How Much do UK Councils Charge for Bulky Waste Collection?
Councils across the UK offer bulky waste services to collect and dispose of items too big for household general waste and recycling bins, like old sofas, fridges, and washing machines. Prices are a postcode lottery though. Costs depend on what your local council charges, the items they accept, and any specific pricing system.
Simpler Recycling is set to standardise household bin collections across England, so all homes receive the same food waste and core recycling collections. However, domestic bulky waste removal services will remain under the council’s control and differ by region. This means some homes can get rid of bulky items for free while others may have to pay £85 or more.
We wanted to find out how much UK councils charge for bulky waste collection and where offers the most expensive and cheapest services. To do this we checked and compared the prices and bulky waste services on the websites of all 382 councils in the UK. These are our findings.
Key findings
The exact services, charges, and pricing structure for bulky waste collection varies between councils across the UK. We analysed the available pricing information to determine the minimum cost for pickup of one bulky item where possible and compared the results. These are the key findings:
- The average minimum charge is £32 for a bulky waste collection in the UK
- Runnymede Borough Council offers the highest minimum charge of £85 for bulky waste removal of three items
- Various councils in Northern Ireland and Scotland apply the lowest minimum charge of just £5 for collection of one bulky item
- Only 26 councils offer a free bulky waste collection service
- The average cost of a fridge collection is £30 by UK councils
- Northern Ireland has the lowest average cost for one item while the South East of England has the highest
- Three councils in the UK will not collect fridges
How we worked it out –
the methodology
Making a direct comparison between how much councils in the UK charge for bulky waste collection was no easy task. Many councils have different pricing systems and requirements. Some require a minimum number of items and apply discounts based on this while others have a set charge per item.
Fridge collection was also more complex. Certain councils include fridges within their bulky waste collections, while others have a separate service for them. A couple simply offer free fridge removal, and three councils just won’t collect fridges. Many have restrictions on the types and sizes of fridges they will collect too.
To work out and compare bulky waste collection costs from UK councils we:
- Visited and took data from each council’s website – correct as of 21/02/25.
- Where possible, prices were obtained for the minimum fee, alongside the cost to remove three, six, and nine items.
- If the council website mentioned discounts these were noted. For those that either didn’t offer or didn’t specify discounts, they were also noted.
- Notes were added to explain each council’s charging system (including the possibility and costs of fridge collection).
- For any councils where price information wasn’t given, the service wasn’t offered, the price was not based per item, or wasn’t provided by the council itself, the entry was omitted.
- The cost to collect one, three, six, and nine bulky items (as well as fridges) was recorded and compared.
Which council charges the most for
bulky waste collection in the UK?
Runnymede Borough Council has the highest minimum charge of £85 to remove one bulky waste item. However, they offer the same price for a minimum of three items.
The South East is the region with the highest average price of £44.81 to remove one bulky waste item in the UK.
These councils apply the most expensive minimum costs to collect one, three, six, and nine bulky waste items:
- One item – Runnymede Borough Council (£85)
- Three items – Wiltshire Council (£96)
- Six items – Orkney Council (£292)
- Nine items – Wiltshire Council (£288)
Where offers the cheapest
bulky waste collection in the UK?
26 councils offer free bulky waste collections in the UK (7% of all councils). Aside from these, four councils offer the lowest minimum charges of £5 – Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, and Glasgow City.
Northern Ireland is the region with the lowest average price of £5.97 to remove one bulky waste item in the UK.
These councils apply the least expensive minimum costs to collect one, three, six, and nine bulky waste items:
- One item – Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council (£5)
- Three items – Mid Ulster District Council (£5.70)
- Six items – North Tyneside Borough Council (£10)
- Nine items – North Tyneside Borough Council and Bolsover District Council (£20)
Bulky waste collection costs by region
Northern Ireland has the cheapest bulky waste collection costs in the UK while the South East of England charges the most – there’s a 651% difference in price between the two regions. In England, the North East offers the lowest minimum costs.
This was determined by adding up the minimum cost to collect one bulky item from each council within every region and working out the average price. Below are the average bulky waste collection costs for each region in order of amount:
Fridge collection costs
The average fridge collection cost is £30 by councils in the UK. Prices and services vary across the country as some councils include fridges as part of their bulky waste collections while others have a separate service.
These are the key findings about council fridge collection costs in the UK:
- Richmond upon Thames Council offers the most expensive fridge collections at £67
- Glasgow City Council has the cheapest fridge collections at £5
- 252 councils include fridges in their bulky waste collections
- Two councils offer free fridge collections but charge for bulky items (Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and Flintshire County Council)
- Three councils will not collect fridges
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