Sofas are not ordinary furniture any more
A wooden wardrobe is timber and it gets recycled as timber. A sofa is foam, fabric, flame retardant and a frame, and under the persistent organic pollutants rules, upholstered domestic seating has to be kept apart from other waste streams and sent for incineration with energy recovery. Every armchair, sofa bed, footstool and dining chair with a padded seat falls under it.
That is why a sofa costs more to take away than a table twice its size, and why skip firms either refuse them or surcharge them.
What removal costs
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Two-seater sofa | £40 |
| Three-seater sofa | £60 |
| L-shaped or corner sofa | £90 |
| Sofa bed (any size) | Add £50 |
| Armchair | Quoted with the load |
Corner units cost more for two reasons: volume, and the fact that they frequently have to be taken apart to get out of the room. If a sofa came into a Cardiff terrace through a bay window twelve years ago, it is not going back out through the hallway now. We dismantle where we have to — it is part of the job, not an extra.
If the sofa is going at the same time as other things, ask for it as a load rather than per item. A three-piece suite priced individually usually costs more than a quarter or half van load.
Can you donate it instead?
Sometimes, and it is worth two phone calls before you pay anyone. Furniture reuse charities and schemes across South Wales will take sofas that are clean, structurally sound and — this is the one that stops most of them — still carrying the original fire-safety label sewn into the frame or under a cushion. No label, no donation. It is a legal requirement for resale, not a preference.
Check the label first. If it is there and the sofa is in genuinely good order, a reuse charity will often collect free and the sofa gets another decade of use. If the label has been cut off, skip straight to disposal.
The other routes
- Council bulky collection — cheap per item, but booked weeks ahead and it must be at the kerb. Fine if you are not in a rush and you have someone to help carry.
- Recycling centre — free to drop off, but you need a vehicle it will fit in and van access is normally restricted.
- New sofa delivery takeaway — arrange it when you order, never on the day.
- Licensed clearance — carried out of the room, same or next day, with a waste transfer receipt.
What we do with it
Upholstery goes to a permitted facility for energy recovery, which is what the regulations require. Any hardwood frame that can be separated is separated. Nothing goes in a lay-by, and every job comes with paperwork showing our Natural Resources Wales carrier registration CBDU034669. That receipt is what proves you met your duty of care as a householder.
Before you book
Send a photo of the sofa, and one of the doorway or stairs it has to come through. Tell us the floor. That is genuinely all we need to give you a fixed price rather than a range.