Householders urged to head to Hatson with unwanted upholstery

The Council is advising householders to head to Hatston with their end of life upholstered furniture, starting from Friday 28 March 2025.

From this date, Hatston is the only facility in Orkney that will accept waste upholstered domestic seating (or ‘WUDS’) from households.

Commercial customers will have a dedicated WUDS skip at Chinglebraes.

The new arrangement applies to unwanted sofas, chairs, office chairs, recliners or any furniture items with soft padding. It does not include hard furniture or mattresses.

The change for householders to a single drop-off point at Hatston for ‘WUDS’ comes as the Council complies with new regulations aimed at preventing the leaching of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the environment.

POPs are chemicals that are persistent - ie don’t break down - and have been linked to adverse health effects. Research shows chemicals that have been used as flame retardants in soft furniture fabrics contains levels of POPs above acceptable thresholds for long term landfill.

UK  regulations require that WUDS are destroyed by incineration (or individually tested to prove they are POP free), that they are not landfilled, and that they are collected and transported for disposal separately to minimise cross contamination.

Lorna Richardson is Head of Neighbourhood Services: “We’d stress that these new arrangements are aimed at preventing items which could be potentially harbouring persistent organic pollutants from entering landfill – where they would become an enduring hazard.

“It’s important the public help us dispose of these items in the right way and put their upholstered waste in the designated skip at Hatston. Please don’t leave them at other tips, or in the general waste skips at Hatston. This would contaminate those skips, meaning that waste would also have to be handled separately - adding to our waste disposal costs and potentially taking funds from other services the community needs.

“We'd urge folk to continue to care for their furniture so it can be enjoyed for as long as possible, or handed onto friends, families - or to organisations such as Restart who accept upholstered furniture, as long as it has a flame retardant tag. Restart offers free collection of these items. 

“Smaller items of undamaged furniture such as dining chairs, office chairs and footstools can also be left in the Restart Shed at our Hatson facility, for sale in the Restart shop in Junction Road, Kirkwall.

“However, when your upholstered seating becomes too worn or damaged to pass on, bring it to Hatston so we can segregate it ready for safe and compliant disposal via incineration in Shetland. Please note our site staff are not able to help you transfer items from your vehicle to the relevant skip - so please ensure you bring someone with you who can help you with bulky or heavy lifting.” 

if you can’t manage to get your waste furniture to Hatston yourself, the Council also offers a 'Special Collections’ service for bulky items which you can book via OIC customer services (tel 01856 873535) or through the Council website at www.orkney.gov.uk/online/request-it. Please note there is a charge for that service.

Please remember that Hatston is for domestic waste and recycling only. A container will be available at Chinglebraes waste transfer station for business customers who are looking to dispose of WUDS.   

For further advice please contact our waste team through OIC Customer Services on  01856 873535 or email nsi@orkney.gov.uk. Commercial customers have been written to and can email trade.waste@orkney.gov.uk 

To talk to Restart about collection of furniture in reuseable condition, call 01856 879777 or email admin@employabilityorkney.co.uk - or message their  facebook page www.facebook.com/EmployabilityOrkneyRestartOrkney/