Why some building waste needs a different service
A building job can produce disconnected fixtures, timber and flooring alongside rubble and hazardous material. Our collection covers the accepted fixtures and lighter waste. Check each collector's accepted materials rather than assuming all van services take the same waste.
We don't take rubble, concrete, bricks, tiles, stone, soil or hazardous waste. A van fills its weight limit long before it fills its space with rubble, and hazardous waste needs specialist handling. Here is where each one should go instead.
Rubble, bricks, concrete and tiles
- A skip is the usual answer. If it has to sit on a public road, it needs a council permit, which the skip company usually arranges; ask before you book.
- Bulk bags, sometimes called skip bags, suit tight streets with no room for a skip. You fill the bag and a crane lorry lifts it out, so it needs to sit where the crane can reach, usually close to the road.
- Small amounts from a DIY job may be accepted at a council recycling centre. Check what yours takes, and the charge, first.
Skip firms often price heavy waste by weight or set limits on it, so ask what counts as heavy before you fill one. Keeping rubble clean, without timber, plastic or plasterboard mixed in, usually keeps the cost down.
Soil and sods
Soil from groundworks or landscaping is heavy, and often best kept on site: level a low spot, fill a raised bed or build up a border. If it has to go, a skip or bulk bag kept for soil only is the normal route. Mixed soil and rubble can cost more to dispose of than either on its own.
Plasterboard: we take it
We take plasterboard, such as old boards from a stud wall or ceiling and offcuts from a fit-out. It is priced as a loose load from our price list. The loose-load item charge starts at €60; one county call-out is added to the collection. This is not a complete collection price.
Plasterboard contains gypsum, which has to be kept apart from general and biodegradable waste when it is disposed of. Stack it apart from the rest of your junk, and include it in your photos when you get your price. If it is going in a skip instead, ask the skip company how they want it handled. Some ask for a separate skip or bag.
Asbestos
The Health and Safety Authority says buildings built or refurbished before 2004 can contain asbestos. A competent surveyor must identify suspect materials before work that could disturb them. Do not drill, break or sand them.
- 1If you suspect asbestos, stop work in that area and keep it closed off.
- 2Have a competent surveyor test it before any strip-out of an older room.
- 3If it is confirmed, a specialist asbestos removal contractor removes and disposes of it.
We can't take asbestos, or anything mixed with it. Once it has been removed, we collect the rest of the job as normal.
Paint, solvents, oil and gas
- Paint, solvents, wood treatments and chemicals: many council recycling centres accept household quantities. Check what your local centre takes before you go.
- Oil and fuel: sealed containers to a recycling centre that accepts them. Never pour them down a drain.
- Gas cylinders: back to the supplier or a stockist. They usually belong to the gas company.
- Batteries: back to a shop that sells them, free of charge.
Your duty as the householder
Whoever produces waste in Ireland is responsible for handing it to someone permitted to collect it. If a cash-in-hand collector dumps your rubble in a ditch and it is traced back to you, you can be fined.
- Ask any collector for their waste collection permit number and check it on the National Waste Collection Permit Office (NWCPO) register.
- Ask where the waste is going. The answer should be an authorised facility.
- Keep the receipt.
- Be wary of anyone offering to take 'everything, no questions asked' with no permit number to show.
Junk Ireland is a brand of Glass Bag Recycling Ltd, which holds Waste Collection Permit NWCPO-25-13230-01. Everything we collect goes to authorised facilities to be sorted for recycling or disposal, and every booking comes with a receipt with VAT shown.
What we do take from a building job
Doors (€15 internal, €40 external), windows with the glass intact (€25), baths, toilets, sinks and shower trays, radiators (€10.50), carpet (€2 per m²), wooden flooring (€6 per m²), kitchen units, pallets (€10.50), and light timber offcuts or plasterboard as a loose load from €60. Every job adds a €100 call-out and labour charge, VAT included.
Planning a kitchen or bathroom refit? Our refit guide covers timing the collection around your trades, and construction waste removal lists every fixture we take. For a side-by-side look at skips and collections, see skip hire or junk removal.
Photograph the fixtures pile, not the rubble, and get your price.