New rules for clearing out furniture

Changes will take place from December

Planning a furniture clear out soon? If you're thinking of taking upholstered furniture to your local Community Recycling Centre (CRC), there will be some changes to how you dispose of them.

From 1 December 2024, all upholstered furniture will have to be separated from other types of waste until they are treated at an Energy from Waste facility. This includes sofas, garden furniture, and seating with foam or textiles.

Reasons for change

The Environment Agency has found that textiles and foam in upholstered furniture can contain Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). POPs are poisonous chemical substances that break down slowly and remain in the environment for long periods of time, which affect human and wildlife health.

Furniture affected by the changes

All upholstered furniture with textiles and foam including, but not limited to;

• Sofas
• Sofa beds
• Footstools
• Armchairs
• Dining table chairs
• Floor cushions
• Chairs
• Bean bags
• Office chairs
• Sofa cushions

Site changes

Some CRCs will no longer accept any waste upholstered furniture and these are;

• Warlingham: Bond Road, Warlingham, Surrey, CR6 9SD
• Cranleigh: Elmbridge Road, Cranleigh, Surrey, GU6 8JX
• Chertsey: Lyne Lane, Lyne, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 0AR
• Dorking: Ranmore Road, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1TL
• Bagshot: Swift Lane, Bagshot, Surrey, GU19 5NJ

To allow space for the upholstered furniture to be segregated from other waste, plastic bottles, cans and glass will no longer be accepted at:

• Farnham: Bourne Mill, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 9PS
• Caterham: Chaldon Road, Caterham, Surrey, CR3 5PG

Only small amounts of plastic bottles, cans and glass are currently collected at these CRCs as these materials are accepted as part of as part of the household kerbside recycling service operated by all Districts and Boroughs within Surrey.

Other ways to recycle upholstered furniture

You can take the items to any of the CRCs that are not one of the five listed above. Your local District or Borough Council may provide a service that can collect these items directly from you. If you are looking at a private waste disposal company, please check that they are fully compliant and a licensed waste operator.