We will Uplift Furniture Free
We’ll collect your good quality reusable furniture from your home or office between 9.30am and 2.00pm.
Or call: 01875 615797
Your donation will help to ensure that Recycling First can continue to benefit the community and the environment.
We require all kinds of household furniture: wardrobes, chests of drawers, sofas, beds, coffee tables. We also take electrical goods including cookers, fridges, freezers, washing machines, driers, heaters, iron, kettles, and toasters.
All items must be in working order.
We can only provide a free collection service for reusable donated goods. We know this might seem “fussy” but we have to comply with the law and provide good quality items for our service users.
We cannot provide a free collection service for items we cannot reuse because we must pay for disposal. There are some safety restrictions that affect what we can accept for reuse. Please note the following safety matters.
Safety matters
We must make sure that all the items we collect are suitable for re-use in someone’s home. Our staff will ask you some questions about the items when you ring to book a collection and the collection team will inspect the furniture or electrical goods when they visit. Ultimately it is up to the collection team to decide whether we can accept your items. We know this might seem “fussy” but we have to comply with the law, protect our service users, staff and volunteers.
Fire Safety
Fire Safety laws mean that all upholstered furniture (including sofas, chairs, mattresses) must have fire safety labels attached ie Green Framed label. On sofas and armchairs this will be a material label sewn onto the item that reads – “complies with the furniture and furnishings (fire) (safety) regulations 1988”.
Mattresses must have BS 7177
Mattresses must have a blue framed label which refers to BS7177 sewn into the end wall.
We can’t accept mattresses with stains or rips.
The cardboard labels that are sometimes attached to brand new items of furniture are not permanently attached, they could be transferred from one item to another, so they alone do not prove that an item meets the regulations. Our team will look for a permanently attached label too.
Glass
Any glass larger than 21cm x 30cm (the size of an A4 sheet of paper) must be toughened or laminated. This is usually indicated by a BS kite mark or reference number.
Electricals
Electrical goods must be in good working order and reusable. Power leads and door seals need to be intact. Disconnections: Washing machines, dishwashers, cookers and so on must be disconnected from your mains electricity and water for our team to be able to collect them.
Our van helpers are not qualified plumbers or electricians so cannot do this for you.
Size & Weight
Many of the people who use our service live in upper floor flats so the size and weight of some items can be difficult to pass on. Recycling First accept No Liability for damages to the customers property when collecting goods. We collect from inside the home, so you don’t have to worry about moving the things on your own, and so reusable furniture doesn’t get damaged outside.
Regretfully we are unable to accept exceptionally large heavy items according to Manual Handling (Health and Safety)
Have something to donate?
Contact: 01875 615797
Don’t tip it! Help us to encourage Re-Use across the Lothians.
Do you have good quality furniture, household items or working electrical items thatyou no longer need?
If you live in East Lothian and have furniture, household items or electrical items that you wish to donate, the please call us on 01875 615797 or fill in our online form below. We offer a free collection service for larger items (suites, beds, cookers, etc). When we call to collect items, the drivers will check that they meet our criteria for re-use. We ask that donors have their items readily accessible, ready for transport, for our drivers on the day of collection.
Unfortunately we cannot take all items that are offered to us. Items that are stained, marked or ripped regretfully cannot be accepted. Other items that we are not able to accept include furniture containing woodworm, gas appliances, upholstered goods must have their fire retardant labels intact (to meet the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations1988) and electrical items in need of major repair or in a poor condition. Goods left outside in wet weather will also be rejected.
Our drivers always make the final decision on whether goods can be collected or not.
All donated items are taken into one of our depots in Macmerry Ind Est to be inspected andtested before being sold at low cost to support the Charity, with priority given to those who experience disadvantage in our communities.