Camden Bulky Waste Collection & Rubbish Clearance Guide
This is the ultimate guide to Camden bulky waste collection and rubbish clearance. It covers everything you need to know about how to dispose of any rubbish or junk too big for your normal bin (eg. sofa, fridge, DIY waste, fridge, office chair) if you live or work in the Camden area. It includes which service is best for different types of waste and what is the cheapest and/or most environmentally friendly.
Key sections are:
- Reuse options
- Camden Council bulky item collection service
- Man & van rubbish clearance collectors
- Example man & van collection jobs with prices
- Skip hire providers and prices (and skip permit fees)
- HWRCs / civic amenity sites for Camden residents
- Interesting rubbish stats for Camden council
1. Reuse options in Camden
The greenest and cheapest way to dispose of something is to give it to somebody for reuse. You can donate bulky items to an individual directly or to a reuse charity. Remember, if you wish to donate upholstered furniture to a charity, it must have a fire safety certificate.
Donate to a Person Directly
Assuming that no one in your network is interested in the item, the simplest way to donate is to list it on LoveJunk and tick the ‘reusable’ box. This notifies reusers based in or near Camden and, if someone wants it, they will send you an offer via our app to pick it up. The process is super easy and free.
Camden reuse charities
Below is a list of local Camden Reuse Charities that collect good quality furniture and/or domestic appliances for free. Bear in mind they are charities, so response times and service levels can vary greatly.
Bright Sparks Community Projects | 176 Seven Sisters Road, London, N7 7PX |
NLWA | Unit 1B, Berol House 25 Ashley Road Tottenham Hale, London, N17 9LJ |
Little Village HQ | 150 Ossulston St, NW1 1EE |
Camden Giving | 5-7 Buck St, London, NW1 8NJ |
Marys Living & Giving | 109 Regent's Park Rd, NW1 8UR |
Triad | 154 Camden High St, NW1 0NE |
Sue Ryder | 46-50 Parkway, NW1 7AH |
Oxfam | 89 Camden High St, NW1 7JL |
BHF | 65 Camden High St, NW1 7JL |
Bear in mind that charities can only accept furniture with fire labels. If you just want to get rid of furniture hassle free, check out Furniture Removal Camden.
2. Camden council bulky waste collection service
Camden council offers a relatively cheap collection service for bulky items. It is not available to local businesses or tradespeople.
Cost of Camden council bulky waste collection service
The council charges:
- £25 for 1 to 5 items
- £50 for 6 to 10 items
- £75 for 11 to 15 items
Other information about the council bulky service:
Response time: typical wait times are 2- 3 weeks.
Concessions: available for elderly residents and people receiving income benefits
Appliances: they charge £10 for 1 or 2 large electrical items
DIY/ home improvement waste: the service does not cover DIY style, home improvement waste
Internal collections: not available. All waste must to be placed outside the property in advance of collection date.
Garden waste: the council also offers a Garden waste collection service. This costs £75 for a 12-month service and is a weekly collection service of up to 3 garden waste bags or one brown garden waste wheelie bin.
More details: full details of Camden’s bulky waste collection service, including how to book, can be found here.
2. Use a private licensed man & van waste collector
If you cannot donate your item and don’t want to or cannot use the council bulky collection service, then you will likely require a licensed man & van rubbish collector.
Similar to the council service, a man and van waste contractor comes to the property, loads up your bulky waste and takes it away for the disposal. The key differences to the council service are speed (private contractors can normally pick up the same day), labour (they can collect from anywhere on the property), and scope (they take all types of waste).
The cost of a private man and van collection largely depends on the type and quantity of waste and your flexibility about when you need it removing. To get a rough idea, see the section below. For more examples and price guidance, see our Rubbish Removal Price Gallery.
Find cheapest waste collector in Camden
The simplest way to find the cheapest, available licensed man & van waste collector in Camden is to use the LoveJunk marketplace. LoveJunk guarantees all collectors are properly licensed and insured and also provide full details of where your waste ends up and how much avoids going landfill. That is why LoveJunk is so widely recommended by councils, including Camden Council.
4. Example bulky waste collection prices in Camden
5. Skip hire Camden
Another way to dispose of bulky waste in Camden is skip hire. Unlike man & van rubbish clearance, you need to load the skip and the price is fixed regardless of how much you fill it. Skip hire is generally much more expensive than using a man & van but a skip is useful if you have lots of messy waste you wish to contain while undertaking a project.
Local skip hire companies
List in alphabetical order of licensed skip hire companies that serve Camden area:
Skip prices in Camden
Typical Camden skip hire prices (including VAT) for mixed general waste before any skip permit or parking bay suspension fees are:
Builder skip: 6 – 8 cubic yard skip @ £245 - £265
Maxi skip: 10 - 12 cubic yard skip @ £340 - £360
Skip permits and bay suspensions
If you need to place your skip on the road, you will need a skip permit license and possibly a CPZ parking suspension. For more information, read our Guide to Skip Permits and Bay Suspensions.
Skip License Camden: £58.16 for 2 weeks; £84.87 for 4 weeks
CPZ Bay Suspension: £42.21 for 1 day; £46.42 for 2-5 days; £50.65 for 6-10 days
Here is a link to the council website for skip permits: https://www.camden.gov.uk/skip-licence
6. Tips & HWRCs in Camden
If you have transport, a low cost way of disposing of your bulky waste is to take it to you nearest council tip. Council tips are only available to residents not businesses.
Below is a map of council tips, household waste recycling centres and civic amenity sites in or near the Camden region.
Map of Camden tips
List of nearest sites and postcode:
- Regis Road Reuse and Recycling Centre - NW5 3EW. Opening hours: Monday - Sunday 9am to 4am
- Hornsey Street Reuse Recycling Centre – N7 8HU. Opening hours: Monday - Sunday 9am to 4am
Useful additional info:
- Booking: Book at least 24 hours in advance (up to two weeks ahead)
- Height restriction barrier: 1.85m
- Help unloading: Site staff cannot help unless you have proof of a disability
- Charges: Free of charge
- Waste types not accepted: trade (commercial) waste
- Waste types accepted: Each North London household can take up to six standard rubble sacks of soil/rubble to an RRC each month. This includes concrete, brick, stones, pebbles, soil, sand and gravel.
7. Rubbish stats for Camden
In 2021, there were 36,696 reported instances of fly tipping in Camden. That figure equates to 131 fly tips per 1000 residents and 33 fly tips per 100 households, based on a population of 279,516 and 111,400 households respectively. To see how Camden compares to other councils in London and the rest of the country, read our analysis of Fly tipping in England and Fly tipping in London.