Dumping old furniture and other bulky items on the street for others to take is not recycling. Leaving old and broken things by the road or kerbside is illegal. You could be up for fines of $500 or more.
Contact us instead. We’ll take the mattress that’s seen better days, or the fridge that’s not keeping its cool.
Here are some items you could have taken off your hands by the free, weekly City of Sydney pick-up service.
Mattresses and furniture
When properly recycled, these bulky pieces can be split into lots of useful parts. Steel springs become scrap metal, furniture foam can become carpet underlay, and fabric and felt pads can be recycled into boxing bags, among other things. Some furniture pieces can also be refurbished and donated to charity.
Whitegoods, appliances and barbecues
When taken apart, the metal, screws, bolts and wires in whitegoods can contribute to plenty of other projects. But forget the gas bottles that come with barbecues. And same goes for motor oil, batteries and anything else that might be hazardous (paints, chemicals, poisons). Check with Garbage Guru about the best way to dispose of those.
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If you live in the City of Sydney you can book a free waste pick-up online or call 02 9265 9333.
Published 2 November 2015, updated 4 April 2024
