washing machine disposal

judderman

Hi All. :wave:
My mum has had to buy a new washing machine :doh: as the old one has given up!! :eek:
It had new brushes fitted last week, but still keeps tripping the circuit, and the fitter (whos an old friend) said it's probably the motor, and it would be best to buy a new one as he doubts he'll be able to get a new motor for it as it's about ten years old.

Whats the best/cheapest way to get rid of the old one? :think: Do they charge at the local tip?

Any ideas would be great :T

P.s hope i've posted in the right forum?? :wall:

weekendwarrior

They do not charge at my local tip and I am pretty sure that if you ring the council they will collect it.

It used to be free, but I have not tried for a while and so that might of started to charge now?

benjus

My local council charges for collection but if you take it to the tip you should not get charged.
If that's not possible, the company that delivers the new one can often take the old one away for a charge, which will probably be comparable to the council's charge and simpler to organize.

inkie

OUr council allows 2 free collections per year - also try freecycle, quite often there are non-working washers on there.

moonrakerz

This is where the whole "recycling" thing seems to lose the plot.

Until we had "recycling" in my area, we used dustbins and plastic bags. The dustmen were great, if it would fit into the back of the truck - in it went - old washing machines included.

Now we have "re-cycling" and wheelie bins - if it won't go into the bin, they won't take it. You have to either pay for it to be collected or, if you have a suitable vehicle, take it to the re-cycling centre yourself.

Two not very "green" problems here:

1. There are now thousands of extra vehicle trips being made to dispose of stuff that should be collected in a truck. One truck equals 200 cars ??
2. If there isn't a re-cycling centre nearby- until recently my nearest was 14 miles away - it's is all to tempting for some people to dump it in the hedgerows

Many local authorities are complaining about the increase in "fly tipping" and dumping of rubbish - can't they see that they are causing a lot of this ?

I don't have a problem with the theory of re-cycling, in general. But, again many local authorities seem more interested in blindly meeting Government imposed "targets" rather than actually doing recycling in a sensible, logical way. My local authority collects paper, glass and tins - but not cardboard or plastic - why ?, because paper, glass and tins weigh most and this allows the council to push up their % recycling figures.

I recently had a huge amount of "flat pack" cardboard to dispose of after re-fitting my kitchen and a bedroom. It would take years to get it small enough to put in the wheelie bin, week by week and it would have taken umpteen trips in my Ford Ka to take it to the recycling centre - so my son offers to take it in his pick-up - he then gets "grilled" by the "recycling police" who accuse him of bringing trade waste to the household recycling centre.

As I said, it's not surprising that much of it ends up in the hedgerows !

[Deleted User]

I just bought a new washing mashine. It cost 5 pounds more to get the old one taken away, on top of the cost of delivery (haha, they forgot to charge for that). The tip is just down the road.. but hey, it won't fit in our car.

Moneymaker

The Greeks recycle their old washing machines (and cars and everything else) by rolling them down the nearest mountainside. Certainly adds to the view!

HugoSP

Freecycle.org, put it in the local freeads or contact your local washing machine refurbishers.

They may be able to use it.

Alternitively, is there anyone in your area that collects scrap? They'll take it free of charge

astonsmummy

our council charges £15 to cleect white goods, somepeople get 2 fre collections but it's only for one lot of rubbish and 1 white good, they dont accept them at our local tip and has to be taken to a different in burgess hill.

HugoSP

I'm lucky that I live near a scrapyard. I often bung peoples' old washing machines and tumble driers in the trailer if I'm going to weigh in some stuff. The money they fetch doesn't make it worth a special trip but if you're going anyway.

There are still quite a few rag and bone men around some parts that will take them off you.