Forum Topic

bulky waste collection

Has anyone attempted booking a bulky waste collection with Ealing Borough Council?  My first attempt resulted in them taking the money just before the website crashed.  There followed multiple telephone calls/emails to the relevant department (not easy to find the number). I was offered an unscheduled collection which meant the items had to sit in the front yard for a period up to 5 days.  The website was down so I was asked to try again.  Tried again and the website crashed once more.  Exasperated, I googled and found a company called West London Waste that could collect the items on the day I chose.  They charge the same price as LBE and when I finished the transaction via a company called AnyJunk I discovered the collection would be by........London Borough of Ealing!!

Mrs Leonie T Chalker ● 1733d13 Comments

You couldn't make it up.

Susan Kelly ● 1733d

The West London Waste Authority is the joint waste authority (JWA) for the boroughs of Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmohttps://getproofed.com.au/writing-tips/word-choice-license-vs-licence/nd upon Thames who are all  members and represented.  Boroughs throughout London are grouped together into different waste authorities like this.  They can then arrange contracts for the further disposal of all the stuff we no longer want - much of which is not actually at the end of its useful life and can be reused or recycled. Together the boroughs have a better chance to find reuse options and alternative uses and contracts and to retrieve metals etc.  There are dangerous components  in many of the things we throw away and these need to be removed and dealt with safely and separately as some combinations can cause poisonous fumes etc.  I believe all Councils during this pandemic and during this Christmas holiday period concentrating on maintaining regular kerbside waste and recycling collections. 

Philippa Bond ● 1733d

Sorry I lost the updated/unscrambled version of this post.Many people are now using Ebay and other websites (including this - there is actually a classified section) to sell things they don't want.  Some things can be dismantled for spares or fixed by someone who has the time, energy, knowledge and ability.  Websites are also used for giving away to people who want particular things.  Charity shops may not be as accessible right now.  Always check what they want/whether they are open.  Charities also often have online stores.You will find that the West London Waste Authority also lists ways to reduce your waste and particular charities who take furniture for reuse.I particularly like the charity Petit Miracles in Shepherds Bush who take some small items that need a little tlc and may not be quite up to the standard required by some of the others.  Petit Miracles teach prople how to mend and upcycle items - and last time I looked also had an online dhop and pop-up shop.  I wish there were more like this.

Philippa Bond ● 1733d

And if you have any non-ferrous metal items to dispose of it’s worth the effort to take them to somewhere like EMR in Transport Ave, Brentford. Unlike the council recycling sites you don’t need to book, and you get paid for your items. I took a car battery there recently and was paid £6.50 for it. They weigh everything so you do need a moderate weight to make it worthwhile but as they pay you for it you can be sure it gets recycled correctly.

Michael David Rowe ● 1733d

Friends in the past have had visitors come from abroad in the past to collect things likes the parts of old cars and old cameras that they have sold online.  You can put pictures up of what you are selling online too.  Good call re metals and car batteries.  It is all to do with sorting and re-sorting and manpower and time is costly.  What we do for our kerbside collections is only just a little bit of that.  The great thing about websites is that so often things are sorted into sections before they are listed. Even better is when people looking for particular items eg matching pieces of crockery can easily them - ie Wanted as well as a No Longer Wanted sections.We never used to have so much packaging, we didn't have so much credit or such cheaply made items or so many belongings - many have unfortunately only been designed for a short life with no thought and responsibility being taken by the makers for how they will be disposed of at end of life - leaving an increasingly expensive job for Local Authorities.  A lot is now changing for instance you will now find that many things are no longer made of mixed materials or are more easily separated or dismantled or as in the case of cardboard boxes of all sizes - flattened!If you don't sell what you don't want you can also use websites like Freecycle/Freegle an easy interface for which is www.trashnothing.com where you list items and arrange for whatever you don't want to be collected from you.  People also give away things here and on the website  Nextdoor.

Philippa Bond ● 1733d

This info is new for Ealing:https://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/201171/recycling_services/1780/textile_recycling/1

Philippa Bond ● 1733d

There has been a programme on the journey of the unrecycled waste (black sack) from a borough in the Western Riverside Waste Authority (ie Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth and Wandsworth) written and narrated by Will Self on Radio 4.  There to listen again for another day.For a lot of the bulky waste the best/easiest way has been until recently to get old items collected at the same time as the replacement is delivered.  Always check when you buy - and you can also do this with many things you buy eg at Robert Dyas, Curry's etc.  A shortage of HGV drivers more recently has meant that even John Lewis has been having problems delivering and collecting old and new furniture.We are moving towards a circular economy where what we don't want is seen as a resource.  Otherwise we either pollute the earth or the air.  The Ellen Macarthur Foundation has a good website.Unfortunately with all the cuts to the Environment Agency rendering the necessary registration and oversight and checks more difficult there is a lot of illegal activity.  This causes pollution of the countryside and illegal tipping.

Philippa Bond ● 1730d

The final good news is that Anyjunk is great. I booked a date, they turned up on time, having given me warning of their arrival along with the registration number of their vehicle and a photograph of their driver. Highly professional and recommended.

Mrs Leonie T Chalker ● 1729d

That's great! Well done for persevering and using a well known and registered waste collector.  If you don't and your waste is dumped and it is traced back to you - you can be heavily fined.Unfortunately this is happening:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/24/waste-dumping-uk-environment

Philippa Bond ● 1729d

Thanks for that, Leonie.  Just checking this is the correct website for them - https://www.anyjunk.co.uk/Do you know how they price a number of small items - eg an old printer, broken chair etc?  Ealing gives you a price for a number of items so not sure if they work in the same way?

Claire Moran ● 1729d

https://www.westlondonbulkywaste.com/You can find them through the West London Waste Authority website because they do the bulky waste collections for the Boroughs who are the members of the West London Waste Authority.

Philippa Bond ● 1729d

That doesn't look like the same website as anyjunk.  It's anyjunk I'd like to contact.

Claire Moran ● 1729d

That is the AnyJunk that Mrs Chalker used.  She said that she got there through the West London Waste Authority website.  Their logo is there too on the WLWA bulky waste page as they have teamed up with them.  You can put your postal code in and get a quote for whatever it is that you wish them to collect.

Philippa Bond ● 1729d