A mattress, a broken chair or a dead washing machine has two legal routes out of an Amsterdam flat: the council collects it from the kerb, or you drive it to a Recyclepunt yourself.
Both are free.
The drop-off is open six days a week and needs no appointment, so it is the faster option if you can borrow a car or a bakfiets.
Just moved, cleared a flat, or replaced a sofa?
This page gives the seven drop-off addresses with their hours, the volume limit, the exact hours your waste may stand on the pavement, and the list of things the collection lorry will refuse.
What Counts As Bulky Trash In Amsterdam
Bulky waste is called grofvuil, and the city’s working definition is simply anything that will not fit inside a rubbish bag.
Size, not type, is the test.
The council collects sofas, beds and mattresses, cupboards, shelving, chairs, garden furniture, carpets and floor covering, garden prunings, and large electricals such as a fridge or a television.
It will not collect building and demolition waste such as rubble or a toilet bowl, and it will not take garden tiles, stones, sand or soil.
Also refused: iron, cardboard, small electricals, small chemical waste such as paint or a car battery, sheet glass and mirrors, car tyres, car parts and loose engines.
Those all have their own routes, and most of them are accepted at a Recyclepunt even though the lorry will leave them on the pavement.
Before any of this, consider whether the thing still works.
A kringloopwinkel will take chairs, lamps, tables, kitchenware and shelves that are merely tired rather than broken, and selling or giving it away costs you nothing either.
The Seven Recyclepunten And Their Opening Hours
Every Recyclepunt is free for Amsterdam residents, and none of them requires a booking.
Six sit inside the city, one serves Weesp.
Rozenburglaan 1 in Oost opens Monday to Saturday, 08.00 to 17.00.
Marie Baronlaan 13, also in Oost, keeps the same Monday-to-Saturday hours of 08.00 to 17.00.
Toetsenbordweg 41 in Noord runs Monday to Saturday from 08.00 to 17.00 and adds a Sunday shift from 10.00 to 16.00.
Seineweg 1 in Nieuw-West is Monday to Saturday, 08.00 to 17.00, with no Sunday opening.
Henk Sneevlietweg 22, the other Nieuw-West site, matches those weekday hours and also opens on Sunday from 10.00 to 16.00.
Meerkerkdreef 31 in Zuidoost is open Monday to Saturday 08.00 to 17.00 and Sunday 10.00 to 16.00.
Weesp has its own site at Nijverheidslaan 1, Monday to Saturday, 08.00 to 17.00.
Take a passport, ID card or driving licence, plus something proving you live in Amsterdam - a letter with your address on it is enough.
Arrive well before closing, because a queue at ten to five does not get processed after five.
You sort on site into separate containers, so load the car with that in mind rather than tipping everything into one heap.
Asbestos is accepted if it is double-wrapped in plastic or foil, and the sites hand out asbestos bags free of charge.
Kerbside Collection: The Rules That Actually Get Enforced
If you would rather the lorry came to you, start at the council’s grof afval page and enter your address, which tells you how collection works on your street.
You may put out two cubic metres at a time, which is roughly two washing machines or one three-seat sofa.
The timing is narrow and it is the part people get wrong.
Waste may go outside from 21.00 on the evening before the collection day, and it has to be out there by 07.00 on the day itself.
Anything on the pavement outside that window is fly-tipping rather than disposal, and it is treated as such.
Placement matters too, because a grab arm needs room to work.
Use the fixed spot if your street has one; if it does not, leave the items at the edge of the pavement, several metres clear of waste containers, trees and parking spaces.
If the lorry passes you by, report it through meldingen.amsterdam.nl rather than leaving the pile to sit.
The council’s general number is 14 020 if you would rather ask a person.
What Not To Leave Next To Containers
A mattress, a cupboard or a scrap bike propped against an underground container is dumping, whatever the neighbours are doing.
The container is for the stream printed on it and nothing else.
Keep the other streams out of your bulky pile as well.
Food waste goes to gft where that system exists, packaging follows the pmd rules for your address, and bottles and cans with statiegeld go back through the deposit machines for a refund.
Loose cardboard and small bags stacked beside a sofa are the fastest way to turn one collection into a street-cleaning report.
Sort before you drag anything down the stairs, not after.
Frequently Asked Questions
The details that catch people out are almost always the timing, the volume limit and the list of refusals.
How do I book a bulky waste pickup appointment in Amsterdam?
Go to amsterdam.nl/afval/grof-afval, enter your address with house number, and the page shows whether your street has fixed collection days or needs an appointment.
Wait for the confirmation before anything goes outside, and remember the 21.00 to 07.00 window.
What items are accepted as bulky waste, and what should I keep out of the pile?
Sofas, beds and mattresses, cupboards, shelves, chairs, garden furniture, carpet, prunings and large electricals are all collected.
Keep out rubble, garden tiles, stones and soil, iron, cardboard, small electricals, sheet glass and mirrors, car tyres, car parts, and small chemical waste such as paint or a car battery.
Where can I find the nearest bulky waste drop-off location in my neighborhood?
Oost has Rozenburglaan 1 and Marie Baronlaan 13, Noord has Toetsenbordweg 41, Nieuw-West has Seineweg 1 and Henk Sneevlietweg 22, and Zuidoost has Meerkerkdreef 31.
Weesp residents use Nijverheidslaan 1; the three sites at Toetsenbordweg, Henk Sneevlietweg and Meerkerkdreef are the only ones open on Sundays.
When and where am I allowed to place bulky items on the street for collection?
From 21.00 the evening before, and it must be standing outside by 07.00 on the collection day.
Put it on the fixed spot if your street has one, otherwise at the kerb edge and a few metres away from containers, trees and parked cars.
How much can I put out at once?
Two cubic metres per collection, which the council illustrates as two washing machines or a three-seat sofa.
A whole flat’s contents needs either several collections or a car run to a Recyclepunt.
Where should I take old textiles and clothes if they aren’t collected with bulky waste?
Clean, dry clothing and household linen go into a textile container or to a charity collection, and a Recyclepunt takes them too.
Wet, mouldy or heavily soiled fabric ruins the batch it lands in and belongs with residual waste instead.
