How to Get Rid of a Fridge Freezer or Washing Machine in London

A fridge freezer or washing machine is one of the hardest things to get out of a London home. Both are too heavy for one person on the stairs, neither can go in the wheelie bin, and a fridge has to end up somewhere that can recover the gas in its pipes and its insulation. The good news is that there are more ways to get rid of one than most people expect, and several of them cost nothing. If you are buying a replacement, the shop has to offer to take the old one back. A working appliance can be sold, given away or collected by a charity. Councils will take most fridges and washing machines from the kerb, and household recycling centres accept them if you can get them there and lift them safely. This guide goes through each route, what it costs, the rules that catch people out, and how to get either appliance ready so the collection goes smoothly, whoever turns up for it.

The Short Answer: Five Ways to Get Rid of One

Whether it’s a fridge freezer, a chest freezer or a washing machine, the realistic options in London are the same five:

1. Hand it back to the retailer when you buy a new one. Shops must offer to take back an old appliance of the same type. Handing it in at the shop is free; collection from your home usually carries a fee.
2. Sell it, give it away or donate it if it still works. Charity collections and listing sites are free, but a charity will only take a clean, working, saleable appliance.
3. Book a council bulky waste collection. Free in nine London boroughs, charged in the rest, and normally from the kerb, not from inside your home.
4. Take it to a recycling centre yourself. Usually free for residents, but you need a vehicle, a second pair of hands and, at many sites, a booked slot.
5. Book a licensed collection. With us, a fridge freezer starts from £115 and a washing machine from £100, carried out from wherever it stands.

What you should never do is leave it on the pavement for a passing scrap van. Leaving white goods in the street is against the law unless a collection has been arranged, because it blocks the path and the appliance may never reach a recycler.

Buying a New One? The Shop Has to Offer to Take the Old One

Under the UK’s electrical waste rules, a retailer that sells you a new appliance must offer to take back your old one, as long as it does the same job. It doesn’t matter what brand it is or where you bought it. You get at least 28 days to bring it back, and taking it back in the shop must be free.

The catch with a fridge freezer or washing machine is the word shop. Retailers are allowed to charge to cover transport when they collect from your home, and very few Londoners can carry a washing machine into a branch. In practice, the old appliance goes away on the delivery lorry and you pay for that service. Here is what the large retailers say on their own websites (checked October 2026):

• John Lewis collects large electrical appliances when you buy a new one from them, for what it calls a small charge. On two-person deliveries, crews will also take an old small electrical item free if there is room on the van.
• Currys deliveries are made by its Knowhow team, which will remove and recycle your old appliance for a small fee. Bringing an old product into a Currys store is free.
• AO runs a paid collect-and-recycle service that, according to Which?, you can use even if you are not buying from AO.

Fees change, so check the price at checkout rather than relying on a figure you read elsewhere. Retailers also set conditions you need to meet before the delivery slot:

• Disconnected. Unless you have paid for installation, the old appliance must already be safely disconnected from water and power.
• Defrosted and dry. Fridges and freezers must be fully defrosted and free of water.
• Gas cookers must be disconnected by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

If the delivery crew can’t take the old one – it wasn’t ready, it was a different type, or you forgot to add the service – you’re back to the other routes below.

Why a Fridge Can’t Just Be Scrapped

A fridge or freezer holds gas in two places: the refrigerant in the cooling pipes, and the blowing agent trapped in the foam insulation inside the walls and doors. Which gas depends on the age of the appliance. Fridges made before about 1995 typically used CFCs and HCFCs, which damage the ozone layer. Newer ones moved to HFCs, which are powerful greenhouse gases, and to hydrocarbons such as butane and pentane, which are highly flammable.

That is why government guidance classes every household fridge and freezer as hazardous waste, and why they go to specialist treatment plants rather than an ordinary scrapyard. The process has two stages:

1. Degassing. The refrigerant and compressor oil are drawn out of the cooling circuit, the compressor is removed and drained, and drawers, glass and switches come out.
2. Shredding in a sealed plant. The cabinet is shredded in an enclosed system so the gas released from the foam can be captured. Steel, aluminium, copper and plastic are separated for recycling, and the captured gases are usually destroyed by high-temperature incineration.

Two practical points follow from this. First, never cut, bend or puncture the pipes at the back to make the fridge lighter or easier to move: you release the gas, and in a modern fridge that gas is flammable. Second, skip firms generally won’t accept fridges, so don’t plan to slip one into a renovation skip.

One thing fridges are not is POPs waste. The rule that sends upholstered sofas and armchairs to incineration doesn’t apply here; government guidance lists fridges as hazardous but non-POPs. The full story on sofas is in our sofa disposal guide.

Washing Machines: Heavy, Wet and Easy to Recycle

A washing machine has no gas in it, and government guidance classes it as non-hazardous waste. What makes it awkward is weight. Most weigh at least 65 kg, partly because of a concrete block built in to keep the machine stable while it spins. On a narrow staircase in a converted Victorian house, that is a two-person lift with no room to swap hands.

Once it reaches a recycling plant, almost all of it is worth something: the motor, steel, copper, aluminium and plastics are all routinely recovered. Before it leaves your home, though, it needs some preparation:

• Water off and unplugged. Turn the supply off at the isolating valve, unplug the machine and pull it out from under the worktop.
• Drain it. A machine still holds a litre or two in the sump after its last cycle. Tilt it forward over a tray or towel and open the filter so the water doesn’t end up on the hallway floor.
• Integrated machines have to come out of their housing before anyone can carry them, so allow time for that.

The same applies to dishwashers. Tumble dryers are simpler to move, with one exception: heat pump tumble dryers contain refrigerant just like a fridge, and are classed as hazardous waste for the same reason. Vented and condenser dryers are not. If you are clearing a whole kitchen, our pages on tumble dryer removal, dishwasher disposal and cooker disposal cover the differences.

Council Collection and Recycling Centres in London

Every London council runs a bulky waste service, and most will take a washing machine without fuss. Barking & Dagenham, Enfield, Harrow, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Wandsworth collect free within an annual allowance; the rest charge. Fridges are where council rules differ most:

• Hillingdon: Currently unable to collect fridges or freezers.
• Lewisham: No American-style fridge freezers.
• Richmond: Fridges and freezers are booked separately.
• Newham: Fridges and sofas come on separate vehicles.

Wherever you live, the appliance normally has to be outside at the front on the collection morning, and a fridge will usually need to be defrosted and emptied first. Our council bulky waste guide lists every borough’s price, item limit and booking link.

Recycling centres accept fridges, freezers and washing machines from residents, usually free. At Smugglers Way in Wandsworth, a fridge or freezer in good condition can go in the reuse bay to be passed on to local charities, and Lambeth residents can also drop fridges at the Vale Street site in West Norwood. Before you load up, check three things:

• Vehicle and booking. A fridge freezer or washing machine needs a van or a large estate car, and many London sites want vans booked in advance. Our recycling centre booking guide explains how it works.
• Proof of address for the area the site serves.
• Lifting. Only go if you can lift it safely, and keep a fridge as upright as you can on the way.

Site addresses and opening hours are in our London rubbish tips guide.

Selling, Donating or Giving Away a Working Appliance

If the appliance still works, getting rid of it can cost nothing – and if it has developed a fault, a repair is often cheaper than a replacement. For a working fridge or washing machine:

• Sell it on eBay, Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace, collection only. Be upfront about any faults.
• Give it away on Freecycle, Freegle or a local Facebook group; whoever takes it does the carrying.
• Donate it. The British Heart Foundation offers free collections of furniture and electrical goods for its stores, including fridges and washing machines. Items must work and be in a condition it can sell, and it doesn’t accept built-in kitchen appliances or washer dryers.

Before you pass an appliance on, check the model isn’t on a safety recall. Electrical Safety First keeps a free recall checker, and the British Heart Foundation, for one, turns away some recalled models. If it has stopped working, the reuse routes close and you are back to the retailer, the council, the tip or a licensed collection.

Booking a Licensed Collection

If the appliance is upstairs, there is no lift, or you need it gone before a new one is delivered, a licensed waste carrier is the simplest route. Whoever you book, ask for their waste carrier registration number and a waste transfer note afterwards. If a cheap collector fly-tips your fridge, you can be fined too – our householder duty of care guide explains why.

Our prices are on our prices page: the £45 single-item rate plus the eco-charge that covers the appliance’s disposal route.

• Fridge, freezer or fridge freezer: from £115; larger units such as American-style fridge freezers and chest freezers from £165. The eco-charge covers recovery of the gas at a licensed facility.
• Washing machine, tumble dryer or oven: from £100.
• Dishwasher: from £70.
• Two or more appliances: priced by the size of the load, plus the eco-charge for each one.

All prices are subject to VAT. A two-person team carries the appliance out from wherever it stands, on any floor, and every one goes to a licensed WEEE treatment facility, with a waste transfer note for your records. Send a photo and tell us the floor and whether there is a lift, and we’ll confirm a fixed price before we arrive. Book early in the day and we can usually collect the same day, subject to availability. Before the crew arrives:

• Switch the fridge off and let it defrost, ideally 24 hours ahead, with the food out and towels underneath. If it died suddenly and can’t be defrosted, tell us when you book.
• Turn off the water, unplug the washing machine and drain it.
• Clear a path from the kitchen to the front door.

See our pages on fridge freezer removal, freezer disposal and washing machine disposal, or book online with a photo.