The short answer

A full truck leaving a Valley driveway splits four ways.

  • Donation for anything a charity will genuinely take and that is still in usable condition.
  • Scrap metal for appliances, frames, shelving, exercise equipment and anything substantially steel.
  • Electronics processing for TVs, monitors, towers, printers and the rest of the e-waste category.
  • The transfer station or landfill serving that city for everything else.

All of that handling is inside the price you were quoted. There is no separate disposal fee, sorting fee or recycling line added afterwards — a sofa is $126 all in.

The sorting starts on the driveway

Loading is not random. Metal goes one way on the bed, e-waste goes somewhere it will not get crushed, and anything that might be donatable is kept intact rather than stacked under a chest freezer. That is deliberate, because a dresser that arrives at a charity with a snapped leg is not a donation, it is landfill with extra steps.

It also means the crew is making judgements at your house about what has a second life. In Phoenix those judgements are heavily shaped by where something has been stored, which brings us to the honest part.

Why Phoenix diverts less than it could

This is worth being straight about: the Valley's climate destroys a lot of material before it ever reaches a truck.

  • Upholstery that has spent summers in an uninsulated garage has foam that crumbles when it is lifted. No charity takes that.
  • Particleboard and flat-pack swells and delaminates in the heat, and loses its fixings. Structurally it is done.
  • Patio furniture is the starkest case. Strap rot, bleached and stiffened cushions, chalked frames, shredded umbrella fabric — most of it arrives unsalvageable.
  • Electronics stored in a garage frequently do not power on. Panels delaminate, capacitors dry out, lithium cells swell.

The lesson for anyone who cares where their things end up is a scheduling one, not a moral one: the earlier a piece leaves the house after you decide it is going, the better its odds. A sofa cleared in April has a real chance of being donated. The same sofa after a summer in the third bay does not.

Scrap metal is the biggest diversion stream here

Metal is the category the heat cannot ruin, and the Valley produces a lot of it. Appliances — a standard refrigerator at $164, a washer at $133, a dryer at $128, a chest freezer at $146. Cooling equipment, of which this metro retires an enormous amount — window units at $87 and $109, portables at $85, outdoor condensers and heat pumps at $115. Garage gym equipment — a treadmill at $115, a squat rack at $123, free weights at $93. Metal shelving at $71 and a rolling tool chest at $100.

Sealed refrigeration units have their own handling requirements before the metal goes anywhere, and that is part of what the price covers. You are not charged a refrigerant fee on top.

Which facility depends on which city you are in

The Valley is not one waste system. Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, Scottsdale, Tempe, Surprise, Avondale, Goodyear, Buckeye and Queen Creek each run their own solid-waste operation, with their own transfer stations and their own arrangements, and material from a given address routes accordingly. Some fringe addresses are unincorporated and sit outside any city system.

If you want to know what your own city does with household material, its solid-waste page is where that lives and it is worth reading the current version. It is also where you will find whether it runs a separate electronics or household-chemical drop-off, which is useful whether or not you ever book a hauler.

The categories with specific handling

Electronics. TVs, monitors, towers and printers go to processing rather than into a general load. Flag swollen lithium batteries at booking — cordless tool packs, old laptops, e-bike and scooter batteries — because those are handled separately, and Phoenix garages produce a lot of them.

Paint and chemicals. A one-gallon can is $30 and a five-gallon bucket is $52, and they do not go in with the furniture. Tell us what is on the garage shelf.

Tires. A single tire is $22 and a set of four is $87. They have their own route everywhere.

Construction and masonry. Construction debris is $120 and concrete or masonry is $219 per quarter truck. Heavy inert material goes to different facilities than household goods.

What you can do to improve the outcome

Three things, all free.

Pull out anything genuinely good before you book and offer it directly — autumn is the season when things move here, as the metro fills up for the pleasant half of the year. Tell the crew which items are still working, because "the fridge runs fine, we just replaced it" changes where it goes. And stop storing things in the garage as a decision-deferral strategy, because the garage is where good material becomes landfill.

What the price covers

Crew, carry, load, transport, sorting and handling at the other end. One number, quoted from a published catalog before you book, the same across the whole metro with no distance line. No dump fee, no recycling fee, no e-waste fee, no refrigerant fee.

You do not have to separate anything, bag anything or move anything to the curb. That is the point.

Frequently asked questions

Do you recycle or does it all go to landfill?

It splits. Metal goes to scrap, electronics go to processing, anything genuinely usable is offered for donation, and the remainder goes to the facility serving that city. The sorting happens as the truck is loaded.

Is there an extra charge for recycling?

No. There is no recycling fee, e-waste fee, refrigerant fee or dump fee. The catalog price is the whole price — a sofa is $126 and a standard refrigerator is $164, handling included.

Why can't more of my furniture be donated?

Usually because of where it was stored. A Phoenix garage is hard on upholstery, particleboard and electronics, and charities decline heat-damaged and sun-faded pieces. Clearing something soon after you decide it is going gives it far better odds.

Where does it physically go?

That depends on which Valley city the address sits in, because Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, Scottsdale and Tempe each run their own solid-waste operation. Your city's solid-waste page describes its own system.

What happens to old batteries and cooling equipment?

Both get separate handling. Flag swollen lithium batteries when you book — they turn up constantly in Valley garages. Sealed refrigeration units are processed properly before the metal is scrapped, at no extra charge.