15 Oct 2020

Appliance dispose might sound easy at first, especially if you have considered just throwing your old appliances away to get rid of them, but that is not always the best choice for dealing with junk removal like this. When it comes to getting rid of old appliances, you often have to be a bit more creative than that, or at least turn towards a solution that won’t cause as many problems in the near future.

If you have an old appliance that doesn’t work anymore or multiple appliances that are really outdated, then you might end up gravitating towards certain appliance disposal methods or services. It is important to understand how your options work and how much it might cost you whatever you choose.

Dumping Them

One of the easiest and most straightforward types of appliance disposal is the same as any other kind of waste disposal or junk removal: take it to a dumping site or landfill and just dump the old appliances there. While it is hardly the most eco-friendly option and doesn’t give you much room for choosing how the removal process goes, it is also a very fast and reliable choice if all else has failed.

Keep in mind that not all cities have junk removal and disposal locations like this, and those that do might put them beyond the city’s normal boarders. If you are trying to find one, you might still have to drive a fair distance away. However, the process itself is usually more or less free, and you won’t need to pay any unexpected extra prices unless the landfill has a small charge for putting your own trash and junk there.

Recycling

When it comes to appliances, recycling them can be a great way to avoid creating extra pollution from the disposal. Recycling appliances that no longer work correctly can be a much better option than just throwing them into a landfill since you know that the materials can get used to create more items and appliances rather than just being lost forever. Appliance recycling can sometimes even be easier than dumping the item directly, given that recycling centers are more likely to be in the middle of large cities.

Appliance recycling also doesn’t take much effort from you, other than loading the appliance into your vehicle and driving it to the recycling center. Once there, you can usually just drop it off and move it into the correct location or bin, then the recycling service will take care of it from that point onward. There also isn’t usually a fee associated with appliance recycling, or recycling in general, making it a very accessible choice as long as you can haul away your appliances to the center.

Donation

If you have been a responsible appliance user and the old appliance you own isn’t actually damaged, you can always take it to donation centers or charity businesses to provide it as a donation. This has two benefits: you get rid of old appliances, and a home that might not have working appliances can get something to improve their standard of living. Just make sure that the appliance you are donating has all of the required extra pieces, and that it works: you won’t be able to donate something if it doesn’t actually work as intended.

You can donate almost any old appliance, including small appliances, as long as they function properly and aren’t going to hurt anybody. While you also won’t get paid for it, since donations are donations, it is still a responsible appliance disposal method that doesn’t just result in your old appliance being thrown into a heap and left to rust. Some simple appliances might be durable enough to be passed along for decades, so throwing them away can be a massive waste of their potential.

Selling

Alternatively, you might want to make some money by selling your old appliance, either to an individual person in your area or a local appliance shop that allows people to give them pre-owned items. You can even put your appliance up on an online marketplace to reach more people, depending on how desperate you are to get rid of it. Either way, this can be a useful option for situations where you need money to get a new appliance, but might not have the income necessary to afford that purchase yet.

Like donations, responsible appliance owners can have the best luck here, since higher-quality and less-damaged appliances can be sold for more money. You will almost never get more money back than you paid for the item, but it can still lessen the blow of having to buy new appliances, and it might even help you afford a slightly better replacement.

If you struggle to sell your appliances or don’t have any interested customers, then other disposal methods are also a good fallback option. Still, attempting to sell older appliances, even to other family members, can be worth an attempt if you think you might make some money back on the sale, and it can cover the cost of having to deliver the item.

Curb Disposal

Appliances are large and heavy, and not everybody has a car that can properly hold one to help with appliance removal. If you are struggling to even get the appliance out of your home and have no way of carrying it off to donate or scrap, then you might have to try and arrange for a pickup service instead. Curb disposal doesn’t always require you to be there when the item is picked up – you just call ahead and let the service or company know which appliances you want to be removed.

In some cities, this kind of service is part of the normal waste removal service, giving them the ability to arrange pickups for larger items that you are getting rid of. There can be limits, such as a certain amount of them per year or an added fee for each item, but they are a good way to make sure that the appliance can be moved from your home if you don’t have a vehicle that can support it.

The other kind is independent companies that might offer to conduct the appliance removal. These generally have larger fees and are focused on getting the items from point A to point B, but you might still be able to tell them where to dump the appliance, such as at a recycling center or specific landfill.

Dumpsters

Large-scale appliance disposal is best done with a dumpster. Large roll-off dumpsters are some of the most common for this, acting as a bigger junk removal tool that can take anything from full appliances and damaged air conditioners to scrap metal and construction debris. Each dumpster disposal service follows a certain schedule: you get the dumpster delivered, arrange a pickup date, and then just have to fill the dumpster with the items you no longer want. The service then comes picks  up the dumpster and empties the contents in a waste disposal site.

Using dumpsters like this can be a great appliance disposal option when trying to handle multiple appliances and other large items, eliminating the need for you to move the items around yourself. The services are mostly limited to dumping items instead of recycling or donating them, so if you don’t want to throw them away, you will usually still have to do the transporting yourself.

Remember that dumpsters can also have a range of different fees if you misuse them. Adding too much weight or filling one beyond the rim can often be grounds for having to pay more since it makes the pickup process harder for the company that hired you the dumpster. Keeping it for longer than the scheduled rental period can also be a reason that you might end up paying slightly more.

Which do I choose?

When dealing with appliances, there isn’t a single best option to choose from. Even when you are looking at your choices from a single factor, such as the time it will take or the amount of money that it would cost, there can be a lot of overlap and certain elements that might get in the way of a particular disposal method. Even if you decide to handle the junk removal on your own, you never know if you will suddenly find another option appealing.

Choosing an appliance junk removal method for your home isn’t easy, as you might expect. However, it helps if you think about each one’s pros and cons relative to your own situation and needs, this can help you make sure that you are choosing correctly.

For example, recycled appliances often get turned into scrap metal, rather than repaired into another working appliance. If you have broken appliances, recycle them into scrap metal if you like, but remember that recycling appliance items that still work is essentially the same as disposing of them. Functional appliances are better off donated or sold if possible.

On the other hand, you might have far too many appliances to handle with your own vehicle, especially if you are trying to renovate an entire kitchen or clear out an old house that is going to be turned into something else. In this case, a dumpster might be your best option, especially if you don’t mind having your appliances disposed of in a conventional way. It will cost you, though.

The option you choose comes down to what you want and the kind of appliances you are trying to get rid of, as well as how much you are willing to pay for some of the services. Whatever you end up choosing, though, you should always do some extra research and get the hang of how the service works before you commit to anything.