DumpsterPriceIndex

How to Dispose of Refrigerators and freezers

Refrigerators and freezers are accepted, but the conditions change what you pay. The container most people use is a 10-yard, a median of $345 nationally, typically $295 to $399 depending on where you are.

Goes in a dumpster? With conditions

What it costs

Disposing of refrigerators and freezers in a 10-yard
Cost MedianSample
10-yard container $345 653 companies
Each extra ton $76 845 companies
Each extra day $16 876 companies

Typically $295 to $399 depending where you are, including 2 tons and 7 days before the extras start.

Those are medians of prices companies publish themselves, from 1,395 of them. Your own town's figure is on the price index, and the calculator will add the weight and the days for you.

Get a price for your load. Leave a number and companies near you call back, free and with no obligation to book.

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Where it costs most and least

10-yard median, most expensive and cheapest of 29 states
State MedianSample
New Hampshire $465 8 companies
Massachusetts $450 26 companies
New Jersey $443 24 companies
North Carolina $295 21 companies
Iowa $280 11 companies
California $263 34 companies

A $202 difference for the same container.

How much refrigerators and freezers weigh

A standard fridge weighs 200 to 300 lb.

The rule that catches people

Federal law requires the refrigerant to be recovered by a certified technician before disposal. Most haulers will not take a fridge with the compressor intact.

Worth knowing. Get it evacuated and tagged first, or the container gets left behind on collection day and you pay a trip charge.

The cheaper route, if you have one

Many utilities run appliance recycling and pay $30 to $75 for a working unit.

Getting it ready

Two things have to happen before a fridge is scrapped. The refrigerant has to be recovered by someone certified to do it, which is a federal requirement and not something you can do yourself. And the doors have to come off, which is a long-standing safety rule about child entrapment. Most haulers and scrap yards handle both as a matter of course, but they need to know it is coming.

Mention it when you book rather than after. It costs nothing declared and costs more found. See what else fits in a 10 yard.

Other things people ask about

See what it costs where you are

Every company we list publishes its own prices where it has them, ranked by Index Score, and no one paid to be on the list. Find the ones near you and compare before you book.

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