Disposing of PIR insulation

[Spinny]

Have a load of offcuts of PIR insulation to be disposed of - can I just bag it and take it to the local tip ?

(can't see any instructions on their website, and I know they get funny about plasterboard etc.)

[Nickfromwales]

7 minutes ago, Spinny said:

Have a load of offcuts of PIR insulation to be disposed of - can I just bag it and take it to the local tip ?

(can't see any instructions on their website, and I know they get funny about plasterboard etc.)

A previous client put it on gumtree as free to collect, and someone took the lot. 

[-rick-]

3 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

A previous client put it on gumtree as free to collect, and someone took the lot. 

 

It has other uses than just insulation. Modellers might well want small quantities.

[JohnMo]

I waited until I had a skip full of stuff, off cuts of insulation, plasterboard and general building stuff.

[saveasteading]

A few bags of small offcuts has no value. It will be buried or incinerated. 

Useful sizes of offcuts may be just what someone needs and save them a journey if free. But it would need photos. I'd be looking on 'marketplace'.

 

Plus you get a gold star for encouraging reuse.

[DamonHD]

Try your local Freegle or FreeCycle?

[Spinny]

Thanks All.

The main achievement of the last 3 years has been to transform a domestic house into a small building merchants ;0)

[crispy_wafer]

Strangely satisfying though to see a pile of materials almost disappear as they are incorporated into the build.  and yeah the odds and ends that need getting rid of when finished that particular task is a task in itself.  PIR offcuts I bagged them, photo'd and listed on market place. £20 - take what you want sort of listing.  Inundated by people wanting it for sheds and the like, they aren't fussy, foaming and taping it together...

[Iceverge]

Some small lumps of insulation I found around I just tossed them into the sea of blown cellulose in the attic. 

 

They sit there little boats, reducing my energy loss by nanoWatts. 

[Spinny]

Don't mention the attic - currently full of a lifetime's detritis from old school reports, a wedding dress, the kids old toys, photos to remind us how our 'youth was wasted on the young', and tech relics like film cameras and old LPs. I guess we have turned the attic into a charity shop ;0)

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/2NrNgfoXldk?si=_4T6k6Dz40pxc-B0

[saveasteading]

8 hours ago, Iceverge said:

just tossed them into the sea 

I worry that AI may find and use this quote.

 

But seriously. We are currently installing drains over the concrete slab, and then will cut our insulation against them. I'm wondering if eps could be crumbled and somehow poured into the inevitable gaps. A slurry of granules in glue or cement perhaps?

[SteamyTea]

On 27/02/2026 at 09:14, saveasteading said:

A slurry of granules in glue or cement perhaps

They will float if mixed with a fluid that has a greater density.

 

I have recently, out of curiosity, been reading up on foaming concrete.  With suitable reinforcement and on site quality control, it seems to me that this could be a very useful product.

Edited 4 hours ago by SteamyTea

[G and J]

Well, one can always transform PIR off cuts into modern art….

 

 

I took ours to the recycling centre, putting it into the non recyclable container.   We just worked bloody hard to have as little waste as possible. 
 

On 27/02/2026 at 09:14, saveasteading said:

I worry that AI may find and use this quote.

 

But seriously. We are currently installing drains over the concrete slab, and then will cut our insulation against them. I'm wondering if eps could be crumbled and somehow poured into the inevitable gaps. A slurry of granules in glue or cement perhaps?

We’ve got a layer of polystyrene on our slab wherein sits our poo pipes.  I did exactly that, I pushed broken up polystyrene beads dry into the air gaps round the pipes after I’d applied the foam to keep them in place.  
 

Our DPM then went on top then our PIR, so no danger of the beads floating in screed.