How to Get Rid of an Old TV in Liverpool: 5 Legal Routes and Costs (2026)
An old TV is waste electrical equipment, and if you hand it to a collector without a licence and the TV is later fly-tipped, you can face a duty of care fixed penalty of up to £600. Liverpool has five legal routes, and four of them cost nothing if you meet the conditions. This guide shows which route fits your TV, what each costs in 2026 and how to check a carrier in 60 seconds.
Why a TV cannot go in your bin: the WEEE rules
A TV is waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). It must go through a registered recycling route and never into general waste. Merseyside's Recycle Right guidance states that TVs and monitors do not go in kerbside residual or recycling bins, and that household waste recycling centres take them.
The law also puts the duty on you. Under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, a householder must pass waste only to an authorised person. Anyone who carries your TV away for payment needs an Environment Agency Upper Tier waste carrier licence. A Lower Tier licence covers only a business moving its own waste. Our guide to what a waste carrier licence covers explains both tiers.
Pick your route: 5 legal ways to dispose of a TV
Work down the table. Stop at the first route that fits your situation.
| Route | Cost | Effort | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retailer take-back | £0 when you buy a new TV | Low: ask for collection when you order | Replacing the TV |
| Liverpool council bulky collection | £0 for Liverpool City Council residents | Medium: you put the TV outside on collection day | Up to 5 bulky items, no deadline |
| Recycling centre (Old Swan or Otterspool) | £0 for household waste | High: you load, drive and unload | A car and a helper |
| Sell, donate or give away | £0, or you earn | Medium: listing and collection | A working, clean TV |
| Licensed waste carrier | £10–£20 extra per TV on a larger job; £40–£80 for a single item | Low: the carrier lifts and removes | Stairs, no car or a bigger clearance |
Retailer take-back: the free route most people skip
The WEEE Regulations oblige any retailer that sells new electrical equipment to households to offer free take-back of old equipment of the same type. The retailer picks the method: in-store take-back, an alternative free service such as collection on delivery, or membership of the Distributor Take-back Scheme. The duty applies whether the retailer sells in a shop, online or by phone, according to the GOV.UK guidance for retailers.
Ask for the take-back when you place the order, not on the doorstep. Take-back works like for like: a new TV covers an old TV, but a new toaster does not.
Liverpool council collection: free, with 4 conditions
Liverpool City Council's free bulky item collection lists televisions, videos and TV cabinets among the items it takes. Each booking covers up to five bulky items per property, plus up to five small electrical items and five bags of textiles. A computer, monitor or printer counts as one item.
Four conditions apply:
- The service is for Liverpool City Council residents only.
- The council excludes house clearances.
- You cannot book a collection for small electricals or textiles alone. They travel with a booked collection.
- You put the TV outside your home on collection day, and crews collect between 7.30am and 4.30pm.
Book at liverpool.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/bulky-item-collection. In Sefton, Wirral, Knowsley and St Helens, the local council sets its own service and charges, so check its page before you book. Our comparison of council bulky collection and private clearance shows when the free service stops working for you.
Recycling centres: Old Swan and Otterspool
Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority runs the household waste recycling centres (HWRCs). Liverpool has two: Old Swan on Cheadle Avenue (L13 3AF) and Otterspool on Jericho Lane, Aigburth (L17 5AR). Both open from 8am to 8pm between 1 April and 30 September and from 8am to 5pm between 1 October and 31 March. Both close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
Take household TVs only, because HWRCs do not accept commercial quantities. Check the authority's recycling centre page for the van rules before you drive a van to site.
Carry a flat screen upright with a second person, padded against the car's interior. Tube sets are deep and heavy, so lift them with a helper and keep the glass intact.
What a licensed carrier charges for a TV in 2026
Private carriers price by load, not by item type. JunkBid's 2026 cost guides put a TV added to a larger load at £10–£20 per unit and a single item collected on its own at £40–£80, both before VAT. Compare these figures with the wider rubbish removal cost guide for Liverpool.
| Option | What you pay | What you risk |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed carrier, TV added to a larger clearance | £10–£20 per TV | Nothing, once you have checked the licence |
| Licensed carrier, TV collected on its own | £40–£80 | Nothing, once you hold a receipt with the licence number |
| Unlicensed cash operator | Cash, usually below the licensed rates above | A fixed penalty of up to £600 if the TV is dumped |
Two TVs from a terraced house in Walton, L4
A 42-inch LED TV from the living room and an old tube set from the loft, with a bag of cables. The owner lives in Liverpool and has no car.
- Council collection: both TVs count as 2 of the 5 bulky items. Cost £0. The owner carries both to the kerb on collection day.
- Recycling centre: cost £0 plus the cost of a borrowed car and a helper for the tube set.
- Licensed carrier: £40–£80 for the collection alone, or £20–£40 if the TVs join a bigger clearance (2 TVs at £10–£20 each).
- Unlicensed cash-only operator: a hypothetical £25 quote on the doorstep. The saving against the licensed £40–£80 is £15–£55. The penalty if the TVs end up dumped is up to £600.
A £15–£55 saving does not cover a £600 fixed penalty. The free routes cost nothing and the licensed carrier removes the lifting.
Red flags: how to spot an unlicensed TV removal
Unlicensed operators advertise on Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree. Walk away if you see any of these:
- The operator gives no waste carrier licence number, or the number is missing from the Environment Agency register.
- The register shows Lower Tier only, which does not cover carrying your waste.
- The operator offers to take TVs for nothing and strips them for scrap, with no receipt.
- The van carries no company name, and contact runs only through messaging apps.
- The operator cannot say which facility receives the TV.
- The operator refuses a written receipt that lists the licence number and the items taken.
- The operator tells you to leave the TV on the pavement for later collection.
Verify in 60 seconds: search the carrier's licence number on the Environment Agency public register, confirm the tier says Upper and check that the registered name matches the quote. Our carrier verification page walks through each field. JunkBid checks every provider's licence number against the register before the provider can quote. The wider fly-tipping guide lists the penalties in full.
7 steps to dispose of a TV legally in Liverpool
- Wipe the TV. Open Settings, choose factory reset and sign out of every streaming account. Remove USB sticks and HDMI devices.
- Identify the type. Check whether the set is a flat screen or a deep tube set. Tube sets are hazardous waste, so tell every collector.
- Check the retailer route. Buying a replacement? Request take-back at checkout and keep the confirmation.
- Test reuse. Working and clean? List it on Facebook Marketplace or Freegle, or ask a charity whether it accepts electricals before you carry it over.
- Book the council collection. Liverpool residents: request a collection at liverpool.gov.uk, list the TV and put it outside on your collection day.
- Drive it to Old Swan or Otterspool. Pick the nearer centre, check the opening hours above and ask site staff which container takes TVs.
- Book a licensed carrier. Post the job on JunkBid, check each licence number on the Environment Agency register, agree the price in writing and ask for a receipt that shows the licence number and the items taken.
Sources and last check
Council and recycling centre details were checked on . Check the originals before you travel or book:
- Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section 34 (duty of care)
- GOV.UK: retailer WEEE take-back responsibilities
- Liverpool City Council: bulky item collection
- Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority: recycling centres
- Environment Agency: waste carriers public register
TV disposal FAQs
Can I put an old TV in the wheelie bin or leave it on the pavement?
No. A TV is waste electrical and electronic equipment and cannot go in kerbside bins. Leaving it on the pavement outside a booked council collection day counts as fly-tipping, which carries a fixed penalty of up to £1,000 and an unlimited fine on conviction in court. Book a collection or use a recycling centre instead.
Does Liverpool City Council collect TVs for free?
Yes, for Liverpool City Council residents. Televisions, videos and TV cabinets are on the council's list of bulky items, and each collection covers up to five bulky items per property. The council excludes house clearances.
Does a shop have to take my old TV back?
Yes, when you buy a new TV from it. Under the WEEE Regulations a retailer must offer free take-back of old equipment of the same type, through in-store take-back, an alternative free service or the Distributor Take-back Scheme. Ask for collection when you place the order.
Are old tube TVs hazardous waste?
Cathode ray tube sets contain leaded glass, so they count as hazardous waste within the WEEE stream. Keep the tube intact, tell any collector that it is a tube set and ask which registered facility treats it.
How much does a licensed carrier charge to remove a TV in Liverpool?
JunkBid's 2026 cost guides put a TV added to a larger clearance at £10–£20 per unit and a single item collected on its own at £40–£80, both before VAT. An unlicensed cash-only operator who quotes less than that is the one to avoid.
Do I need a waste transfer note for a household TV?
A householder does not carry the same paperwork duty as a business, but a receipt or waste transfer note is standard practice for domestic clearances and proves you passed the TV to a licensed carrier. Ask for one that shows the carrier's name, licence number and the items taken.
Get your TV collected by a licensed carrier
Post the job once and compare quotes from licensed carriers in Liverpool and Merseyside, or check any carrier's licence before you hand over the TV.