How to dispose of rubbish in Liverpool

26 January 2023

This guide answers how to dispose to rubbish in Liverpool, for when you need to get rid of anything that’s too big for your wheelie bins. This can include items like sofas, appliances or garden waste, for example. The key sections in this article are:

Reuse options in Liverpool
Liverpool council bulky waste collection service
Man & van collectors, including how to find a good one in Liverpool plus example prices
Skip hire Liverpool plus local providers, prices and permit fees
Local recycling centres in Liverpool

1. Reuse options in Liverpool

There are plenty of options for reuse in Liverpool and the great thing is that most of them are free. Below are some popular reuse charities and social enterprises in Liverpool. They accept second hand items that are larger, like furniture and appliances.

Reuse organisation	Address
T&T Furnishings	27 Broad Ln, Kirkby, L32 6QA
British Heart Foundation Furniture & Electrical Liverpool	509 W Derby Rd, Tuebrook, L6 4BW
Emmaus Merseyside Charity Superstore	42-44 Sandy Rd, Seaforth, L21 3TW

For a full breakdown of how you can reuse unwanted larger items in Liverpool, read our Guide to Reuse and Freecycle Liverpool, or find out more about Furniture Removal in Liverpool.

2. Liverpool council bulky waste collection service

Liverpool city offers a bulky waste collection service for items that don’t fit in your wheelie bins. They can collect up to 5 bulky items at a time, plus up to 5 small electrical items and up to 5 bags of textiles.

Click here to see a full list of the items they do and don’t collect. They’ll collect most large household items except for pianos, garden waste and DIY waste. You can dispose of these items at recycling centres or with a man & van collector (see below for both).

Cost of the collection service: Liverpool’s bulky waste collection service is free.

More details: Book your free council collection here. To amend or cancel your booking, find the links in your confirmation email. If you need to cancel or change something within 24 hours of your booking, you have to call: 0151 233 3001.

3. Licensed man and van waste collectors

An alternative to the Liverpool council service is hiring a licensed man & van rubbish collector. There are a few advantages to this option:

Faster response time
They can usually collect all waste, including most of the council’s prohibited items
Man & van collectors can take waste from inside your property. This is helpful if you can’t lift or move the items outside yourself

Always make sure a waste removal business is appropriately licensed and insured. They need Environment Agency approval to operate, otherwise they are classed as cowboy operators. Fly tipping is a big problem, and often happens at the hands of these unofficial collectors!

Cheapest licensed rubbish removal in Liverpool

The best way to find a local, fully licensed waste collection business in Liverpool is to use the LoveJunk marketplace. Getting rid of your items is really easy. All you need to do is take a picture of your unwanted stuff, choose a collection time and publish your listing. A nearby licensed waste carrier gives a quote to remove it. If your item is reusable, a reuser can come and pick it up for free. Either way, you’ll get rid of your item responsibly. It’s free to use the LoveJunk platform and the marketplace is recommended by many councils around the country.

4. Skip hire Liverpool

Skips are useful if you have messy waste or rubble to dispose of. Unlike man & van collectors, though, you’ll need to load the skip yourself. Skip prices are fixed so it doesn’t matter how full or empty the skip is, you’ll pay the same. It’s usually much more expensive to hire a skip because of additional permit and license fees.

Liverpool skip hire companies

We recommend local licensed companies when looking to hire a skip. Here are some of the main skip hire companies operating in Liverpool:

OB Skips & Recycling Limited	0151 230 0663
Ben Karalius Skip Hire	07921 138468
Windmill Skip Hire	0151 546 7118
Top Skips	0151 252 2074

Skip hire prices in Liverpool

Here are the typical skip hire prices (including VAT) for a mixed general waste skip in Liverpool. Prices reflect a hire period of 14 days. They do not include the cost of necessary skip permits or parking bay suspensions.

Builder skip: 8 cubic yard skip @ £285

Maxi skip: 10-12 cubic yard skip @ £495

Skip Permits and Bay Suspensions

To place a skip on the road or in a parking bay (as opposed to on your drive, for example), you need a skip permit license and/ or a controlled parking zone (CPZ) suspension permit. If you need one of these, your skip hire company deals with the application. Just be aware of the extra costs.

Skip license Liverpool: £10-£20 up to 7 days.

CPZ Bay Suspension in Liverpool: £24 per day, plus £25 administration fee.

5. Liverpool recycling centre sites

There are 2 recycling centres in Liverpool (bold below), and 16 in Merseyside which residents of any borough in the county have access to. You do not need to book an appointment to visit the recycling centres if you’re visiting in a standard car. You do if you’re going in a van, pickup truck or with a trailer.

Here are all of Merseyside recycling centre addresses:

Bidston Recycling Centre – Wallasey Bridge Road, CH41 1EB
Clatterbridge Recycling Centre – Mount Road, CH63 6JE
Formby Recycling Centre – Altcar Road, L37 8DL
Huyton Recycling Centre – Wilson Road, L36 6AD
Johnsons Lane Recycling Centre – Johnson’s Lane, WA8 0SJ
Kirkby Recycling Centre – Depot Lane, L33 3AR
Newton-le-Willows Recycling Centre – Junction Lane, WA12 8DN
Old Swan Recycling Centre: Cheadle Avenue, L13 3AF
Otterpool Recycling Centre: Jericho Lane, Aigburth, L17 5AR
Picow Farm – Picow Farm Road, WA7 4UD
Rainhill Recycling Centre, Tasker Terrace, L35 4NX
Ravenhead Recycling Centre – Burtonhead Road, WA9 5EA
Sefton Meadows Recycling Centre – Sefton Lane, L31 8BX
South Sefton Recycling Centre – Irlam Road, L20 4AE
Southport Recycling Centre – Foul Lane, PR9 7RG
West Kirby Recycling Centre – Greenbank Road, CH48 5HR

To see opening hours, how to book and what to bring with you, see our Liverpool Recycling Centre Guide.

Map of Liverpool tips

Other resources

Thanks for reading! We hope you found our how to dispose of rubbish in Liverpool guide useful. For more detail on all disposal options including waste specific guides, see our How to Dispose of Rubbish guide.

Junk Diaries