What this site is
How To Dispose Of answers one question: how do I get rid of this thing, and what will it cost?
We publish plain-English guides on disposing of household items — what your city collects free, what a transfer station charges, which retailers and charities take things back, and what a removal service actually costs. We're building a database of facility fees to go with it.
Why we built it
Almost every site answering "how do I get rid of my old sofa" is run by a company that wants to haul it away for you. That's a real service and sometimes the right choice — but it means those sites rarely mention that your city will collect the same sofa free next Tuesday, or that a transfer station will take a mattress for twenty dollars.
Disposal pricing is also genuinely opaque. Municipal fee schedules are buried in PDFs, retailer takeback policies contradict each other, and charity acceptance rules vary chapter by chapter. We wanted one place that just tells you.
Our editorial position
We don't run a junk removal service. That's the most important thing to know about us, because it's why we can write what we write.
A few things we hold to:
- Free options come first. If your city collects it, a charity will take it, or a scrap yard will pay you for it, that's what we lead with — even on pages about paid removal.
- We tell you when paying is worth it. Upstairs, no vehicle, a deadline, or a hot tub in a fenced yard — sometimes hiring someone is straightforwardly the right answer, and we'll say so.
- We flag genuine safety issues plainly — propane tanks, lithium batteries, asbestos in pre-1980 buildings, 240V disconnections. These aren't hedged.
- We don't pretend to know your local rules. Municipal collection varies enormously. We tell you what to ask and where to ask it.
How we source information
Pricing ranges reflect typical US costs and are drawn from published municipal fee schedules, retailer and charity policies, and reported customer figures. They're intended as a sanity check before you call someone, not as a quote.
Costs vary considerably by metro — major cities commonly run above our stated ranges and rural areas below. Where we cite a specific retailer or programme, we link to the source so you can confirm it yourself.
Accuracy, and its limits
This information goes out of date. Facility fees change annually, retailer takeback terms shift, and charities alter what they accept — often without announcement.
Every page carries a "last verified" date, and we review them on a schedule. But you should still confirm with the facility or retailer before driving anywhere. We'd rather tell you that than pretend otherwise.
If you spot something wrong — an outdated fee, a programme that's ended, a rule we've got backwards — please tell us. Corrections from people who work in waste and recycling are especially welcome.
What this site isn't
Nothing here is professional advice. In particular:
- Not safety advice for damaged lithium batteries, leaking propane tanks, or suspected asbestos. Where those come up we say who to contact instead.
- Not legal advice on local waste regulations, which vary by jurisdiction.
- Not a substitute for a licensed trade where one is required — gas and electrical disconnections and asbestos removal among them.
How we're funded
How To Dispose Of is supported by advertising and by affiliate links, where we may earn a small commission on purchases at no extra cost to you. Any page carrying affiliate links says so.
Commercial relationships never determine what we recommend. If the cheapest option is free and involves nobody paying us anything, that's still what the page will say first — it's the entire point of the site.
Get in touch
Corrections, questions and additions: contact us.