Junk removal, done properly
Junk removal is the simplest thing we do. You show us what needs to go, we load it, and it leaves. No skip sitting outside the house for a week, no queue at the recycling centre, no lifting.
It suits all sorts of jobs: a broken chair and a few bags, the leftovers from a clear-out you've done yourself, or a full van load after a big sort-out. Landlords and letting agents use it for the rubbish a tenant leaves behind, and estate agents for the last few bits before the photographs. For whole rental or sale properties, see property clearance.
- You don't carry anything. We collect from inside the house, the garden, the garage or the side passage.
- One item or a full van. Small jobs are priced to suit.
- Collected legally. Everything travels under our waste collection permit, explained further down.
- Sorted, not dumped. Reusable items set aside, metals, electricals and cardboard recycled, the rest to licensed facilities.
- A fixed price from photos. Usually the same day.
What we take
Nearly all household junk and rubbish:
- broken or unwanted furniture (see furniture removal if that's all it is)
- old appliances and electricals: fridges, cookers, microwaves, TVs and computers
- bags of clutter, clothes, toys and bric-a-brac
- cardboard, boxes and packaging
- bikes, garden furniture, barbecues and trampolines
- old carpet and underlay that has already been lifted
- green waste from the garden (more on garden clearance)
- small amounts of DIY waste, such as old kitchen units, doors and timber
What we can't take, or only after a conversation:
- asbestos, in any form
- chemicals, solvents and large amounts of paint or oil
- gas cylinders, which normally go back to the supplier
- clinical or medical waste
- heavy builders' rubble, soil and concrete in quantity. Tell us first, as a skip or a grab lorry is sometimes the better option.
spotless.ie
What the price includes
The price we give you covers the whole collection, not just the van:
- Carrying from wherever it is, including stairs, attics, garages and back gardens.
- Taking things apart, like bed frames, trampolines, shelving and garden furniture, so they load safely.
- Sorting and disposal, with reuse, recycling and licensed facility charges built in.
- A sweep where the pile was, so you're not left with a patch of grit and broken bits.
What it doesn't cover is hazardous waste, heavy rubble in quantity, or anything you didn't show us. If there's more on the day than was in the photos, we'll show you and agree it before loading the extra.
How big is your job?
Junk removal covers most small and medium jobs, but some have a page of their own with more detail:
| Size of job | Typical example | The page for you |
|---|---|---|
| One or two big items | A sofa, a fridge, a mattress | Furniture removal |
| A few bags and bits | Clutter from a spare room, rubbish left after a move | This page: junk removal |
| A room, garage or shed | A full box room, a garage of old tools, a packed shed | Garage clearance or shed clearance |
| A whole property | Every room, the attic and the garden | House clearance |
How junk removal is priced
Junk removal is priced mainly by volume: how much of our Luton van your rubbish will fill. A few bags and a chair take up a corner; the contents of a packed garage might fill most of it.
The rest of the price comes down to:
- Access: a pile at the front door is quicker than a third-floor flat with no lift.
- Weight: heavy materials like timber or wet garden waste take more effort than bags of clothes.
- Special items: fridges, freezers, mattresses and electricals each need their own disposal route.
Send a few photos with something in the shot for scale, like a doorway or a wheelie bin beside the pile. A fixed price usually comes back the same day.
Our junk removal guide goes through the options for getting rid of junk in Dublin.
Step by step on collection day
- We arrive in the agreed slot and go through what's going with you, or with whoever is letting us in.
- Nothing extra goes. Only what you've pointed out or shown in your photos is taken, so the bike you meant to keep stays where it is.
- We load as we sort. Electricals, metal and cardboard are kept apart in the van from the general rubbish.
- We sweep up where the pile was, inside or out.
- You get a photo on WhatsApp if you couldn't be there.
We're fully insured on every job, including the smallest ones. Bigger loads take longer than a few bags, and we'll tell you roughly how long when we quote.
Access, parking and awkward spots
Tell us where the van can stop. A driveway or a space right outside is quickest. On streets with permit parking or double yellow lines, a short carry is still fine, but it helps to know in advance.
Junk is rarely in a convenient place, so we're used to:
- Side passages and back lanes, where the rubbish has been piling up out of sight.
- Attics and lofts, with items passed down carefully through the hatch.
- Apartments, with a lift booking and the management company's rules on where we can load.
- No rear access, where everything comes through the house with covers on the floors first.
- Garages, where the junk is usually wedged in behind the car, the lawnmower and the bikes you're keeping.
How long it takes
A few bags and a broken chair are loaded in minutes. A full van load carried from upstairs rooms, or from the far end of a long garden, takes a good deal longer. We'll give you a realistic estimate with the price, so you know whether to plan around a short visit or most of a morning. Collection is often possible within a couple of days of you saying yes.
Where your junk goes
We sort as we load, so very little of what we collect ends up mixed together:
- Reuse. Bikes, toys, garden furniture and household items in decent condition are set aside so someone else can use them where possible.
- Recycling. Metal, cardboard, televisions, fridges and other electricals each go to the right recycling route.
- Licensed facilities. Broken, worn or mixed rubbish goes to licensed waste facilities.
Some things have a better route than our van. A working appliance might find a new home through a local reuse group, and a shop delivering a new fridge or washing machine will often take the old one away. Use those routes when they suit, and call us for everything that's left.
Why the waste permit matters
In Ireland, anyone who collects household waste for money has to hold a waste collection permit. If you hand your rubbish to someone without one and it ends up dumped in a lane or a ditch, it can be traced back to you, and householders can be fined.
So before you hand anything over, ask for the permit number and check it on the National Waste Collection Permit Office's public register. Ours is easy to check: SPOTLESS.IE is operated by Krystal Klean Express Limited (trading as Krystal Klean), an authorised waste carrier holding a valid Waste Collection Permit issued by the National Waste Collection Permit Office. Permit No. NWCPO-25-13287-01. Be wary of social media offers to take "anything, any time" for cash with no permit number given.
Want a price for your junk? Take a few photos of what needs to go, add your area, and send them on WhatsApp. We'll reply with a fixed price, usually the same day.
Junk removal or a skip?
A skip makes sense if you've got time, help with the lifting and somewhere to put it. Bear in mind that a skip on the road usually needs a council permit, you do all the loading yourself, and many skip firms restrict fridges, mattresses and electricals.
With junk removal, we do the lifting, the rubbish is gone in one visit, and nothing sits outside your house. For most household amounts it's the simpler option. Our comparison of house clearance vs skip hire goes into more detail.
And for just a couple of bags, honestly, a trip to your local recycling centre may make more sense than booking us.
Getting ready for the collection
- Gather it in one place if that's easy, such as the hall, the garage or the front garden.
- Keep the keepers apart. Anything that's staying should be clearly separate, or in another room.
- Defrost fridges and freezers the day before, and leave the doors open.
- Mention anything awkward: very heavy items, a loft hatch, a locked side gate.
- Free up a parking space outside if you can.
- Take your photos before you start moving things, so the price matches what's really there.
Rubbish removal in Dublin and all of Leinster
We're based in Dublin and collect junk and rubbish in every Leinster county, from Louth and Meath to Wexford, Laois and Longford.
- Dublin: from city-centre flats to suburban semis. For whole houses, see house clearance in Dublin.
- Kildare: Naas, Newbridge, Maynooth, Leixlip, Celbridge, Athy and the villages between. More on clearances in Kildare.
- Wicklow: Bray, Greystones and across the county. See Wicklow.
- Carlow and Kilkenny: towns and rural homes across both counties. See Carlow and Kilkenny.
You might also know our sister site, junkremoval.ie, which is run by the same owner. Either way, a few photos are all it takes to get a price.
