Clearing Out Before a Move in Woollahra: Which Council Pick-up Takes Your TV, Fridge and Batteries

In Woollahra, the council service that takes your old TV will not take your fridge, and the one that takes your fridge will not take your TV. That one fact catches people in the last week before a move.

We set Woollahra's three council routes side by side. The free recycling pick-up refuses whitegoods such as fridges and stoves. The scheduled clean-up refuses e-waste. Recycle It Saturday takes most things with a plug, cord or battery, but it takes only what is on its list, and fridges and other whitegoods are not. That makes three routes and none that takes both. Only one of them, the scheduled clean-up, takes a fridge at no charge.

No council pick-up takes both your TV and your fridge

So sort before you pack. Each old appliance needs its own route, and the routes run on different clocks. Everything below follows Woollahra Council's rules. Vaucluse is split between Woollahra and Waverley councils, and Dover Heights is in Waverley, which runs its own services. Check your address and clean-up date on Woollahra's scheduled clean-up page before you plan around them. Other councils run different services.

Which Woollahra service takes what?

	Free recycling pick-up	Scheduled clean-up	Recycle It Saturday
TVs, computers and printers	Yes1	No, e-waste not collected3	Yes4
Small and medium appliances such as kettles, vacuums and power tools	Yes1	No, e-waste not collected3	Yes, no petrol or gas items4
Microwaves	Pages conflict, ask council1,2	Ask council3	Yes4
Fridges and other whitegoods	No1	Yes, doors off3	No whitegoods4
Household and car batteries	Yes1	No3	Lithium batteries yes, damaged or swollen no4
Vapes	Yes1	No, embedded batteries refused3	Yes4
Light globes, tubes and smoke alarms	No1	Not listed, ask council3	Yes4
Furniture	Not listed1	Yes, liftable by two people, one ute load per household3	Great condition only, liftable by two, up to 5 items4

The short version:

• TVs, computers, printers, small appliances, phones and vapes go to the free recycling pick-up.
• Fridges and other whitegoods go out on the scheduled clean-up, with the doors off, or on a paid special pick-up.
• Loose batteries go on the free recycling pick-up with the terminals taped and in a jar or tub, or to a B-cycle drop-off, never the bin.
• Microwaves need a phone call first. The reason is in the next section.

How do I get rid of an old TV or computer?

Book Woollahra's free pick-up for any weekday, Monday to Friday, through the Woollahra Council App, online, or on 9391 7000. Put the items on the kerb, or in the rear lane if you have one, on the same day you book. Council collects within 24 hours or on the next business day. There is no yearly limit on collections, but you must book each one.

The accepted list covers:

• computers, monitors, laptops and tablets
• printers, scanners and modems
• consoles, phones, TVs and DVD players
• small and medium appliances such as blenders, kettles, vacuums, power tools and coffee machines
• vapes, and household and car batteries

The same page does not accept:

• whitegoods
• LED lights and fluorescent tubes
• smoke detectors and electric blankets
• oil heaters
• video and cassette tapes
• e-waste from a business

Bulky clean-up is not the place for e-waste: Woollahra's scheduled clean-up lists e-waste as not collected, and computers, TVs and printers go through the separate free recycling pick-up.

The microwave problem. Council's own pages disagree. The Free recycling pick-up page lists microwaves as accepted medium appliances. The E-waste page lists them as whitegoods it will not take. Ring council on 9391 7000 before you leave a microwave out.

If you would rather drive it there yourself, TVs and computers can go to the Randwick Recycling Centre, 72 Perry Street, Matraville. The NSW Government also supports the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme, which runs designated drop-off points for TVs, computers and printers.

Keep anything waiting for collection dry. The EPA's advice is to store items out of the weather until they are collected. In NSW, storm season falls between September and April, so a kerbside pile can sit through a downpour.

How do I get rid of an old fridge?

Fridges and other whitegoods go out on your scheduled clean-up day with the doors taken off. Timing is strict. Put items out on the Sunday night before your scheduled day, "not earlier and not later". Anything put out after Sunday evening will not be collected.

The clean-up has limits:

• no more than one ute load per household
• furniture must be liftable by two people
• council issues clean-up notices for non-compliance

The clean-up also refuses batteries, hazardous materials, building or renovation materials, and items with embedded batteries such as e-bikes and scooters.

If your clean-up day does not fall before your move, council runs a paid special pick-up, charged per item. Fridges, dishwashers, washing machines and dryers are listed examples. Book through the Council App or on 9391 7000.

What if you miss the clean-up day?

Missing the Sunday-night window means paying per item for a special pick-up. That is still likely to cost less than a clean-up notice for non-compliance, so if you have missed your day, pay for the pick-up rather than leaving a fridge on the kerb.

For a general clear-out, council's Special Event Bins can be ordered for "a clean-up before or after moving house".

• What they take: general household garbage only, with no batteries, hazardous or building waste.
• Notice: at least five days.
• Cost: a delivery and pick-up fee, higher on a weekend, plus a charge per 240L bin each time it is emptied. Council lists the current fees.
• How long: keep the bins up to two weeks and have them emptied more than once.

Why batteries never go in the bin, or the clean-up

The NSW EPA warns that one battery in a bin can spark a fire. Loose batteries under 5kg go to B-cycle drop-offs at many supermarkets, hardware stores and electronics shops. While you collect them, tape the terminals and keep them in a ventilated glass container.

Batteries built into things are the ones people forget. Toothbrushes, speakers, smart watches, power banks, vacuums, toys and vapes all have them, and the EPA warns that vapes in a bin can readily ignite during collection or processing. The EPA offers free collection for them at select Community Recycling Centres, and takes vapes at Household Chemical CleanOut events. In Woollahra, vapes can also go on the free recycling pick-up.

Removable e-bike and e-scooter batteries, and large power-tool batteries of 5 to 20kg, can go free to a Community Recycling Centre or a Household Chemical CleanOut event. Damaged, leaking or swollen batteries are refused at Recycle It Saturday, so take those to a chemical cleanout.

At Vaucluse Removals we would put it simply: sort out the batteries the week before, not the night before.

Wipe it before it leaves the house

Woollahra is blunt about it: your data is your responsibility. Council's recycling does not wipe devices, so wipe yours before pick-up or drop-off. Take the batteries out of TVs and remotes. Box small items such as cables and hard drives, and do not use plastic bags.

Can someone else use it first?

A working TV or computer may not need recycling at all. The EPA suggests asking second-hand shops or a charity to take it, or passing it to friends or family.

Woollahra has its own shortcut. List a free item on its iWasteless noticeboard and leave it on the verge. Within 24 hours, either someone takes it or council's e-waste service collects it.

If you have a car and some time, Recycle It Saturday is open to Woollahra, Waverley and City of Sydney residents.

• When and where: 9am to 3pm on the Saturdays listed on council's event page, at Alexandra Canal Depot, Alexandria.
• What to bring: proof of address, such as a licence, rates notice or utility bill.
• What it takes: TVs, computers, microwaves, irons, pedestal fans, leaf blowers, light globes, smoke alarms and paint, plus furniture in great condition (liftable by two people, up to 5 items).
• What it refuses: petrol- or gas-powered tools, damaged or swollen batteries, and anything not on its list, including fridges and other whitegoods.

Dates change each year, so check the next one on the council page before you plan around it. Downsizing from a family home usually means more of this sorting than most moves. Our guide to leaving a house after thirty years covers the rest of that clear-out.

When should you book each one before moving day?

Plan backwards from moving day.

1. First, the routes with fixed dates. Confirm your scheduled clean-up date and the Sunday-night rule. Then check the next Recycle It Saturday.
2. Next, the routes that need notice. A Special Event Bin needs five days' notice.
3. Last, the flexible one. The free recycling pick-up can be booked any weekday and collects within 24 hours or the next business day.

Do not leave the fridge for last. It is the item with the fewest routes, and a missed clean-up day turns it into a per-item fee.

If you are moving in December or January, the pressures stack up: heat, the holidays and a packed calendar. Our notes on moving house in a Sydney summer cover planning around them.

Ready to move what's staying with you

Once the old TV, the spare fridge and the box of dead batteries have their own routes, moving day is only about what is coming with you. When you are ready, send Vaucluse Removals the details of your move through our enquiry page. Tell us which appliances are going to the new place and which are staying behind, so we plan around the right load.