Carpet Disposal

The worst thing about carpet is that it’s impossible to guess how long it’ll last, because it depends on a few factors. Aside from the construction and quality, a lot of it hinges on foot traffic, thickness, material, as well as its padding, the number of people in your home, and any potential accidents and spillages along the way. Estimates put carpet lifecycles at between five and 15 years, but the proof’s in the way they look, and the feeling under your feet.

Carpets are a weird one when it comes to the second-hand market; chances are it’s only damaged in certain areas, where there’s high foot traffic. In the overall space of a major room in your house – such as your bedroom or living room – chances are that massive parts of it are still as good as they once were, thanks to their position underneath big pieces of furniture, like beds or sofas.

As a result, people looking for smaller, decent pieces of material will happily cut up a bigger carpet and turn it into rugs, runners, or more. If you’ve got harder-wearing textiles, or you’re looking to dispose of your carpet simply because you’re redecorating, there’s a good chance you can find someone who’ll give it a new home.

In any case, if your carpet looks like it can find love elsewhere, be sure to take a photo and list it on Gumtree or Freecycle. Just don’t expect too much money – if any – not least because of the things you can find deep in second-hand carpets, like dust, skin, food, mildew, dirt, or even bed bugs. Plus, they’re taking loads of material off your hands; it’s a thankless task in most ways.

You can put anything in a skip, by and large, but you really shouldn’t put carpet in there. The most immediate issue is that carpet doesn’t biodegrade, even if it uses “natural fibres”. Many modern carpets are treated with chemicals to make them last longer, or use manmade substances. Even wool carpets will use backing that can contain the likes of nylon and polyester.

Skips are probably the most costly way to dispose of carpets, and definitely the worst for the environment. Your average skip will demand upwards of £200 – that’s if you have off-street parking – while in terms of the environment, they need two lorry trips for drop-off and pick-up, and then your carpet’s buried in landfill to slowly rot for hundreds of years.

Compare and contrast that to your average man and van collection service, such as the one from Divert: these take your carpet away and, in our case, we ensure your carpet is reused or disposed of in a responsible way, using partners who will recycle absolutely everything they can.