Council Clean Up
Council offers a service for collecting bulky household items. Use the drop down below to find out how to organise a Council clean up in your area.
If your items are too good for the tip, there are options to reuse and re-home them:
- Visit the Bower Collection and Rehoming Service Bower website,
- Use the Bower Reuse Tool to find organisations who can rehome items the Bower can't accept!
- Bring your problem waste to one of our Community Recycling Centres
- donate to a charity or
- try an online swap and sell site.
Inner West Council – Ashfield
Council offers two scheduled clean up services each year and additionally up to 4 free booked clean up services per household per year.
Scheduled Council clean up
Council holds two general clean ups per year, usually in May and November. Check the online waste calendar to find out the exact date for the clean up in your area. Residents are also notified via letterbox drop about clean up dates for their street.
How to prepare for your Clean Up
- Please separate white goods, metals, garden waste and mattresses into different piles. These materials may be collected by different collection crews.
- Items suitable for collection must be placed on the kerb outside your premises the Sunday before collection in your street begins. Any items placed out earlier could be considered illegal dumping.
- Please remove all doors and locks from refrigerators and other items that have compartments.
- Don’t put out materials that are too dangerous or too large
- Don’t put out commercial, industrial or building waste out for collection – these will not be collected
- Don’t place materials so they block the footpath or hinder pedestrian access
- Don’t place materials out late – they will not be collected.
Please carefully read the list of items we do and don’t collect (PDF 1.1MB) at a scheduled clean up.
Free booked clean up
Moving out or cleaning up? Each household is entitled to 4 free booked clean ups each year.
Arrange your collection at least three weeks ahead.
Book a collection now
Important things to note
- We collect different items in a booked clean up. See list of items below.
- Keep your clean up items to less than 1 cubic metre in size (approximately 8 garbage bags) otherwise it will not be collected.
- Only items that can be lifted by one person will be collected.
- Don't forget to plan ahead and book at least three weeks in advance.
- Items are collected on Mondays.
- Please place items neatly on the kerb the night before your collection. Any items placed out earlier could be considered illegal dumping.
- The free booked clean up service does not operate during the May and November scheduled Council clean ups,
What we do collect
- Garden waste, tied in bundles or bagged
- Damaged household items
- Old furniture
- Items less than 1 metre in length
What we do NOT collect
- Whitegoods, e.g. fridge, stove, washing machine
- Bricks or building materials
- Food waste
- Long or bulky tree branches
- Garden waste that has not been tied or bundled
- Loose items that have not been bagged, boxed, bundled or tied
Inner West Council – Leichhardt
Council offers two scheduled clean ups each year and a free booked clean up for metal, white goods and mattresses.
Scheduled Council clean up
Council holds clean ups of household items twice a year for disposal of damaged items only. Check the online waste calendar to find the dates for your location.
What we do collect
- Damaged furniture (secure doors)
- Damaged soft furnishings
- Broken blinds, toys etc.
- Broken flower pots
What we do NOT collect
- White goods, car parts – Council provides a separate collection for white goods (no car parts)
- TVs, computers and peripherals – visit the household chemical and e-waste drop off page
- Paint, gas cylinders, batteries, fluorescent lamps/tubes, out of date gas bottles, paints, smoke alarms – visit the household chemical and e-waste drop off page
- Building materials such as bricks, concrete, soil, sand, asbestos – See the Business Recycling website for drop off options
- Hazardous chemicals – visit the household chemical and e-waste drop-off page
How to prepare your items
Please place items neatly on the kerb the night before your collection. Any items placed out earlier could be considered illegal dumping. Maximum 1 utility load (approximately 1.5m x 1.5m x 1m).
To arrange a special or extra collection, please phone the Leichhardt Customer Service Centre on 9392 5000 for a quote. Residents can also deliver additional waste to Council’s Weekend Transfer Station in Leichhardt for a fee. This facility is open on Saturday and Sunday.
Booked Council clean up (for metal, white goods and mattresses only)
You can book a collection of metal, white goods and mattresses for recycling free of charge. Please try to book at least two weeks in advance.
Book a collection now
What we collect
- Ovens and stove tops
- Washing machines
- Refrigerators and freezers
- Clothes dryers
- Microwaves
- Metal water heaters
- Small metal appliances (non-repairable)
- Guttering (cut into approx. 1 metre lengths)
- Mattresses
Please place items neatly on the kerb the night before your collection. Any items placed out earlier could be considered illegal dumping.
Other options
Residents can also deliver white goods and mattresses to Council’s Weekend Transfer Station in Leichhardt for a fee. This facility is open on Saturday and Sunday.
Inner West Council – Marrickville
The booked clean-up service is free and available for unwanted household items and furniture every week of the year. The service is divided into four categories to facilitate recycling. Please check those categories before booking your collection.
Book a collection now
Categories
1. Household items and furniture
Did you know that over 80% of household items and furniture collected through the booked cleanup end up in landfill? Your items could be donated, sold or recycled. See our A–Z: What goes where? guide for a range alternatives to dispose of many of your unwanted goods.
What we do collect
- Furniture
- Floor coverings
- Small appliances*
- Timber bed frames
* Avoid adding to landfill – consider holding onto your small appliances and electronic items and diverting them from landfill by dropping them off for recycling at the next household chemical and e-waste drop-off.
What we do NOT collect
- Building materials (including concrete, bricks, sand, gyprock, etc.)
- Tyres
- Car parts
- Paints, oils and toxic waste
- Household garbage
- Items that cannot be lifted by two persons
2. Metal and white goods
Metal goods booked through the free household clean-up service are recycled by our waste contractor Veolia. 100% of materials are recycled.
What we do collect
- BBQs
- Stoves
- Microwaves
- Fridges
- Freezers
- Washing machines
- Dryers
- Hot water systems
- Guttering (maximum 1.8 metres long)
- Single sheet galvanised iron (maximum 1.8 metres long)
- Metal bed frames
What we do NOT collect
- Car parts
- Building materials such as soil, stone, concrete, bricks and timber
- Gas cylinders
- Recyclables
- Polystyrene foam
- Chemicals, including paint
3. Branches - bundled and tied
All of the tree branches collected are processed into mulch and compost.
What we do collect
- Tree branches, bundled and tied
- Christmas trees, bundled and tied
Maximum 1m in length and 15cm in diameter
What we do NOT collect
- Tree stumps
- Dirt
- Leaves in plastic bags
- Rocks
- Building rubble
- Garden hose
- Garbage
- Fruits and vegetables
- Timber off cuts, untreated and painted
4. Mattresses
Inner West Council has partnered with mattress recyclers Soft Landing to collect and recycle mattresses that are no longer used in the former Marrickville Council area. Soft Landing clean and sanitise mattresses in good condition to be distributed to charity. Mattresses that cannot be used are dismantled and recycled in the Soft Landing facility.
What we do collect
- Mattresses (all sizes)
- Ensemble bases
- Futons
What we do NOT collect
- Sofa beds
- Metal bed frames
- Timber bed frames
- Pillows
- Air mattresses
How to make an online booking
- Select the type of waste
- Provide as much information as possible about the items under "description of waste"
- Choose the next available collection date
- Add location details (front, rear or side of property)
- You will be given guidelines on when and how to present your items for collection. Don't forget to mark the collection date on your calendar and take your items out the night before!
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Please note that mattresses are collected within 48 hours of your booked collection date on weekdays, excluding holidays. A maximum of 3 mattresses are allowed per booking.
You can book a free collection for items that belong to the four categories above. Make sure you select all waste categories that apply to your booking to help us recycle. For example, book a mattress pick up separately from a fridge collection under the metal/white goods category. Items in each of the four categories are collected by different trucks as they are taken to different processing facilities for recycling or landfill disposal. Booking your items under the wrong category will cause delays in your collection.
Please place the materials for collection neatly outside your property the night before the collection date ensuring no obstructions to pedestrians. There is a limit of no more than 2 cubic metres of waste (equivalent to a small trailer load) per collection of general clean-ups and metal goods. This means that timber fencing, etc. needs to be less than 2 metres in length.
Remember: Inner West Council has education programs and free clean-up services, so please do not dispose of your waste in public spaces. Illegal dumping can be a health and safety hazard for the community, blocking drains and causing pollution. Dumping is also unsightly, has a magnetic effect, blocks amenities, and has a negative impact on community pride.
Book a collection now