Can You Put A Fridge In A Skip?

One of the largest appliances in most houses is a fridge, or fridge freezer. It’s the sort of thing you’d struggle to get into your car, or even move by yourself. On average, a fridge needs to be replaced once every ten to fifteen years and around four million of them are sold every year.

So, what happens when you need to get rid of an old fridge? You might be left wondering, ‘Can you put a fridge in a skip?’ – unfortunately the answer is no. But there are plenty of alternatives.

Can I put a fridge in a skip?

Getting rid of an old fridge is such a popular topic that we put together an article specifically called ‘How to dispose of fridge’, which will give you some more detail on other options for disposal. By law, a fridge or fridge freezer must be disposed of correctly.

Due to the fact fridges and fridge freezers contain harmful gases, it is important to ensure they are disposed of properly. This applies to all electrical items and white goods, you can find out more in some of our more detailed articles, including our ‘Guide to white goods and old furniture disposal’ and ‘Guide to disposing of electronic devices’.

What happens if I put a fridge in a skip?

If a fridge is not disposed of correctly, it can be very harmful to the environment, so do not put a fridge in a skip. Your skip hire provider may refuse to take your waste until the fridge is disposed of properly, or you may be fined if restricted or prohibited items are found in your skip when the waste is removed for processing.

Appliances are usually quite large and would take up a lot of space in a skip, space that could be much better used for items that are permitted and won’t cause problems when it comes to disposal.

How can I dispose of a fridge?

Whilst we always endeavour to make waste management as easy and hassle free as possible for you, unfortunately we can’t arrange for a collection of your fridge or fridge freezer just yet, there will be a local council service you can speak to arrange one.

There are also lots of other options for getting rid of an old fridge, including recycling it, donating it to a good cause, or fixing it. We talk about all of these options in more detail in our article ‘how to dispose of a fridge’. You might find that an old appliance you no longer need could be useful to someone else, giving you the chance to help others.

So, although the answer to ‘can you put fridges in a skip?’ is definitely a no, we’ve put together plenty of advice on the alternatives.