What We Can’t Take: Items We Cannot Collect and Where They Go Instead

We take almost everything from Birmingham homes and businesses: furniture, appliances, garden waste, bagged rubbish, builders’ waste and whole house contents. But there is a short list of things no licensed waste carrier can put on a van with general waste, because they need specialist handling by law. Knowing what is on that list before you book saves time on the day, and means nothing gets left behind.

The items we cannot collect

• Asbestos, licensed or unlicensed, in any amount. This includes old roof sheets, garage roofs, pipe lagging and some textured ceiling coatings.
• Needles, sharps and clinical waste, including anything contaminated with bodily fluids.
• Chemicals and solvents, such as garden chemicals, pool chemicals, white spirit, thinners and cleaning concentrates.
• Paint, unless the tin is completely empty or the paint has fully dried out.
• Gas bottles and pressurised containers, including camping gas, patio heater bottles and aerosol stockpiles.
• Fire extinguishers.
• Car batteries, engine oil and petrol.
• Raw food and meat waste, unless it is in sealed packaging.

If any of these turn up during a job, our team will set them aside rather than load them, and let you know.

Why a waste carrier cannot take them

Most of these are classed as hazardous waste. They have to travel separately, with their own paperwork, to sites licensed to treat them. Mixing them into a general load would put our crew and the transfer site at risk, and could make the whole load illegal to dispose of. As a licensed waste carrier (licence CBDU654313) we give you a Waste Transfer Note for every collection, and that note can only cover waste we are allowed to carry.

Where to take them instead

• Asbestos: use a licensed asbestos removal contractor. Do not break it up or bag it yourself.
• Gas bottles: most suppliers take their own bottles back, often for free. Check the brand on the bottle.
• Fire extinguishers: return them to a fire safety supplier or servicing company.
• Car batteries, engine oil and some paints: your local council household recycling centre usually has separate bays for these. Check what your nearest site accepts before you go.
• Needles and sharps: use a proper sharps bin. Your GP, pharmacy or the council can tell you how to get one and arrange collection.
• Chemicals and solvents: keep them in their original containers and ask your council recycling centre whether they accept them.

Things people expect us to refuse, but we do take

Some items need specialist disposal, but we are set up to handle them. They carry a small extra charge, which the waste calculator includes in your price:

• Fridges and freezers, including American-style fridge freezers. See appliance removal.
• Mattresses of any size.
• TVs and monitors.
• Air conditioning units.

We also take empty or dried-out paint tins, washing machines, cookers, sofas, garden waste, soil and builders’ rubble within each load’s weight limit.

Not sure about an item?

If you are unsure whether something can go, send us a photo on WhatsApp or call 0800 002 5490 before you book. We would rather tell you up front than leave something behind on the day. When you are ready, you can book a collection online, or see what a man and van load or a full house clearance costs.