Cleaning & clearance
Rubbish removal in London, with paperwork you can keep
Rubbish removal in London is a trade with a bad reputation, and it has earned most of it. The cheap quote is cheap because somebody is not paying to dispose of anything, and the waste is traced back to the address it left, not to the van.
Best for
One item to a full van
You get
A waste transfer note
We cover
Every London postcode
What it costs
What rubbish removal actually costs in London
Two things: the space it takes in the van and what it weighs at the facility. Everything else is labour, and labour is mostly about how far it has to be carried.
How much space it takes
Priced by the fraction of a van rather than by the item. Photographs of the pile give a far better answer than a description of it.
What it weighs
Disposal is charged by weight. Soil, rubble, tiles and plasterboard are heavy and are priced differently from the same volume of furniture.
How far it has to be carried
From a driveway is quick. From a rear garden, through a house, to a van two streets away is most of the job.
What floor it is on
A flat clearance carried down four flights is labour, and labour is what you are buying once the disposal is paid for.
Whether it needs separating
Fridges, mattresses, tyres, paint and anything electrical have their own routes and charges. Mixed loads that have to be sorted at the facility cost more than sorted ones.
Whether it is a builder's waste
Construction and demolition waste is a different category with a different disposal route. Tell us if a builder left it, because it changes the answer.
So what would yours cost?
Ten minutes on a video call and you will have it in writing. No obligation, and no number invented over the phone.
Before the day
The cheap quote is cheap for a reason
Most of the cost of taking rubbish away is the cost of disposing of it legally. If a price is well below everyone else's, the saving has to come from somewhere, and there is only one place it can come from.
Fly-tipped waste is searched for names and addresses, and the penalty lands on the household that handed it over, not only on the man with the van. Asking for the registration number takes ten seconds and the Environment Agency register is public.
You get a waste transfer note on every job, recording what was taken and where it went. Keep it. It is the only thing that proves you did what you were supposed to do.
On the day
How a rubbish removal runs
Three things that happen on every job, before and after the lifting.
- 01
Send photographs, get a price
A picture of the pile is enough. You get a figure in writing before we come, not a number worked out standing next to a full van.
- 02
We load it
You do not need to move it to the front, bag it up or be strong enough to lift it. Point at it and it goes.
- 03
It goes to a licensed facility, and you get the note
Sorted for recycling where it can be, and the transfer note emailed to you the same day.
The quote
What the price covers, and what it does not
Both lists go on the written quote, so there is nothing to discover afterwards.
Included
- A price agreed in writing from photographs, before we arrive
- All the loading — you do not need to move anything or bag anything up
- Sorting for recycling where the material allows it
- Disposal at a licensed facility, with a waste transfer note emailed the same day
- A named licensed facility on the paperwork, so you can see where it went
Not included
- Hazardous waste: asbestos, chemicals, clinical waste, gas cylinders or fuel
- Anything that is not yours to dispose of
- Demolition, dismantling or removing anything fixed to the building
- Sweeping or cleaning beyond clearing the space the waste was in
From our Google profile
What people said about their move
Left on our Google profile. Every card links back to it, so you can read the rest — including any we would rather you did not.
Good experience with Metro City Moves. 4 bedroom house seemed bit difficult to move from London to Liverpool, but they planned well and successfully executed. Thank you.
Saqib AwanRead on Google, opens in a new tab
Before you book
Questions people actually ask
How do I check a waste carrier is legitimate?
Ask for their Environment Agency registration number and look it up on the public register, which anybody can search for free. Do it for us and for anybody quoting against us — it takes half a minute and it is the household that gets the penalty if the waste is fly-tipped.
Is this cheaper than a skip?
Usually, for anything under a full skip, and always simpler. No permit, nothing sitting on the street for a week, and no loading it yourself. For a large renovation a skip may still win, and we will say so.
Do I need to bag it up first?
No. Loading is what you are paying for. Point at what is going and leave the rest to us.
Can you take a mattress or a fridge?
Yes, but tell us in advance. Both have their own disposal route and their own charge, and neither can go in with general waste.
What about builders' waste?
Rubble, plasterboard and tiles are a different category and are charged by weight. Say so when you send the photographs and the price will be right first time.
Where does it actually go?
To a licensed transfer station, where it is sorted and as much as possible is recycled. The facility is named on your transfer note, so you are not taking our word for it.
Related reading
The things that catch people out
Parking, vans and packing — the rules read from the source, dated when checked.
- Guide
London parking suspensions for moving house: what every borough charges
The same one-day parking suspension costs £66.66 in Camden and £360 in Haringey. Fees, notice periods and removals concessions for six boroughs, compared.
Read it - Guide
Parking suspension vs dispensation: which one a house move needs
A suspension reserves the parking bay; a dispensation only stops the ticket. That difference decides what a house move needs, and what each borough charges.
Read it - Guide
Red route dispensations: moving house where the council cannot help
TfL sells no parking suspensions on red routes at any price. A dispensation costs £48 a day, needs 6 working days, and red lines take no late applications.
Read it - Guide
ULEZ, removals vans and the Congestion Charge on moving day
ULEZ charges a non-compliant removals van £12.50 a day, everywhere in London, and the Congestion Charge is £18 in the centre. What applies on moving day.
Read it
Get it priced properly
A survey first, then the number in writing. Answered at any hour.