Rubbish removal
Garage clearance
A garage clearance costs £150 to £250 for a half van load and £250 to £400 or more for a full load outside London, including VAT (Fantastic Services cost guide, October 2026). Most single garages fall somewhere between the two, depending on how much is stored and how heavy it is. Paint, chemicals, batteries and tyres are the items to ask about before you book.
What this covers
Typical price. Garage clearances are priced as van loads: £150 to £250 for a half load and £250 to £400 or more for a full load outside London, including VAT (Fantastic Services, October 2026).
Typical jobs
- Clearing a single garage of old bikes, broken garden furniture and boxes so a car fits again
- Emptying a garage before a house sale, including shelving units taken down and removed
- Removing an old chest freezer and a washing machine that have sat in the garage for years
- Clearing a parent's garage of tools, timber offcuts and decades of paint tins
- Taking away the contents of a garage and a timber shed in the same visit
What is involved
A garage clearance empties a garage of whatever has built up: bikes, boxes, garden furniture, tools, timber, old appliances and general rubbish. Crews can usually take down free-standing shelving and workbenches, and many will clear a shed in the same visit. Fantastic Services prices shed clearance and removal at £150 to £400 for most timber sheds outside London (October 2026).
Fridges, freezers and washing machines are electrical waste and go to separate treatment sites, so they carry a surcharge. RubbishBids lists +£30 to £40 for a fridge or freezer added to a load (October 2026).
Garages often hold waste that a rubbish removal firm will not take in a general load: old paint, solvents, garden chemicals, engine oil and car batteries. Ask before booking. Council recycling centres take many of these from householders, and the government said in June 2023 that councils in England should treat household DIY waste like other household waste at recycling centres.
Older garages sometimes have corrugated roof or wall sheets that contain asbestos. Do not break them up or put them in with the clearance: ask for a specialist asbestos removal firm.
Choosing a firm
Send photos of the whole garage, including the back corners and the roof space. Ask whether the quote covers dismantling shelving, taking tyres, fridges and paint, and whether anything resaleable such as tools or bikes is credited.
The rubbish removal page covers the rules.
Read next
Common questions
How much does a garage clearance cost?
Garage clearances are priced by van load. Fantastic Services quotes £150 to £250 for a half load and £250 to £400 or more for a full load outside London (October 2026), with London and the South East 20 to 30% higher.
Will a garage clearance firm take old paint and chemicals?
Many will not take them in a general load. Ask before booking, or take them to your council's recycling centre, which accepts many household hazardous items.
Can they take a fridge or freezer from the garage?
Yes, as a separate item. Fridges and freezers are electrical waste that goes to a treatment site, and RubbishBids lists a surcharge of £30 to £40 when one is added to a load (October 2026).