The quickest and most environmentally friendly way to get rid of your unwanted items is to donate to charity or use an organisation that will take the items.
These organisations provide valued support to households and communities. By donating your unwanted items:
- they will be appreciated by someone else
- you are raising funds for local charities who provide training, employment and apprenticeship opportunities to people in Leeds
- you are protecting the environment by saving energy, raw materials and preventing items from going to landfill
- you are helping those in need to buy good quality items at affordable prices
Donating to charity
Please only donate items that could be reused. These organisations can only accept items needing minor repairs or a light clean. Items such as sofas, chairs and beds must carry fire safety labels. All electrical items should be free from rust, be reasonably clean, have intact seals and ideally be in full working order.
Most of the following organisations will collect re-usable items from your home for free.
Emmaus Leeds
Emmaus accept furniture, white goods and small electrical items (TVs, microwaves, lamps, etc.) in working order, bicycles, bric-a-brac, books, clothes and bedding.
Emmaus Leeds external link Leeds and Moortown Furniture Store
Leeds and Moortown Furniture store accept sofas, beds, bedroom storage, tables, chairs and other living room furniture. In addition, they will take bedding, curtains, towels, pans and mirrors. They do not collect electrical appliances or white goods.
Leeds and Moortown Furniture Store external link Martin House
Martin House accept most furniture and homeware (except beds). They also accept electrical and white goods in good working condition.
Martin House external link Revive Leeds
Donate your unwanted items in person at Revive. This is a community interest charity made up of St Vincent's and SLATE charities.
Revive sell donated items that would have otherwise been thrown away and any profit made is put back into community work based training.
Find Revive in
Kirkstall and
Seacroft. You can donate:
- furniture
- mattresses
- electrical goods
- clothing
- childrens toys
Revive will only accept items that are in full working use. All soft furnishings must have fire safety labels. Appliances or large white goods are not accepted.
Find more information on opening times, shopping online and volunteering to help in a Revive shop.
Revive Leeds external link SLATE
SLATE accept furniture, white goods (no gas) and small electrical items (TVs, microwaves, lamps, etc.) in working order, homeware, bicycles and more. Items must be in a reusable condition. Clothing and bedding are not accepted.
SLATE external link St Gemma's Hospice
St Luke's Cares
St Luke's Cares accept furniture, white goods, electricals, bric a brac, clothes, bedding and more. Collection is free for up to 9 items that can be sold in their shops. They also carry out house clearances.
St Luke's Cares external link St Vincent de Paul Society
St Vincent de Paul Society accept furniture, clothing, bedding, bric-a-brac, bicycles and small electrical items (TVs, microwaves, lamps, etc.) in working order.
St Vincent de Paul Society external link Get rid of small items
All the above organisations will also accept your smaller unwanted items such as clothing, books and CDs. Alternatively, you can take them to your local charity shop or place them in the charity bags that you may receive. You can also take small items to the
Revive Leeds external link reuse shops at the
Seacroft and
Kirkstall household waste recycling centres.
Recycle your old bike
You can drop off unwanted and broken bikes at our
recycling centres. Donated bikes are collected by The Bikes College who fix them and sell them on. You can also contact these organisations directly to donate a bike or buy a second hand bike.
The Bikes College
The Bikes College at Copley Hill (LS12 1HY) offers bike repairs, free collections for donated bikes, low cost refurbished bikes, spares and accessories and training on bike maintenance. They accept bicycles, parts and accessories in any condition.
The Bikes College external link Leeds Bike Mill
Clothing
For tips on where to recycle, reuse, repair or upcycle clothing and textiles across Leeds, visit the
Zero Waste Leeds external link website. You can also find your nearest textile banks, charity shops, repair shops, sewing classes and clothes exchanges using their interactive map.
Other organisations to use
Seagulls (paint)
Freecycle
Leeds Freegle
Household waste recycling centres
If you have access to a suitable vehicle, you can drop off items in the reuse containers at any of our household waste recycling centres.
If you are unable to donate your items because they are not in a suitable condition, then please try to recycle these where possible. The household waste recycling centres have containers for broken electrical items, metal, wood, glass and more and these materials can be recycled and made into new products.
From 5 February 2018 charges apply for disposing of some types of rubbish at our household waste recycling centres including rubble, hardcore, soil, ceramics, plasterboard and tyres. Please see the
waste disposal charges for a full list of items, charges and how to pay.
Household waste recycling centres Garden waste
If you need a garden waste collection and do not have access to a brown bin, please view
guidance on booking a collection and the terms and conditions of collections.
Use an accredited waste carrier
If you need to get rid of some waste from your home or garden and are looking for a waste removal company, the
Leeds Accredited Waste Carrier Scheme (LAWCS) helps you find local, legal and responsible waste carriers.
All LAWCS members have been accredited by Leeds City Council and sign up to a code of practice to provide you with reassurance these are waste carriers you can trust. The
list of LAWCS members can be viewed on the Leeds Directory website. Using an accredited Leeds waste carrier can help you fulfil your Duty of Care.
If you pay a waste removal company not listed with LAWCS, use a scrap dealer or hire a skip to dispose of your waste you must always:
- ask to see their waste carrier licence, or check online using the
Environment Agency’s website external link
- pay by card or bank transfer and get a receipt or waste transfer note
- note the registration number of the vehicle that collects your waste
- ask where they are taking the waste to dispose of it
A genuine waste carrier will not mind you asking these questions and will always provide you with a proper receipt. If in doubt, do not allow anyone to take your waste.
What a legitimate firm pays to get rid of your waste
If you're looking to get rid of some stuff, sometimes the price quoted by a waste carrier can seem too good to be true.
The cost of someone taking your waste away is affected by two main things:
The more rubbish you have, the more you pay for its removal. Larger amounts take longer to load, which increases the labour cost. Responsible waste carriers deposit at legal disposal sites, which charge by the weight of rubbish.
Fridges, TVs and upholstered furniture such as sofas, armchairs and cushions cost a lot more to be recycled safely, so you should expect to pay more for these to be collected, compared with general or garden waste.
The prices below are the minimum costs a waste carrier is charged to dispose of your waste legally. The amounts do not include labour or collection charges, or additional fees for hazardous waste, such as fridges and TVs.
If you're quoted anything less than these amounts, it's likely that your waste would be fly tipped:
| Item | Minimum disposal cost for waste carrier * |
|---|
| x10 bags of garden waste | £27 |
| Sofa and 2 armchairs | £68 |
| Sofa bed | £68 |
| Mattress | £50 |
| x1 roll of carpet | £50 |
| Bathroom suite (bath, toilet, sink) | £50 |
| Dining table and x6 chairs | £50 |
| Wooden garden shed | £24 |
| x10 kitchen units | £24 |
| x10 black bags of hardcore/rubble/construction waste | £26.20 |
| Scrap metal (up to 200kg) | £20 |
| Fridge | £15 |
| TVs and monitors | £25 |
*Based on a maximum weight of 200kg
Calculations are based on the average weight of each item.
Whether you own or rent your property, it is your responsibility to make sure your waste is not being illegally dumped and it is given to an authorised waste carrier. This is known as your Duty of Care.
The Duty of Care means that if your waste is found fly tipped and traced back to you, you could be issued with a £200 Fixed Penalty Notice (fine) or even prosecuted through the courts.
Book a collection
If you are unable to get rid of your items in the above ways, we offer a limited service to remove items from homes. This service offers one free collection per household per financial year. Further collections are available at a charge. Households in receipt of council tax support are eligible for up to 4 free collections per year.
High demand for collections
There may be times when no slots are available for booking. Please try again at a later date.
You can take unwanted household items, such as furniture, TVs, fridges, beds and mattresses and dispose of them for free at one of our
household waste recycling centres.
See
book a collection for more information on this service.
If a collection is not made on your appointment date then please leave the items outside for a further 48 hours. Please ensure that your items are left in the exact location given during your booking, and that you have followed the rules for collection.
