Member of staff (Photo: City of Heidelberg)

Bulky waste?

Use the bulky waste (Sperrmüll) removal service

Every Heidelberg household is entitled to two free collections of bulky waste (‘Sperrmüll’) each year. Collection of bulky waste takes place at regular intervals, but households must register to indicate in which collection(s) they would like their bulky waste included. This is very easy to do…

... by completing the bulky waste registration form
... by filling in the registration form available from the local administrative offices (Bürgerämter).

Up to three cubic meters of bulky waste can be collected per household on a given collection day. Quantities in excess of this amount will not be collected and must be cleared away again, or you must request a new collection, for which a fee will be charged. Talk to us beforehand if it seems likely that your bulky waste will exceed the 3 cubic-meter limit.

How to ensure your bulky waste is collected

Things to remember

No more than three cubic meters per collection per household

No more than two meters or 50 kilograms

Items of bulky waste must not exceed 2 meters in length or 50 kilograms in weight. Please ensure that the items do not pose a risk of injury to workers (due to e.g. protruding nails) or a danger of damage to vehicles.

Cleaning up after collection

Dirt or garbage residues left on the sidewalk or street after a collection of bulky items must be cleared away immediately, by the person who booked the collection.

What counts as ‘bulky waste’? What doesn’t?

‘Bulky waste’ (Sperrmüll) means bulky items of waste that are too large to fit in a normal bin even following reasonable efforts to break them into smaller pieces, or that contain materials that cannot be disposed of in a normal bin. Examples include:

White goods
Timber and wooden objects (no tree trunks)
Mattresses and furniture (including upholstered furniture)
Scrap metal and oil stoves (oil stoves must be completely empty and not contain any residues of fluid)
Carpets and floor coverings

What doesn’t count as bulky waste

Glass (including glass panes, mirrors, and window frames with glass in them)
Construction waste (including bathroom ceramics such as WC pans and washbasins), clay pots, and porcelain
Residual waste, either loose or in bags (e.g. wallpaper or assorted ‘bits and bobs’)
Asbestos-containing waste (e.g. fiber cement board/boxes, night storage heaters) and other pollutants
Recyclables such as paper, cardboard, textiles, tin cans, aluminum and polystyrene
Old cars and car parts, tires and batteries

How to dispose of these items

You can find information on how to dispose of a large number of different types of waste in the A-Z of Waste.

Putting bulky items out for collection

Please put your bulky items out by 6 am on the day of collection, in a place where our garbage trucks can easily get to them. They should be easily visible, at ground level, and right at the edge of your house plot.

Please sort them according to material: Wood, furniture, scrap metal, electricals, and other bulky items.

Do not put bulky items out until the day before they are collected

Bulky items must not be put out earlier than the day before they are due to be collected. Bulky items that are put out too soon will be treated as illegally-dumped waste. Illegally dumping waste is a ‘regulatory offence’, for which you can be prosecuted.
When bulky waste is put out too soon, neighbors also frequently add their own bulky items to the pile, taking the volume of waste over the 3 cubic-meter limit. You will be liable for the disposal of these items as well as your own.
You can avoid this situation by only putting your bulky items out the day before they are due to be collected.

Cleaning up afterwards

Dirt or garbage residues left on the sidewalk or street after a collection of bulky items must be cleared away immediately, by the person who booked the collection.

Assistance putting out bulky items

Express bulky item disposal service/Assistance putting out bulky items

Express bulky item disposal service

Perhaps you have just had a new item of furniture delivered, but have realized that it is a long time until the next regular collection of bulky waste? There are several ways to avoid being stuck with old furniture for long periods.

You can take bulky waste to the recycling yards in Kirchheim, Wieblingen and Emmertsgrund. The cost of taking bulky waste to the recycling yards is €4 for roughly a half cubic-meter load. The recycling yards accept a maximum of one cubic meter of bulky waste per household.
The recycling yard opening times are 8 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday and 8 am to 3 pm on Saturdays (Emmertsgrund recycling yard: 8 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday with a lunch break from 12-1 pm, 8 am to 3 pm on Saturdays)
The City of Heidelberg offers an express bulky waste disposal service. This is a collection of bulky waste outside the regular collection dates. To use this service, write to us, giving us details of the items you wish to have collected, and a daytime telephone number we can contact you on.

Would you like us to put furniture out on the street for you? Then take advantage of the bulky waste Full Service (Sperrmüll Vollservice).
It may be that you do not know anyone who can help you put your heavy items of furniture or equipment out on the edge of the road for you. In that case, let us do the job for you.
Please apply for a bulky waste collection in the normal way and simply append a brief written note requesting Full Service. A charge applies.

Bulky waste collection in large apartment buildings

Residents of apartment blocks of more than 20 apartments are allocated bulky-waste collection dates by their building managers. Please speak to your building manager. These apartment blocks do not have the same bulky waste collection dates as the rest of their neighborhood.

Bulky waste collection for businesses

Businesses can register for a collection of bulky waste using the same online registration form as that used by private households.

Too good to throw away? Use the classified ads to find a swap or give it away for free

For items that you no longer need but that are too good to throw away, there is a online swap and give away on the City of Heidelberg website where users can find someone to swap with, or give away items for free. This free online service is for everyone (personal use only).

The classified ads section also includes ads for the city of Mannheim and the ‘Rhine-Neckar region waste recovery association’ (AVR), so you can use it to view and respond to posts from right across the region.
Other places where you can hand in still-usable items are the...