What Happens to Your Old Shed After We Take It Away
An old shed is sorted on site into timber, metal, glass, felt and plastics, then taken to a licensed transfer station. Timber is chipped for board or biomass, metal is baled for smelting, and clean hardcore is crushed for aggregate. Over 85 percent avoids landfill.
'Eco-friendly disposal' is a phrase every removal company uses and very few explain. Here is the actual process a dismantled shed goes through once it is on the van, and what happens to each material.
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Sorting starts on site, not at the tip
We separate as we dismantle. Clean timber goes in one section of the van, metal fixings and sheeting in another, glass is wrapped and boxed, felt and bitumen are bagged, and any hardcore from the base is kept apart because it is charged and processed by weight.
Sorting at source is what makes recycling rates meaningful. A mixed load tipped as general waste gets a fraction of the recovery rate of a segregated one, and costs more in gate fees.
Where each material goes
- Clean timber — chipped for biomass fuel, panel board manufacture or landscaping mulch
- Treated or painted timber — processed separately at facilities licensed for treated wood
- Metal sheeting, frames and fixings — scrap merchants, melted and remanufactured indefinitely
- Glass from windows and greenhouses — crushed as cullet or used as aggregate
- Concrete bases and paving — crushed into recycled hardcore for sub-base
- Bitumen felt and mixed contamination — the one stream that usually goes to energy recovery or landfill
Reuse before recycling
Not every shed needs to be destroyed. If a structure is sound and the panels can be unbolted intact, dismantling for reuse is often possible and we will say so. Sound sheds get rehomed through community groups, allotments and reuse networks. Good-condition cladding, doors and windows are worth saving even when the frame is not.
Paperwork you should expect
A legitimate operator holds a waste carrier registration and can produce a waste transfer note showing where a load was tipped. If you ever want proof of responsible disposal for a landlord, letting agent or property sale, ask for it — it should take one email.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of a shed can be recycled?
On a segregated timber shed with a metal roof we typically divert well over 85% of the load from landfill. Concrete garages score even higher by weight because crushed hardcore is fully reusable.
Do you take away the contents as well?
Yes, in most cases. Tell us what's inside when you request the quote. Hazardous items such as paint, fuel, gas bottles and asbestos need declaring separately as they follow different disposal routes.