews
Waste carrier’s licence: CBDU61392
Man & Van
FAQ's
Our man and van style rubbish clearance service is our most flexible and versatile solution.
We can remove most waste streams from most locations on a same day basis, almost everywhere in the country.
Man & Van
Rubbish removal FAQ's
We’re on a mission to make rubbish removal as easy and stress free as possible and have compiled a detailed list of questions below, for those after some extra detail. If we’ve missed anything or if you have any questions at all we are open 7 days a week over the telephone, email and web chat.
BENEFITS OF OUR SERVICE
Why book your Man & Van?
Same-day collections available
Reasonable labour included
Flexible load sizes
Carbon neutral since 2018
Most waste streams removed
Nationwide rubbish removal
What rubbish can you remove?
We can remove most waste types found at a domestic or commercial property, as long as it is safe to do so.
What waste types do you accept?
Whilst this list is not definitive, we can remove the following: Bulky waste such as sofas, armchairs, beds, divans, tables, chairs, cupboards, desks, Electrical waste (WEEE) such as lamps, bulbs, microwaves, ovens, cookers, computers, hair dryers, toasters.
What waste types do you accept in small quantities?
Heavy and dense waste such as bricks, rubble, soil and plasterboard. For larger amounts of these waste streams we would recommend our skip hire service.
What waste types are prohibited?
There are some waste streams we cannot ordinarily remove due to health and safety or compliance, but if you contact us first we can usually provide a bespoke solution: Raw food and meat such as category 3 ABP waste, Licensed and unlicensed asbestos, Working around needles and sharps, Chemicals and solvents including most paints.
Location of your waste
Generally as long as it is safe to access we can remove waste from most locations.
Where can you remove rubbish from?
Whilst this list is not definitive, we can remove the following: Indoors including upstairs, Outside including gardens.
Where can you not remove rubbish from?
We cannot remove rubbish from locations where there is a health and safety risk or a risk of us causing damage. This includes: Removing waste from attics or lofts, even if boarded, accessing steep, unstable or damaged steps and staircases, where there are parking issues such as having to cross a dual carriageway in order to access the waste.
Preparing your rubbish for removal
As we are a man and van service we try and make clearing your rubbish easy, this means you can usually leave everything to do us. We will send a one or two person team depending on what we are collecting.
Does my waste need to be outside?
We will collect your rubbish from inside, upstairs, outside, most locations, as long as it is safe to access. If you’re not going to be in you may want to move it outside or somewhere we can access it.
Does my waste need to bagged?
Generally it does not need to be bagged, we are happy to do a bit of running around to gather it all up. If waste is strewn in very small quantities over a large area you may want to consider bagging this waste to ensure we remove it all and to ensure there are no additional charges.
Does my waste need to be in one place?
We’re happy to collect your rubbish from multiple locations on your premises including across several rooms, so there is no need to put it all in one location. It can be helpful when the waste is clearly separated or in one place, particularly if someone else is showing us what to remove, and also to help provide a quote. It can also make the clearance go a little faster and reduce disruption, but it is certainly not a requirement.
Estimating and quoting
We charge based on the volume of waste we collect, which is estimated, and a fixed quote is provided before we undertake the work. We have a maximum estimated weight of 100kg per cubic yard (0.76m³), which means heavy and dense waste such as bricks, rubble, and soil could cost more and it could be a skip and be more suitable for large amounts.
How much waste do I have?
Sometimes it can be hard to accurately gauge how much you have to go. You can use our website to help and we typically give the guide of 2 small domestic washing machines is around the same size as 1 cubic yard (0.83m3).
However customers can also email a list of items, a description of the waste or ideally send a photo of the waste. This will allow us to provide a much more accurate estimate of the collection size you require before booking.
How much does my rubbish weigh?
Bulky waste is typically around 50-60kg’s per cubic yard whilst heavy and dense waste could weigh as much as 1 tonne for a single cubic yard. For this reason we will always ask whether you have any heavy and dense waste such as bricks, rubble and soil, as this may impact the cost or mean we recommend a skip hire service instead (which we can supply). As a guide bricks weigh around 2kg each, a rubble sack usually weighs around 20-30kg and a tonne bag full of heavy and dense waste can be anywhere from 350kg - 1000kg. As long as you don’t have anything dramatically heavy weight will not be an issue and not usually something to consider from a cost perspective. If wish to be charged by precise weight we can provision this service and would charge off a calibrated weighbridge, but this would be a bespoke service booked separately with minimum charges.
Bookings
Bookings can be made online 24/7 or over the telephone, 7 days a week.
What do charge up front?
We charge a call out fee which is £59.99 to secure the booking. We will charge for the waste separately based off what we are collecting at the time of collection.
Can I prepay?
You can prepay for your waste online or over the telephone at the time of booking. This can save time when our team arrives to collect the waste and can be useful if you are not going to be in but the waste is accessible.
How do I pay?
You can prepay for your waste online or over the telephone at the time of booking. This can save time when our team arrives to collect the waste and can be useful if you are not going to be in but the waste is accessible.
What if there is more or less waste on the day?
We only charge for what we have removed. If there is extra waste we will re-quote and take an extra payment or we can collect just what was originally booked in. We’re usually able to collect more rubbish on the day so if you do have some more items to add we will still get it all cleared. If you have prepaid for a collection and we end up collecting less we will reduce the cost down and provide a refund for the difference.
Do you offer fixed prices?
Our prices are all fixed based off the amount of waste we collect. We also offer fixed prices for specific collections types such as sofa removal. Fixed price jobs such as sofa removal are usually prepaid, as the final cost is known.
Do you offer time slots?
We do offer all day arrival, AM, PM and 2 hour time slots. All day helps us to plan the most economical and environmentally friendly route. There can be some variation on the day as sometimes jobs can end up taking a little longer than expected.
Can I change my booking?
Bookings can be changed and updated whenever you like. If you made an account with us you can do this from within the login area. You can also call or email us to make a change. We can usually accommodate most changes.
Can I cancel my booking?
Bookings can usually be cancelled until we are on our way. Upon cancellation we will issue a refund, which can take up to 5 working days to appear in your account.
What extras do you charge for?
There are a few extras we charge which reflects the additional cost we incur. Fridges, freezers and aircon units (anything with coolant) - £45 each. These items are hazardous and must be specially processed to make them safe and ensure there is no environmental risk. Higher charges will apply for large commercial fridges. TV / monitors / laptops - £15 each. These items are usually hazardous and must be disposed of at specialist facilities. Mattresses - £30 each. These items are very difficult to recycle. They are usually recycled but have to go through a very manual process to achieve this result, which accounts for the additional charge. Tyres - £6 each. Tyres are a specialist waste stream which must be disposed of at a specialist facility, adding to the cost.
Arrival
What time will you come?
We offer AM, PM and 2 hour time slots. By default we book customers for an all day collection as this allows us to optimise our routes to minimise mileage and make our service more environmentally friendly and cost less. However customers can request a time slot, with a two hour premium arrival slot costing £25. Our hours of operation are typically 8am to 8pm although in exceptional circumstances we can arrive outside of these hours.
Are time slots guaranteed?
We arrive on time in almost all cases, but there can be exceptions, for example if the previous job has a lot more waste than expected. We will do our best to keep you informed and you will receive an alert when we are on the way.
What if you miss a premium time slot?
We very rarely miss these time slots but if we do we will issue a refund on the additional charge (£25). We will be able to offer a free alternative time slot or if you are still happy for us to attend, we will continue, but still issue the refund.
How do I know you are on the way?
When we are on the way you will receive an SMS and an email which will tell you the estimated arrival time, the vehicle attending and a tracking link, so you can monitor the progress in real time. Typically this will give you at least 30 minutes notice. We can also give you a call when we are on the way or if you need more notice we can usually accommodate this.
Do I need to be in to have my rubbish cleared?
You don’t need to be in, in order for us to collect your rubbish. However you must have prepaid for your waste or be immediately contactable. Even if you have prepaid for your rubbish we recommend you are contactable in case we have a query. If you are not going to be in it is important the waste is very clearly identifiable and where possible we would recommend a photo is sent to us in advance, which we make available to our removal team on the day. Please remember if we cannot contact you for payment or if the scope of the collection is not clear, the removal of your rubbish may not take place and extra charges may apply if we need to re-attend.
Do you have your own collection teams?
Yes, we have a large fleet of over 150 owned and operated vehicles and almost 300 directly employed staff. This allows us to offer a consistent Clearabee service across the country and provide the highest levels of compliance. All of our vehicles are tracked and monitored.
What sort of vehicle will be coming to remove my waste?
We used a mixed fleet. These include our aluminium chassis luton style vehicles which are perfect for home and business waste, to our fleet of cage tippers which are ideal for construction waste. We also have some sprinter style vans which can be useful when there is low access.
In reality we could send any of our vehicles, and as we charge primarily off volume, as agreed up front, and not ‘full loads’, it won’t have any impact on the cost of the service.
Are your collection vehicles environmentally friendly?
All of our new vehicles are built on a specialist lightweight chassis, making them very low emission. Over 90% of our fleet is to the latest EURO 6 standards. We don’t use old vehicles and we don’t use HGV’s as these are a lot more polluting and not suitable for most home and business waste collections.
What about parking charges?
The customer is responsible for ensuring we have somewhere safe and reasonable to park. It does not have to be off road but if we do need to park on the road and have to pay for parking we will ask the customer to cover this.
Will I incur extra charges due to the waste location?
There are not usually any extra charges for collecting your waste due to the location. There are however some exceptions which may increase the cost, including: parking restrictions preventing easy access to the waste and the team having to park much further away, high rise building with a lift unavailable for removal on larger collections, high security access control preventing easy access through the building, Waste located in a field or some way away from the road.
Removing your rubbish on the day
Will you assess the waste on arrival?
Once we arrive we will assess the waste we are collecting and if the collection is not a fixed price (such as a sofa removal) then we will confirm the final cost. We can clear as much or as little waste as you like, so if there is extra waste we will quote the difference and if you are happy we will crack on with the clearance. We will nearly always confirm a final price up front, as long as can reasonably assess the load. This means if you have a big pile of waste we will quote based off what we can see, but if we then uncover a large pile of bricks for example, we may have to revise the cost. However, nearly every collection we undertake is finalised before we start work, so this is not usually an issue.
What happens if there is a lot more rubbish on arrival?
We can usually clear as much rubbish as you like, so as long as you are satisfied with the cost this won’t be a hindrance. We’re happy to clear as much waste as you like or if you need time to think about the extra that’s fine too.
What happens if I get my estimate wrong?
We can clear most waste, so this isn’t a problem for us. If you got it badly wrong, or we helped with a quote and the scope wasn’t clear to us and there is a large variation in the cost, we will usually be able to offer a refund on the call out charge. This is handled on a case by case basis and does depend on the circumstances, but we do appreciate sometimes it can be difficult to get 100% right or there can be a genuine misunderstanding.
How do I pay for the rubbish on the day?
If there is an additional payment due, we will take payment at the start of the job by card. We do this to ensure there are no extra costs incurred if there are issues or delays with payment. All payments are by credit or debit card, we do not take any cash whatsoever, and you should never be asked for cash by our teams. We take all major credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard and American Express and there are no extra charges for this. Payment is taken by our truck teams using their PCI compliant tablets. No card details are saved anywhere.
Waste documentation & duty of care
We supply all customers with an electronic Waste Transfer Note, which forms a key part of your Duty of Care. This is emailed to you once the job is completed along with your payment receipt.
Our Waste Transfer Note will detail the time and date of collection, the vehicle registration, waste type and amount removed. Once your waste arrives at a local Waste Transfer Station we will also be able to provide the place of disposal and recycling rate, which is typically over 95% nationwide.
What happens to my waste once you remove it?
Once we collect your waste we will transfer it to a local commercial Waste Transfer Station. All of these local Waste Transfer Stations are audited by our compliance team, ensuring they conform to the highest environmental and health and safety standards. From here the waste will be sorted and in most cases recycled. Across the country we average a landfill diversion rate exceeding 95%. We’re able to provide this information to you once the vehicle tips.
WASTE CALCULATOR
Not sure how much waste you have, or how to calculate it?
If you’re standing there scratching your head and wondering how you even begin to calculate how much waste you have, then our waste calculator will help you out.
Have you got a mixture of waste, some furniture as well as some other items? You can use our waste calculator to add all items together to give you an estimated size in cubic yards as well as how much it will cost to get it removed. You can explore a house, garden, and office to add all your desired items into a basket. From there we can even recommend the best type of service to have your waste collected.
REVIEWS
Don't just take our word for it
OUR SERVICES
More Clearabee services
We offer a range of clearance services to suit your needs.
If you have heavy, dense waste then our skip hire service is ideal if you have more furniture items to get rid of, our furniture removal service is perfect, skip bags are available too and if you are finding that your wheelie bin is at bursting point, our bin collection service will come in handy.
