The mat has gone slack, the springs have rusted orange, and the frame has been sitting in the corner of the yard since the kids stopped using it. You have two ways out: take it apart yourself and put it out for council hard waste, or book a crew to carry the lot away.
Both work. Which one suits you comes down to the state of the bolts, how much of your weekend you want back, and what your council will actually collect. That last part catches most people out, so we’ll start there.
Which option suits you
If the frame is sound and the fixings still turn with a spanner, take it apart yourself. A morning’s work, a booked council collection, and it costs you nothing.
Seized bolts change the maths. Rusted fixings turn a two-hour job into a full Saturday, and a rusted-through frame can drop a section on your foot while you wrestle with it. Same story if you are clearing a property for sale, because council collections run on their timetable and a booking can sit weeks out.
What your council actually allows
Hard waste rules change at the council boundary, and a trampoline tests all of them. It is bulky, it splits into metal and fabric, and assembled it will not meet most size limits. Here is what each council in our service area gives you:
| Council | Suburbs include | Your entitlement |
|---|---|---|
| Stonnington | Prahran, South Yarra, Toorak, Armadale, Malvern, Windsor | Scheduled by date, no booking |
| Boroondara | Hawthorn, Kew, Camberwell, Balwyn, Canterbury | 2 booked collections a year |
| Yarra | Richmond, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Abbotsford, Cremorne | 2 booked collections a year |
| Port Phillip | St Kilda, Elwood, Albert Park, Port Melbourne, South Melbourne | 4 a year for houses, 6 shared per apartment block |
| Bayside | Brighton, Brighton East, Gardenvale | 2 a calendar year, at least 6 weeks apart |
| Melbourne | CBD, East Melbourne, Carlton, Southbank | 1 cubic metre per financial year |
| Glen Eira | Caulfield, Bentleigh, Carnegie, Elsternwick, Ormond | 3 a financial year |
Three traps worth knowing:
Port Phillip sorts into three piles. Hard waste, green waste, and metal plus e-waste go out separately, or the truck leaves them. A trampoline splits across two of those piles: the frame and springs are metal, the mat and net are not. Items go out no more than 24 hours before your date, and putting anything out without a booking carries a $660 fine. The Port Phillip hard and green waste service has the current rules.
Bayside works backwards. Items go on the nature strip before you book, not after, and if they are not there when the truck arrives you still lose one of your two collections. Bayside residents book online.
Stonnington does not take bookings at all. Prahran, Toorak and South Yarra run on a set collection date for your street, so “book it early” advice from other suburbs does not apply.
Glen Eira caps the pieces, not just the pile. Caulfield, Bentleigh and Carnegie residents get three booked collections a financial year, up to 4 cubic metres, with nothing longer or taller than 2 metres. A 4.3 metre oval frame breaks that limit whole, so cut the ring sections down. Go over the limit and council can reject the entire collection, not just the offending piece.
Check your own council’s accepted-items list before you start pulling the trampoline apart. Sustainability Victoria keeps a directory of council waste and recycling services if you are not sure which one you are in.
Taking a trampoline apart
Most trampolines come apart with hand tools: a socket set or adjustable spanner for the frame bolts, a spring puller, gloves, and safety glasses. Skip the screwdriver-as-spring-tool trick. Old springs are under real tension and they bite.
Work in this order:
- Net and poles. Unclip the safety net, then unbolt the poles from the frame.
- Springs. Hook each one with the puller and lift it out at an angle, away from your face. Work around the circle rather than down one side, which keeps the tension even.
- Mat. Once the springs are out the mat lifts straight off.
- Frame. Unbolt the legs, then the ring sections. Grab a second pair of hands for this bit if the frame is a 4.3 metre oval.
Seized bolts are the usual hold-up. Soak them in penetrating oil the night before and they will give with far less swearing. Cut any oversized sections down to lengths your council will take, and stack the pieces at the kerb rather than piling them.
When paying for removal makes sense
Book a pickup when the fixings have rusted solid, when the frame is unsafe to handle, when you have used your council allocation for the year, or when you need the yard clear before an inspection.
What you pay depends on how much room the load takes in the truck, how easy the access is, and whether the trampoline is already in pieces. A dismantled trampoline stacks flat and takes less space than one still assembled behind a side gate, so pulling it apart first brings the cost down even when someone else does the carrying.
Our two-person crew does the lifting, and we sort the metal for recycling rather than sending the lot to landfill. It’s Done has worked the inner east and inner south since 2008. A trampoline usually goes out alongside whatever else has been piling up in the shed, so it is worth clearing both at once. See what we take, or read how rubbish removal works if you have not booked one before.
Take it apart yourself, or book the pickup
- Sound frame, workable bolts, no deadline: take it apart yourself and use your free council collection.
- Check your entitlement first. It ranges from two a year in Boroondara and Yarra to four in Port Phillip, and Stonnington does not use bookings at all.
- Springs come off before the mat, with a spring puller and gloves, never a screwdriver.
- Never leave a trampoline on the nature strip outside your collection window. That is illegal dumping, and Port Phillip alone fines $660 for it.
If you would rather not spend the weekend on it, give the team a call on (03) 9820 1927 and we’ll quote the job for free, no obligation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, though every council sets its own rules on size, weight and item counts. Take the trampoline apart first: assembled, it will not meet most size limits, and Port Phillip requires the metal frame and springs in a separate pile from the mat and net. A load that breaks the rules gets left on the nature strip, and you wait for the next collection.
It depends on how much space the load takes in the truck, how easy the access is, and whether the trampoline is still assembled. One you have already dismantled stacks flat and costs less to shift than a 4.3 metre oval stuck behind a locked side gate. We quote on volume rather than a flat call-out fee, so ask for a number. Call (03) 9820 1927 or send a couple of photos and we’ll price it for free.
Only inside your booked collection window, and most councils want items out no more than a day or two beforehand. Bayside is the exception in our area: it asks you to put items out before you book. Anything left outside that window counts as illegal dumping under Victorian litter laws, and Port Phillip issues $660 fines for it.
Use a proper spring puller, wear gloves and safety glasses, and pull each spring out at an angle with your face clear of the frame. Work around the circle instead of stripping one side at a time, so the remaining springs hold even tension. If a spring will not budge, leave it and come back after a soak in penetrating oil rather than forcing it.
If the trampoline is in reasonable nick, you own a spanner, and you can wait for your council date, do it yourself and keep the money. Pay for removal when the bolts have seized, the frame has rusted through, you have used your council allocation, or the yard has to be clear by a date council cannot meet. Once it is in pieces it is just another item on a general rubbish removal booking.
