What the Council's Bulky Waste Charge in Kensington Actually Buys You

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea runs a bulky waste collection it calls Too Big for the Bin. It takes up to ten bulky items for forty-four pounds, and that fee is non-refundable. If you receive Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support, the service is free for you.

Those are the headline numbers, and they are worth knowing before you decide how to clear a flat, a basement or a houseful of odds and ends. We are often asked whether it is cheaper or easier, so this guide stays on the facts the council publishes and then explains where our own crew fits in.

The allowance is ten items in one booking, not ten separate visits. For a household with a single sofa and a couple of mattresses that is generous. For a whole-house clearance it runs out quickly, which is where the maths starts to change.

It also pays to think about what counts as one item. A dismantled wardrobe bundled into one lot counts as one item, so bundling loose pieces together is often the sensible approach. We cover the item-counting quirks in more detail in the companion guides on this site.

The service is for household bulky items and it accepts most furniture and household goods, including televisions and stereos, washing machines, sofas, tables, chairs and mattresses. It is not a general rubbish service, and there is a clear list of things it will not take.

Garden waste, car parts, paint, hazardous waste and builder's waste are all outside the service, as are pianos and items infested with bedbugs or unhygienic items such as soiled mattresses. If your load is mostly one of those, a different route is the honest answer.

A council booking asks you to get your items outside and ready, and to live with the rules that come with it. Our crew works in the other direction. We come to the property, carry items down from upper floors or up from large basements, load everything in one visit and take it away the same day.

For a mansion block with a service lift, a trustee flat with a porter on the door, or a rental changeover where the inventory has to be ready, that door-to-door approach is usually what people actually want. We can move the whole load in one appointment rather than counting items against a limit.

Council bookings are made directly with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its waste team can be reached on 020 7361 3001. Because the fee is non-refundable, it is worth reading the presentation and timing rules carefully before you commit.

If you would rather talk through your own load first, our team is happy to look at photographs and tell you plainly whether the council route, a private clearance or a mix of both is the sensible option for your property.