How to get rid of a sofa

Deciding to get rid of an old sofa isn’t an easy decision. Years of slumping down into that perfectly moulded spot after a tough day. Sitting around with family members and a brew.

Sofas carry a lot of memories. Unfortunately though, they don’t last forever. Getting rid of a sofa can be difficult and expensive. So we’ve come up with a quick guide to help you figure out your options and find the best way to dispose of your old sofa.

Donate your old sofa to charity.

Although sofas can be more difficult to donate to charity because of their size, there are still charities out there that accept old furniture. Some even have dedicated homeware stores. British Heart Foundation is one example that will accept bulky furniture and has a number of homeware stores around the UK. Just keep in mind that if your sofa is looking particularly damaged, stained, or in need of serious refurbishment, it might be harder to give it to charity (don’t forget they need items they can sell on). Also, most charities require your sofa to have the original fire safety label attached before they can accept it. And you’ll also have to arrange for pickup and delivery.

Recycle your old sofa.

Sofas are notoriously difficult to recycle. This is because they’re made up of lots of different materials (leather, fabric, metal, wood, plastic, foam) and it takes a lot of work to break down a sofa into its different parts and separate all the materials for recycling. Plus, it’s virtually impossible to separate some of these materials because of how they’re put together during the manufacturing process - and that makes them unrecyclable. And we don’t know if you’ve ever tried it - but it takes a long, long time to break down a sofa by hand.

However, there are recycling centres that will accept your old sofa and recycle it for you. The problem you have is finding a sofa recycling centre near you, or at least within driving distance as many won’t arrange for home collection. It’s also likely you’ll need to hire a van to take your sofa to the centre (unless you’ve got a very, very big car and a small couch).

Arrange for a council pick up.

Most councils will arrange for special collections of bulk waste items, including old sofas. You can check on your local council website about the costs and processes for arranging pick-up of your old sofa. In some cases, your council may have a dedicated recycling centre for your sofa where it can be broken down. Many council collection services don’t include getting the sofa from inside your home though. So you’ll have to sort out getting the couch to the curb on the day of collection.

Sell your sofa privately.

If you think you could make some extra cash and get rid of your sofa at the same time, one option is to try and sell it privately. If you’ve got no friends or family in need of some old furniture, there are plenty of local online marketplaces where you can list your sofa. Facebook marketplace for example is useful for connecting you with local people looking for a bargain. There’s also the likes of Ebay if you’re struggling to find a local buyer. Just keep in mind that if you sell your sofa online you may also have to take on the cost and time of arranging to have it picked up and delivered to its new owner. potential buyers may want to come and see the sofa in person first, which means taking time out to arrange visits and giving your address out to

Get your old sofa refurbished.

If you’re just not ready to say goodbye to your old sofa yet, you could try and get it repaired or refurbished. This will obviously come with some cost if you’re going to get it done by a refurbishment company. And those costs will depend on the size of the couch and the amount of work needed. But you might be surprised at the results. if you’re feeling particularly keen to keep your couch and save money, there are lots of DIY refurbishment videos on YouTube that walk you through the process of bringing your old sofa back to life.

Hire a skip.

Because many people dispose of their old sofa as part of a house renovation or when they’re moving and don’t want to take old furniture with them, they’ll arrange for a skip hire. Others arrange for a skip hire just to get rid of their sofa. There are pluses and minuses of using a skip to dispose of a sofa. The main plus is skips are relatively easy to arrange and someone will take your sofa away for you once it’s in there. But there’s more downsides.

First there’s the cost. Hiring a skip can cost a few hundred pounds depending on who you hire it from. That’s a lot of money just to dispose of a sofa. if you’ve got a big couch, you’ll need a bigger skip to put it in, which will cost even more. Then there’s the time it’ll take to break down your sofa to get it in the skip. It’s not just a case of picking up a sofa and throwing it in. For a start, it probably won’t fit. Finally, putting your sofa in a skip increases the chance it will just end up in landfill - which isn’t great for the environment.

Choose Litta’s sofa disposal service.

If you want to avoid the cost and hassle of sofa disposal then you can use our dedicated sofa removal service. As furniture removal experts in London we can get your sofa removed fast and disposed of in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way. In fact over 93% of sofas we collect are recycled. We can even offer you same day sofa collections so you don’t have to spend days with old furniture blocking your garden or taking up much needed space in your home.

because we offer real-time tracking of our drivers’ location, you don’t need to worry about waiting around all day for a pickup. You can easily see through our app where your driver is so you can arrange to be in just for when they arrive.

Dispose of your old sofa with Litta Want to dispose of your old sofa in a sustainable way?

Get in touch with us today to arrange a quick pickup.