Free community skips to visit all seven Ealing areas

Ealing Council is launching a pilot programme of free community skips: temporary local collection points for unwanted household items. During the first year, events are due to visit all seven parts of the borough in turn: Ealing, Acton, Southall, Hanwell, Greenford, Northolt and Perivale. The scheme was announced on 23 September after an earlier trial in Southall.

Each resident may bring up to five bulky items without charge. The council’s list includes furniture, white goods, mattresses, bicycles, toys, books, clean clothing, small electrical devices and smaller household items. Some categories have their own limits: no more than three pieces of furniture, three white goods and two mattresses per resident.

Not everything will be accepted. The collection does not take general household rubbish, ordinary mixed recycling, garden waste, wood, DIY or construction waste, or hazardous materials such as oils, chemicals, paint and asbestos. Gas canisters and car batteries are also excluded. Fridges and freezers are not currently accepted. Lithium batteries must be removed from electrical items so they can be recycled separately.

Items in good condition will be collected by Collect4Reuse for refurbishment and reuse in the community. Other items will be recycled where possible. The council presents the pilot as part of its work to reduce fly-tipping. Measures agreed in the 2026 budget also include cheaper bulky-waste collections, new teams responding to dumped rubbish and additional CCTV cameras.

The community skips are for residents of the London Borough of Ealing only. Staff may ask for identification and proof of address, such as a passport and a recent utility bill. Commercial and trade vehicles will not be admitted. Residents must also be able to carry their own items to the drop-off point.

The council is not publishing a single fixed calendar covering the whole borough. Events will take place one location at a time, and nearby households will be prioritised for notifications to control demand and avoid overcrowding. The most reliable way to hear when a collection is coming nearby is to subscribe to Ealing Council’s email updates and select the relevant town.

Residents who miss the event in their area can still arrange a bulky-waste collection or book a visit to the Greenford Road reuse and recycling centre. Before setting out, they should check the full community-skip acceptance list, because it is not the same as the rules for the permanent recycling centre.

The pilot gives residents a free, local option for disposing of difficult household items, but it is not an unrestricted rubbish collection. Checking the date, item limits and exclusions in advance should prevent wasted journeys and help each event operate safely.