Where does the van go after it leaves your door?
Once loaded, a van goes to a licensed waste transfer station — a large permitted facility where mixed loads are tipped, weighed, sorted and then moved on to the right end destination. In and around Birmingham there are dozens of these sites, all regulated by the Environment Agency under a site permit that dictates what they can accept, how it must be stored and where residues can go.
The transfer station issues LV81 a duplicate waste transfer note for our records — a mirror of the one you receive.
How is a mixed van load sorted?
A typical household load contains a mix of streams. Sorting is a combination of manual pickers on a conveyor and mechanical separation (magnets for ferrous metal, eddy currents for aluminium, trommels for size, air-blowers for light fractions). The main streams pulled out are:
| Stream | Where it goes | Rough share of a household load |
|---|---|---|
| Wood (furniture, boards) | Chipped for board or biomass | 15–25% |
| Metal (white goods, frames) | Metal reprocessors — melted for reuse | 5–10% |
| Cardboard & paper | UK paper mills | 10–15% |
| Hard plastics (furniture, toys) | Sorted by polymer, pelletised | 5–10% |
| Textiles & soft furnishings | Charity reuse or shredded for insulation/wipers | 5–15% |
| WEEE (electricals) | Specialist WEEE processors under producer schemes | 3–8% |
| Rubble / inert | Crushed for aggregate | 0–15% |
| Residual (non-recyclable) | Energy-from-waste or landfill | 5–15% |
What gets reused rather than recycled?
Reuse always beats recycling — it keeps the object intact rather than turning it back into raw material. On house clearance jobs in particular, LV81 sets aside furniture in good condition, working white goods, unopened tools, books and bric-a-brac for charity partners across Birmingham and the West Midlands. Anything that doesn't sell on stays in the recycling stream.
What actually goes to landfill?
Modern UK waste practice is 'landfill of last resort'. The residual fraction — genuinely non-recyclable material such as mixed soft plastics with food contamination, some composite items and heavily damaged textiles — mostly goes to energy-from-waste plants that generate electricity and heat, rather than to landfill. Actual landfill share on a well-run mixed household load is typically single digits.
LV81 aims to divert around 95% of what we collect from landfill through the sorting streams above. This is our operating target based on our transfer stations' reported outputs, not an independently audited figure — which is why we say 'aim to divert' rather than a stated fixed percentage.
How can you help increase the recycling rate?
- Keep clean cardboard separate — it recycles cleanly if it hasn't been mixed with food.
- Empty white goods and remove doors before disposal — makes WEEE processing easier and safer.
- Point out anything that still works — we'll route it to reuse first.
- Bag food and wet waste separately so it doesn't contaminate the dry recyclables.
- Take hazardous items (paint, oil, batteries) to a HWRC yourself — they can't legally travel in a general household load.
See our related guides on rubbish removal costs in Birmingham and how to check a waste carrier's licence — together they cover almost everything a Birmingham household needs to know about clearing rubbish legally and responsibly.
Need this sorted today?
LV81 Removals is a licensed, fully insured collection team covering Birmingham and the wider West Midlands. Fixed quotes, same-day slots, waste transfer note issued.