Bulky waste collections

This page tells you what you can do with bulky household items that can't be recycled or taken with your normal rubbish collection

Items such as arm chairs, beds and large kitchen appliances can't be put out with your normal collection. So, what do you do with these items when you no longer need them? The list below gives you some ideas:

• donate it to charity - some offer free collections, try Sue Ryder, the British Heart Foundation, Learning Links and DEBRA 
• offer it online through Freecycle, Freegle and other online market place apps or advertise it in a local shop or free ad newspaper.
• sell it to a local second hand furniture company
• take it to the Portsmouth recycling centre at Port Solent - who will take it free

If none of the ideas above are practical, then Portsmouth City Council will collect bulky waste from your home and dispose of it in the correct way.

The cost of a bulky waste collection starts from £30 (payable in advance) and collections are every Wednesday.  

If you are a Portsmouth resident in receipt of Council Tax Support (CTS) you can get one free bulky waste collection per year (from April 1st).

To qualify you will need to provide proof that you get Council Tax Support either by showing us your award letter or by giving us permission to check your records online.

We'll take a maximum of 2 square meters away - this is roughly the size of a 2-seater sofa or a washing machine and an armchair. For collections of more than 2 square meters there will be an additional charge and payment will be asked for at the time of booking.

Free collections take place on a Tuesday.

To get an estimate, quotation or to book a paid or free collection call 023 9284 1105 or email recyclingandrubbish@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

Household items such as sofas, beds, fridges, and garden furniture.

• Asbestos
• Building and DIY waste such as soil, rubble, tiles, concrete, bricks etc.
• Full paint tins
• Gas canisters
• Batteries
• Car engines
• Tyres
• Garden waste
• Fluorescent lighting tubes
• Commercial or trade waste
• Anything longer than 6ft
• Items that are too heavy for two people to move and lift safely - for example a piano, garden sheds, waterlogged mattresses and sofas - but contact us if in doubt.
  
  

Many of the items above can be taken to household waste and recycling centres. Visit Hampshire County Council's waste disposal page to find out what they accept.

Bulky items are sent to Warren Farm transfer station in Fareham. Materials are then either recovered for recycling (e.g. metals) or sent to a Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) facility, which shreds items and produces fuel pellets - this helps us to divert waste away from landfill. The remaining materials which cannot be recovered or sent to the SRF facility is then landfilled (2016/17 - 4.63%).

Householders have a duty of care to ensure their waste is disposed of legally and safely. It is your responsibility to check that anyone taking waste away from your home has a waste carrier’s licence. They should give you a written notification of how they will be disposing of your waste.

This means that, if you ask a ‘man with a van’ to dispose of your DIY rubbish or the contents of your old shed, and he subsequently fly tips it or disposes of it illegally, you are responsible. You could be taken to court and fined up to £5,000. Protect yourself by taking reasonable measures to check that your household waste is passed on to an authorised person.