How to dispose of white goods in Croydon: recycling, selling and collection

Your options at a glanceSection titled Your%20options%20at%20a%20glance

Before you book anything, work out whether the appliance still works. A working fridge, washer or cooker is worth selling or giving away — someone locally will want it, and it costs you nothing. Once an appliance is broken or beyond repair, the choice comes down to how much time and lifting you want to do yourself: take it to a recycling centre, book a Croydon Council collection, or let a local team take it away for you.

Sell or donate appliances that still workSection titled Sell%20or%20donate%20appliances%20that%20still%20work

Selling locallySection titled Selling%20locally

Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree are the two places most Croydon households have the best luck, since local buyers can collect the same day and you avoid courier costs entirely. A clear photo, the make and model, and an honest note on age and condition will get more genuine interest than a vague listing — buyers looking at fridges and washing machines in particular want to know it's clean, descaled and free of obvious leaks or damage.

Price a working appliance at roughly a third to half of its cost when new for something under five years old, and be prepared to negotiate. Listing it as "free to a good home, collection only" also works well for older items — it clears the appliance quickly and still keeps it out of landfill.

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The British Heart Foundation runs a furniture and electrical store on George Street in Croydon, which sells donated washing machines, fridges and dishwashers alongside furniture. You can drop items in-store or book a free home collection online, and your local store will contact you within a few working days to agree a date.

Appliances need to be in good working order and meet standard safety requirements to be accepted. BHF cannot take everything, though — tumble dryers, washer dryers, built-in kitchen appliances and a small number of other item types are excluded for safety reasons, so it's worth checking their list before you arrange a collection.

Take them to a recycling centreSection titled Take%20them%20to%20a%20recycling%20centre

Croydon Council runs three reuse and recycling centres, and all of them take fridges, freezers, cookers, washing machines and other large electrical appliances free of charge:

• Factory Lane, West Croydon, CR0 3RL — Monday to Saturday 7.30am–4.30pm, Sunday 8.30am–4pm
• Fishers Farm, North Downs Road, New Addington, CR0 0LB — Monday to Friday 8am–4pm, Saturday 9am–2pm, Sunday 9am–1pm
• Purley Oaks, Brighton Road, South Croydon, CR8 2BG — daily 8am–3.30pm

If you're arriving by car you don't need to book a slot, but you'll need to show ID and proof of address, or hold a valid vehicle permit. Vans are only allowed at Factory Lane, and only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 11am and 1pm, with size limits and no permit issued — you'll need the same proof of identity and address instead. Full details, including what vehicles are accepted, are on the council's site.

Book a Croydon Council bulky waste collectionSection titled Book%20a%20Croydon%20Council%20bulky%20waste%20collection

Croydon Council's bulky waste collection service accepts large household appliances such as fridges, cookers, washing machines and dishwashers alongside other bulky items. You book online, list exactly what you want taken and choose a collection date — the crew will only take the items on your order, so anything left out that wasn't booked will stay put. Leave items directly outside your property, at the boundary or pavement level, the night before collection.

Retailer take-back when you buy newSection titled Retailer%20take-back%20when%20you%20buy%20new

Most large retailers will take your old appliance away when they deliver a replacement. Currys offers free collection of your old fridge or washing machine as part of home delivery when you buy a similar new item, and it runs an in-store drop-off scheme for old electricals even if you didn't buy them there. AO.com runs a similar free swap — bring the old item's receipt within 28 days, or have it taken away on the same day your new appliance is delivered.

If you're not buying a replacement, AO also offers a paid Collect & Recycle service starting from around £30 per item. Terms, exact costs and what counts as a "like-for-like" swap vary by retailer and by order, so it's worth checking the current terms on the retailer's own page before you commit to a purchase.

Let a local team collect them for youSection titled Let%20a%20local%20team%20collect%20them%20for%20you

A private collection is the practical choice when an appliance is still plumbed in, when it's up several flights of stairs, when you need it gone on a tight timescale, or when nobody in the household can safely lift it alone. Croydon Waste Collection handles the disconnection, carrying and licensed disposal, so you don't need to prepare the appliance or arrange anything else beforehand.

Which route fits your situationSection titled Which%20route%20fits%20your%20situation

Related servicesSection titled Related%20services

• White Goods Disposal
• Furniture Removal
• Rubbish Removal