Find a trusted rubbish removalist in Melbourne

Hard rubbish, the tip or a removalist

Many Melbourne councils run a hard rubbish collection, booked or on set dates, where bulky items go out on the nature strip. If you can wait and your items are on the accepted list, it’s the cheapest option. Transfer stations take car-boot and trailer loads for a fee. A paid removalist earns their money when the job won’t wait, the pile is big or mixed, or there are stairs and heavy lifting involved.

The inner suburbs bring their own logistics. Terraces in Fitzroy, Collingwood and Brunswick often have no driveway for a skip, and the bluestone laneway out the back may be too tight for a big truck, so the load gets carried through the house to a smaller vehicle. Apartment buildings usually need a lift and loading dock booked through the owners corporation or building manager.

Green waste is often the easiest load to sort yourself. A few weeks of prunings can go out in your green-lid bin, and transfer stations usually charge less for clean garden waste than for mixed rubbish. A removalist makes sense when a big clean-up leaves a pile you can’t bin or trailer away.

What Victoria won’t let go to landfill

E-waste has been banned from Victorian landfill since 1 July 2019. Anything with a plug, battery or power cord, from TVs and laptops to battery-operated toys, has to go to an e-waste drop-off instead, so tell your removalist if your load includes any. Under EPA Victoria’s rules, you’re also responsible for checking your waste ends up somewhere authorised to take it. Ask where it’s headed and keep the receipt.

Asbestos is a separate job altogether. Old fibro sheeting, eaves and bathroom walls in homes built before about 1990 may contain it. Removing it safely is work for a licensed asbestos removalist, and a business carting it away needs EPA permission. General rubbish removalists will normally turn it down.

Licences, ABNs and skip bin permits

There’s no state licence for rubbish removal in Victoria, so check the business on ABN Lookup and ask about their insurance. If a skip has to sit on the road, footpath or nature strip, most Melbourne councils want a permit first; ask the hire company whether they’ll apply for you and what that adds. A bin on your own driveway usually needs no permit. Our Victorian licence checks page covers the trades that are licensed.

Rubbish removal prices in Melbourne

Melbourne prices sit close to Sydney’s and follow volume, typically working out at $60 to $110 per cubic metre loaded and taken away. Half a truck usually comes to around $300 to $550. A 4 m³ skip runs about $250 to $450 for general waste. A full house clean-out with sorting for donation and recycling typically lands between $800 and $3,000. The rubbish removal price guide has more sizes; treat it as a guide, not a quote.

How the match works

We won’t pass your details to a string of removal companies. Give us a rough idea of the load and where it’s sitting, and we’ll line up one local removalist for you, after checking their ABN, insurance and reviews. Read more about rubbish removal, see other Melbourne trades, or get a free quote.