Getting rid of old furniture, mattresses and appliances

Key rules

• Free pickup: Town pickup is booked in advance and has limits on items per visit and visits per year.
• Appliances: A shop must take your old appliance back free when you buy a new equivalent one.
• Rubble: Rubble from home works never goes in street containers; use a licensed skip or a punto limpio that accepts it.
• Businesses: Free routes are for household waste only, not business waste.

The short answer

Never leave furniture or appliances beside the containers. Book the free pickup, use a punto limpio, or have a shop take the old item back. If none of these suits you, pay a licensed company.

Free pickup from your town

Most towns collect bulky household items free of charge, by appointment. The cost is covered by your waste tax. Limits vary by town. Typically you can put out about 3 to 5 items per pickup, or a set volume, and there is a cap on pickups per year. Some towns charge for larger volumes. Booking steps are in the process below.

Bulky items usually means sofas, mattresses, beds, wardrobes, tables, chairs, carpets, doors, bicycles and prams. Rubble, car parts, tyres and hazardous waste are normally excluded. Your town's rules set the exact definition and limits, so check with your town hall.

The punto limpio

A punto limpio is a recycling centre for waste that does not go in street containers. It takes furniture, appliances, electronics, batteries, oils, paint, fluorescent lamps, wood, metal, pruning waste, textiles and small amounts of rubble. In Catalonia it may be called a deixalleria, and elsewhere an ecoparque.

• It is free for residents of the town or area, and for household waste only.
• Businesses and large renovation contractors are generally turned away or must pay and use authorised waste companies.
• Hours, documents and quantity limits are set locally. Rubble limits are usually the tightest.

Shop takeback for appliances

When you buy a new appliance, the seller must take back your old equivalent one free of charge. This applies in store and on home delivery, including from online sellers. The old item must be the same type or do the same job. Ask for the collection when you order, so the delivery team takes it away.

Large shops must also accept small electronic devices without a purchase. Furniture and mattress sellers often collect the old piece when they deliver a new one, but this is not guaranteed, so ask before you buy.

Rubble from small home works

Rubble from minor works may not go in street containers. You have two options:

• Hire a skip from an authorised waste company. A skip on the public road usually needs a town hall permit.
• Take small amounts to a punto limpio that accepts rubble. Limits are often a few sacks, or roughly 25 to 50 kg.

The works themselves normally need a licence or declaration from the town hall. Larger works need a licensed waste manager and paperwork.

Paying a private company

A licensed waste company or removal firm will collect almost anything for a fee. Use this when your items exceed the free limits or you need a fast date. Check that the company is authorised to handle waste.

Documents to take are listed below, and the warning below explains the fines for leaving items on the street.

Booking a free bulky-item pickup step by step

Booking a free bulky-item pickup

• Find out whether your town offers a pickup service and what its limits are: before you start

• Count your items and check them against the limit, usually about 3 to 5 items per pickup or a set volume. Rubble and business waste are not accepted: before you book

• Contact your town hall or its cleaning company by free phone line, web form or municipal app (in Madrid, the Línea Madrid app or 010; in Barcelona, 010 or the web service): as soon as you know what you need to get rid of

• Give your address and a list of the items, then keep the booking reference you receive: when you book

• Wait for your date and collection point or time. The wait is commonly a few days to about two weeks, and in large cities often 1 to 10 days: after booking

• Put the items on the pavement or at the agreed spot, and not earlier than the service allows: the evening before or the same day as the pickup

• Report the missed pickup by phone, app or town hall, quote your booking reference and rebook: if the items are not collected

• Take the items back inside or deliver them to the punto limpio (the recycling centre) instead of leaving them on the street: while you wait for a new date

Documents you need

• Photo ID: your DNI or NIE, which most puntos limpios ask for at the gate.

• Proof of address, such as your padrón certificate (the town residents' register) or a recent bill, if your punto limpio asks for it. Some use a resident card instead.

• A town hall permit for a skip placed on the public road, if you hire a skip for rubble from minor works.

• An obra menor licence or declaration from the town hall for the minor works that produce the rubble.

Leaving items by the containers can bring a fine

• Furniture, bags or other waste left beside containers: Leaving furniture, bags or other waste beside containers or on the street is an offence under both town rules and the national waste law. Typical cases are dumping furniture next to bins, leaving bags outside container hours and using the wrong container. Street-dumping fines run from tens of euros to a few thousand.

• Putting items out without booking or on the wrong day: Items put out without a booking, or outside the agreed day and place, may not be collected, and you can be fined. Put items out only for the agreed slot. If a pickup is missed, report it and rebook, then take the items back inside meanwhile.

• How big fines can get and who pays: Town rules usually class offences as minor (often up to about 750 euros), serious (up to 1,500 euros) or very serious (up to 3,000 euros), depending on quantity and danger. The national waste law allows much higher fines, up to 2,000 euros for minor offences. The person who dumped the waste pays, whether that is you as owner or tenant, or a removal company you hired. The local police and cleaning inspectors enforce this. If you hire a removal company, ask where the items will be taken and keep the receipt.

Frequently asked questions

Does a shop have to take away my old appliance when it delivers a new one?

Yes, a shop must take back your old appliance free of charge when you buy a new equivalent one, including on home delivery. The old item must be of an equivalent type or do the same job. Small devices can also be returned in large shops without buying anything.

Where can I get rid of rubble from small home works?

Rubble from minor home works cannot go in street containers. You can hire a licensed skip from an authorised waste company, which often needs a town permit if it sits on the public road.

Which items count as bulky waste?

Bulky waste means large household items that do not fit in a container, such as sofas, mattresses, beds, wardrobes, tables, carpets, doors and bicycles. Large appliances like fridges, washing machines and TVs are often handled separately.

Can I use a punto limpio for waste from my business?

No, a punto limpio is normally for household waste only, and businesses are generally excluded or must pay and use authorised waste managers. Large renovation contractors are treated the same way. Ask your town hall what applies to you.