Find a trusted rubbish removalist in Newcastle

Try the council and the tip first

Before you pay anyone, check what’s free or cheap. Councils across the Newcastle area run booked kerbside collections for some bulky household items, though each sets its own rules on what goes out and how much. If you have a trailer, City of Newcastle’s Summerhill Waste Management Centre and Lake Macquarie’s Awaba Waste Management Facility take household loads for a fee. Eligible drink containers go back through Return and Earn for 10 cents each, and furniture in decent shape can go to a charity or a local buy-nothing group.

A removalist earns their money when the load is big and mixed, the lifting is heavy, there are stairs or a long carry, or you simply need it gone this week. They load the truck, sort what can be recycled and pay the tip fees, so weigh their price against your own time, trailer hire and gate fees.

Fibro, asbestos and storm clean-ups

Newcastle and Lake Macquarie have plenty of homes built before about 1990 with fibro walls, eaves, sheds or bathroom linings, and any of it may contain asbestos. Removalists and skip companies won’t take suspect fibro mixed in with general waste. If you’re not sure what it is, get a sample tested before you start pulling things apart. NSW requires a SafeWork NSW licensed removalist for anything over 10 m² of non-friable asbestos, and even a small amount must be wrapped in heavy plastic and taken to a landfill that can lawfully accept it.

Storm clean-ups are the other big local job. After an east coast low or a summer storm, yards fill with fallen branches, broken fence palings and soaked carpet. Green waste is usually cheaper to dispose of than general rubbish, so keep the two in separate piles if you can.

No licence, but rules still apply in NSW

Rubbish removal isn’t a licensed trade in NSW. What does apply is the EPA’s waste rules, which require every load to end up at a facility allowed to take it and can make you, as the owner of the waste, liable if it gets dumped. So check the business’s ABN on ABN Lookup, ask which facility your load is going to, and get a written receipt. If a quote couldn’t possibly cover the tip fees, walk away. Our NSW licence checks page explains which trades are licensed and what to check for the ones that aren’t.

Rubbish removal prices in Newcastle

Removal is priced on volume, and Newcastle prices generally sit a little under Sydney. One bulky item such as a fridge or couch typically costs $80–$180 to take away, half a truck $300–$550 and a full truck $500–$900. If you’d rather fill a skip yourself, a 2 m³ bin typically costs $150–$300 and a 6 m³ bin $350–$600. Heavy loads like soil, bricks and broken concrete are quoted on their own, as is anything hazardous.

The rubbish removal price guide has more bin sizes and jobs. Photos of the pile are the quickest way to a firm price.

How we match you with a removalist

Your job doesn’t get blasted to every rubbish company in town. Describe what’s going, roughly how much there is and where it sits, and we’ll pair the job with one local removalist. Before they hear about your job, we’ve checked their ABN, their insurance and what past customers say.

Moving somewhere else? See rubbish removal in other cities, or all trades in Newcastle. Ready? Get a free quote.