From one van to a team covering all of London
Rubbish Move started with a single van, one founder, and a frustration a lot of Londoners will recognise: too many “man with a van” operators were taking cash for waste collection, then dumping it illegally — leaving the customer, not the collector, legally exposed to fines under UK Duty of Care law.
Our founder had seen it happen to a family member, who paid an unlicensed collector to clear a garden and later received a council letter about fly-tipped waste traced back to their address. That’s the moment Rubbish Move’s approach was decided: every job would be done by a properly licensed, insured operator, with documentation to prove it — no exceptions.
The first year was one van and a handful of house clearances across North London. What made the business grow wasn’t aggressive marketing — it was word of mouth from landlords and letting agents who needed a collector they could actually rely on, and homeowners who wanted a straightforward, fixed price with no last-minute surcharges.
