Pricing
What affects the cost of a collection
Waste clearance is priced on the job rather than from a list. This page explains exactly what goes into that price, so you can judge whether a quote you have been given is a fair one.
The six factors
How a waste collection is priced
Every quote you get from any waste carrier is built from these. If you know what they are, you can describe your job in a way that gets you an accurate price first time.
Bringing the cost down
What you can do before we arrive
Six things that genuinely reduce what you pay, in rough order of how much difference they make.
| What to do | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Separate metal out | It has a positive value and is quick to handle. A pile of copper pipe or an old radiator kept apart from general waste is the single most effective thing you can do. |
| Keep rubble on its own | Clean inert material such as brick and concrete is among the cheapest waste to dispose of. Mixed through timber and plasterboard it stops being inert and costs considerably more. |
| Put plasterboard in its own pile | It cannot legally go into a general load, so if it is mixed in, the whole load may have to be reclassified. A separate heap on site costs you nothing. |
| Move what you can to ground level | Access is labour, and labour is cost. Anything already outside or in the garage when we arrive is quicker than the same item on a landing. |
| Decide what stays before the day | Sorting during a clearance is slower than sorting before one, and it is also when mistakes happen. Clear decisions make for a shorter job. |
| Describe the job accurately | An estimate based on an optimistic description has to be revised on the doorstep. An honest one gets you a price you can rely on. |
Being straight about it
When somebody else is the cheaper option
A household waste recycling centre is free for genuine household waste. If you have a suitable vehicle, somebody to help lift, and the time, nothing we offer will beat that on price.
A council bulky collection is usually cheaper than a private one for a small number of items you can carry to the kerbside yourself. The trade-off is the wait, the cap on items, and the fact that you do the carrying.
A skip is often better value for waste produced steadily across a renovation, where repeated collections would cost more than a container sitting on the driveway.
We would rather say all of that than quote for a job that was not worth giving us. Where the honest answer is one of the above, we will tell you when you call.
A quote worth comparing
If you are weighing up several quotes, check they are comparing the same thing. The questions worth asking each one:
- Is the price inclusive of disposal, or is tipping charged on top?
- Does it include the labour of carrying items out of the property?
- What happens to the price if the load is smaller than estimated?
- Are there separate charges for mattresses, fridges or upholstered seating?
- What is your Environment Agency waste carrier registration number?
FAQs
Pricing questions
What people ask when a page about pricing does not have prices on it.
- 1Tell us what you have and where it is
- 2We give you a price for the job
- 3We load it and clear the space
Lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Messages sent outside those hours are answered the next working day.
Get a price for your job
Describe the job and we will give you a price for it. A photo from your phone is usually the fastest way to get an accurate figure.