Rubbish Clearance Guide

Posted on December 7, 2020 in Waste Solutions

Our Rubbish Clearance service is a cost effective, easy and eco-friendly way of disposing of your bulky waste, but surprisingly many people never even consider it. Here is our ultimate 2020 guide to how it works and the key questions to consider when you use it.

Rubbish Clearance definition

Rubbish clearance is generally defined as the loading and removal of bulky waste from a property by a man & van team. The service covers collection of waste from anywhere on the property, loading it into a truck, sweeping up any loose material, and delivering the waste to a licensed disposal facility. Rates are based on the volume of waste removed and cover the labour, transport and disposal fees. Man & van rubbish clearance should not be confused with the ‘wait & load’ service offered by skip companies which does not include any labour.

Who provides this rubbish clearance service?

A variety of organisations offer the service. These include specialist man & van rubbish clearance companies (of which Protech is obviously our favourite!), one-man bands, skip hire companies, traditional house moving companies (who take away junk at the same time as doing your move), charities, and your local council.

Every council is obliged to offer a subsidised collection service for bulky household items to its residents. Some offer this for free, but most charge – and in recent years those charges have steadily risen. The service is normally restricted to furniture, appliances and other household ‘junk’, rather than builders and home improvement waste. This is because the latter is considered ‘trade waste’ and not something the council should subsidize. Service levels tend to be basic so you will often have to wait a week or so for an appointment and all items must be placed outside. Nonetheless it is normally cheaper than a private service, so if you do not mind the inconvenience, it’s definitely worth checking your local council’s website to see what they offer.

Private waste companies, although likely to cost more than the council, take the full range of bulky waste (rather than just household junk) and, unlike councils, their teams will collect from anywhere on the property (including upstairs and the back garden). Plus they will be available at much shorter notice and offer narrow arrival times, so you don’t need to wait around all day. Prices of one man bands may be cheaper than larger, professional organisations. But if you do opt for a one-man band always check they have a waste carrier license and their insurance covers them for waste removal.

Many charities like British Heart Foundation offer a free collection service for good quality, genuinely resalable items (which for sofas and upholstered furniture also means having proper fire certification). So be sure to contact them if you have anything decent. But for the stuff that you know is actual rubbish, please don’t waste their or your time.

Waste types – what bulky waste types can be removed?

Bulky waste means in the context of rubbish clearance is any non-hazardous waste that can comfortably be lifted by two people. This includes builders waste, fly-tipped waste, bulky appliances (including domestic fridges), furniture, bric-a-brac, carpet, plasterboard, garden waste and household junk. For waste licensing, health & safety and insurance reasons, most firms will not remove the following hazardous items:

• Asbestos
• Batteries
• Clinical or medical waste, including syringes
• Fluorescent tubes
• Commercial fridges, freezers and air conditioning units
• Gas canisters and gas bottles
• Hazardous & toxic materials
• Oil, petrol, diesel
• Paint & Cans of paint
• Tyres

Weight restrictions – do I need to worry about how heavy the waste is?

Rubbish clearance firms typically don’t like and aren’t best suited to jobs with lots of very heavy demolition or excavation waste like soil, rubble and cement (often referred to as ‘inert waste’). This is because their collection vehicles are usually light goods vehicles. Light goods vehicles, although cheaper and easier to run than heavy goods vehicles, must by law never weigh more than 3.5 tonnes. An empty LGV truck, crew and fuel weighs 2.0 – 2.5 tonnes, which leaves 1.0 – 1.5 tonnes capacity for the waste (this figure is called the vehicle’s ‘payload’). That payload is fine if the waste is a mix of bulky materials but not if it contains mostly inert waste. So, if you do have lots of very heavy, dense demolition or excavation waste, you will probably be better offer hiring a skip.

Van types & sizes – what types are used and how big are they?

Just like cars, vans vary substantially in size and type. The main types of vans and trucks used for bulky waste are:

Box Tipper – the most popular vehicle for bulky waste, a box or caged tipper has a solid or mesh box at the back to contain the waste and has a hydraulic tipper mechanism to pour out the contents when the van goes to the tip. This helps minimise the time the crew needs to spend offloading waste. The reason why the box is often metal cage rather than solid side is too keep weight to a minimum and maximise payload. The volume of the box on a waste tipper truck is typically 10 cubic yards – 14 cubic yards. .

Luton – a Luton vehicle has a large solid side box (often made of fibreglass to keep it light) at the back which extends over the cab. This type of van provides lots of storage space and is most often used by removal companies when people move homes. It is not ideal for waste because the sides aren’t very strong (so can get damaged when heavy items are thrown in) and the lack of tipper means the team has to handball everything when they get to the tip. The volume of a Luton can vary widely.

Transit – transit vans are popular with delivery companies and tradespeople as they are cheap, compact and easy to drive. They have sliding door at the side and a rear door. They don’t have a tipping mechanism so take longer to empty than a tipper but the sides are made of metal, so more robust than a Luton. In the context of rubbish clearance they are most often used by people who offer other services at the same time, like delivery or a trade. Other than slow offloading, their main issues for waste removal are low ceiling and also dust and grit from builders’ waste getting stuck into the sliding door mechanism. Transit van volume are 8 yards to 14 yards.

Flatbed lorry – flatbeds are trucks with a flat bed at the back with very low or no sideboards. They are designed to carry heavy items and favoured by scaffolders, builders merchants and tool hire businesses. They are not great for bulky waste (unless you are removing lots of very heavy inert waste) because the low sides prevent you from stacking lots of bulky items safely.

Labour – what labour is included?

The labour is a key element of a rubbish clearance service. The service and price includes clearing the waste from anywhere on the property and loading it onto the van. It will normally also include a sweep-up. Although teams will often be happy to break things down a bit to make them easier to move or take up less space in the truck, do not expect them to undertake substantial demolition work or dismantling (eg. sawing a sofa in half to fit through doors). If you need this extra service, be prepared to pay more for their time and effort.

Rates – how does pricing work and how much should I expect pay?

Rates for rubbish clearance are based on the volume of bulky waste removed and cover the labour, transport and disposal fees. Volume is normally referred to in cubic yards or fractions of the truck. If you are comparing prices and someone is quoting fractions of truck, remember that trucks have different sizes and therefore cheaper might not actually mean better if it’s a smaller truck.

As a rough guide, a full 14 yard truck clearance should cost around £360 (£300 ex VAT) and ½ truck (ie. 7 cubic yards) around £220 (£180 ex VAT). Collection of single furniture item should cost around £40 – £50.

Collection time & location – do I have to be present when the rubbish is collected?

Provided there is access to the junk and it is clearly identified what materials are to be taken and what are to stay, then there is no need for you to be present. Clearance companies can collect from anywhere on the property if there is access. You could leave the waste outside in an accessible place, for example your front garden, to allow for easy access if you cannot be present.

License – what sort of licensing is there?

To remove your waste rubbish clearance contractor or sole trader must be registered with the Environment Agency or SEPA and have a valid waste carrier license. They should also be insured to do the work and we recommend if you are allowing crew into your home you ask for photo ID and DBS checks (which used to be known as CRB checks).

Paperwork – should I expect any documentation?

The key paperwork when someone removes your waste is a waste transfer note. This is a document that records the responsibility of the waste being transferred from one party to another. Strictly speaking if the waste is being collected from a domestic property then any form of written confirmation is sufficient but if the form removing your waste is an experienced and professional organisation then they should provide a waste transfer note as matter of course. If not, alarm bells should start to ring!

Disposal & recycling – where does the waste go?

Once collected, unless passed on for reuse, the waste will be taken to a licensed commercial waste transfer station where it is then recycled, sent to waste-to-energy or landfilled.

For more information on our bulky waste removal service please call 0845 604 1288 or visit Protech Waste Solutions.