All items · Sport & outdoor
Treadmills, exercise bikes and gym machines
Also covers: running machine, rowing machine, cross trainer, multigym, weights bench
Can you donate treadmills, exercise bikes and gym machines to a UK charity shop? It depends.
The short answer
It depends
Of the 153 UK charities we track, 17 say no, 4 may accept in some cases and 2 say yes. 1 of those is a category-wide rule rather than a direct mention.
Evidence last verified
Why shops may refuse it
Too heavy to handle, hard to test, and slow to sell — most shops refuse large fitness equipment.
What to do instead
Sell or give away locally with 'buyer collects', or book a council bulky-waste collection.
Charity by charity
23 mentions-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Exercise equipment”
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Can't accept
Their wording
“Exercise bikes, treadmills and cross trainers”
-
Can't accept
Large, heavy, or rusted exercise equipment is excluded.
Their wording
“Large, heavy, or rusted exercise equipment”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Gym equipment (treadmills, exercise bikes etc)”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Sports equipment (including golf clubs, roller skates and exercise machines)”
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Can't accept
Their wording
“Free-standing exercise equipment, such as treadmills, rowing machines or exercise bikes.”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Thank you for thinking of us. Unfortunately, we’re unable to accept this item for health and safety reasons. We can’t guarantee to our customers that second-hand safety equipment is still fully protective or hasn’t been damaged before.”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Gym or old exercise equipment”
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Can't accept
Their wording
“Exercise equipment without the manufacturer's instructions”
-
Can't accept
Treadmills listed under exercise equipment the Furniture Centre cannot accept.
Their wording
“Other – BBQ, Bric-a-Brac, Christmas trees, commodes, exercise equipment (e.g. bicycles, golf clubs, treadmills), fireplaces, ironing boards, laundry baskets, pet cages, pianos, prams & pushchairs, rubbish bins, TV stands”
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Can't accept
Their wording
“Gym equipment”
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Can't accept
Their wording
“exercise equipment.”
-
Can't accept
Covers rowing machines, running machines, cross trainers.
Their wording
“exercise bikes, rowing machines, running machines, cross trainers”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Free standing exercise equipment”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Exercise equipment.”
-
Can't accept
Willen Hospice category-wide rule
Sports equipment generally not accepted, no specific items listed
Their wording
“Sports equipment”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Gym equipment – due to health and safety risks”
-
Check first
Gym equipment accepted at the shop's discretion.
Their wording
“Gym equipment (at our discretion)”
-
Check first
Listed as not accepted unless it comes with instructions
Their wording
“Exercise equipment unless with instructions”
- Check first
-
Check first
'Gym equipment' listed as an example accepted electrical item, only if working and with a plug attached.
Their wording
“We accept electrical items* that are in good working condition as well as a range of kitchenware (crockery, glasses, pots and pans). Examples of electrical items you can donate are listed below: • Kettles • Toasters • TVs • Gym equipment • Washing machines • Microwaves • Fridge and freezers • Hairdryers and styling irons *Please note: All electrical items must have a plug attached.”
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Accepted
Their wording
“Gym equipment”
-
Accepted
Their wording
“Musical instruments and gym equipment”
Not mentioned in 130 charities' guidance
Absence from a charity's list doesn't mean they accept it — it just isn't singled out. Ask your local shop.
- Accord Hospice
- Acorns Children's Hospice
- Age UK
- Ardgowan Hospice
- Ashgate Hospicecare
- Ayrshire Hospice
- Barnardo's
- Barnsley Hospice
- Bolton Hospice
- British Heart Foundation
- British Red Cross
- Butterfly Hospice Trust
- Butterwick Hospice
- Cancer Research UK
- Children's Hospice South West
- Children's Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS)
- Claire House Children's Hospice
- Cransley Hospice Trust
- Crisis
- Demelza Hospice Care for Children
- Derian House Children's Hospice
- Dogs Trust
- Dorothy House
- Douglas Macmillan Hospice
- Dr Kershaw's Hospice
- East Lancashire Hospice
- Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, Cumbria's Children's Hospice
- Ellenor
- Emmaus
- FARA Charity Shops
- Farleigh Hospice
- Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity
- Forget Me Not Children's Hospice
- Garden House Hospice Care
- Great Western Air Ambulance Charity
- Heart of Kent Hospice
- Helen & Douglas House
- Highland Hospice
- Hope House & Ty Gobaith Children's Hospices
- Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland
- Hospice in the Weald
- Hospice Isle of Man
- Hospice of the Good Shepherd
- Hospice of the Valleys
- Jersey Hospice Care
- Julia's House
- Katharine House Hospice (Stafford)
- Katharine House Hospice, Banbury
- Keech Hospice Care
- KEMP Hospice
- Lewis-Manning Hospice Care
- Lindsey Lodge Hospice
- Longfield Community Hospice
- LOROS Hospice
- Marie Curie
- Martin House Children's Hospice
- Mountbatten Isle of Wight
- Moya Cole Hospice
- North Devon Hospice
- North London Hospice
- Nottinghamshire Hospice
- Octavia Foundation
- Oxfam
- PDSA
- Pendleside Hospice
- Phyllis Tuckwell
- Pilgrims Hospices
- Primrose Hospice
- Prospect Hospice
- Queenscourt Hospice
- Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People
- Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care
- Rotherham Hospice
- Rowans Hospice
- Royal Trinity Hospice (London)
- Saint Francis Hospice
- Salvation Army (SATCoL)
- Samaritans
- Save the Children
- Sense Scotland
- Severn Hospice
- Shaw Trust
- Shelter
- Shooting Star Children's Hospices
- Springhill Hospice
- St Andrew's Hospice (Lanarkshire)
- St Barnabas Hospice (Lincolnshire)
- St Catherine's Hospice (Crawley)
- St Catherine's Hospice (Lancashire)
- St Christopher's Hospice
- St Cuthbert's Hospice
- St David's Hospice Care
- St Giles Hospice
- St Helena Hospice
- St John's Hospice (Lancaster, Morecambe, Kendal & Garstang)
- St John's Hospice (London)
- St Luke's Cheshire Hospice
- St Luke's Hospice (Harrow & Brent)
- St Luke's Hospice Basildon & Thurrock
- St Luke's Hospice Plymouth
- St Luke's Hospice, Sheffield
- St Mary's Hospice
- St Nicholas Hospice Care
- St Peter & St James Hospice
- St Peter's Hospice
- St Raphael's Hospice
- St Richard's Hospice
- St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP)
- St Vincent's Hospice
- St Wilfrid's Hospice
- Strathcarron Hospice
- The Children's Trust
- The Myton Hospices
- The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice
- The Prince of Wales Hospice
- The Shakespeare Hospice
- Traid
- Treetops Hospice Trust
- Trinity Hospice (Blackpool)
- Tynedale Hospice at Home
- Wakefield Hospice
- Wales Air Ambulance
- Weldmar Hospicecare
- Willow Burn Hospice
- Willow Wood Hospice
- Willowbrook Hospice
- Wirral Hospice St John's
- Wisdom Hospice
- Woking & Sam Beare Hospices
- YMCA (England & Wales)