[jambutty]

Once upon a time if a resident of Blackburn with Darwen had some bulky waste to dispose of, like an armchair/settee/sideboard/bed etc or large cardboard boxes they could ring the Cleansing Department (585921) and it would be collected in due course free of charge.

Not any more.

I have several large cardboard boxes that contained various electrical appliances that needed getting rid of and when I rang Cleansing I discovered changes to the rules. Shame that this information wasn’t made public in the same way that Council Tax increases and the like are made.

http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.1887 reads in part:

Each household is entitled to 4 free visits within a 12 month period, dependent on the type of items and the number of items being collected. Any visits above the 4 per household limit within a rolling 12 month period will be deemed chargeable. The number of items being collected per visit will be reduced to an average of 4 or 5 items per visit, to ensure that the service is freely available within a specified time period. Any items above this number may be collected at a charge. contact 01254 585921 for further details. Not all items are removed free of charge.

Each household is entitled to 4 free collections a year, consisting of 4 to 5 large items or up to 10 small items per visit, once all free collections have been used there is then a minimum charge of £25 per visit you are entitled to the same amounts of items but at a cost. Also if you require additional items moved on one of the free collections there is additional charge again this starts from £25 up to £115 depending on the quantities of items, for futher information please contact Bdirect on 585921.