[prawn]

Yes, the same happens in Australia. Typically councils have "hard refuse" opportunities for disposal of larger items.

I'm in South Australia. In my home area, I can call for one pick-up per financial year, totalling 2 cubic metres. In my office area, there's a period once per quarter where you can put items out for collection.

There are people who drive around with a cage trailer grabbing recyclable items, some for personal use, some for resale.

Besides these "official" options, a few people use Freecycle (mailing list, bit annoying) and others use Gumtree (like Craigslist).