Junk removal restrictions
What Junk Removal Won't Take and Where Those Items Go
Paint, motor oil, batteries, propane tanks and chemicals stay off the truck. Here is where each one goes instead, and the long list of junk we do take away. Free estimates, Monday to Saturday.
What stays off the truck
Items junk haulers won't take
Regular junk removal does not take hazardous materials such as paint, motor oil, batteries, propane tanks and certain chemicals. That rule runs across the trade, not just on our truck, and it is the first thing we sort out when you call and tell us what is sitting in the garage, the shed or the side yard. The items haulers turn down are these.
- Paint
- Motor oil
- Batteries
- Propane tanks
- Chemicals
Each one is a hazardous material, which is why it is kept apart from the furniture, appliances and bagged junk the crew loads. A half-used can of paint, a jug of old motor oil, a dead car battery, the propane tank off a gas grill and the bottles of pool or garden chemicals under a workbench are the kind of pieces that sit in a Phoenix garage right next to everything else.
We would rather tell you up front than at the truck. When you call or text photos for the estimate, point out anything in those five groups, and we say which items we can remove and which stay behind for a hazardous waste facility. The quote then covers what the crew actually loads, with no surprise charges after.
The rule we work by is short: "Regular junk removal does not take hazardous materials." Everything around those items, from the old couch to the boxes stacked in front of the paint shelf, is still removed in the same visit, so clearing a garage means one pickup for the junk and one separate drop-off for the hazardous leftovers.
Sometimes refused
Asbestos, biohazards, tires and heavy fill
Some haulers may also refuse asbestos, biohazards, tires, rocks, dirt and concrete. These are not on every company's list, so the answer can change from one hauler to the next. The items some companies turn down are these.
- Asbestos
- Biohazards
- Tires
- Rocks
- Dirt
- Concrete
Rocks, dirt and concrete come down to weight. Heavy materials such as dirt, concrete, tile and construction debris can cost more because of their weight and disposal fees, and disposal fees vary by material, so the price depends on what the items are as well as how much there is.
If your pile has any of these in it, name them when you call. We tell you whether they can go in the same load and how the weight changes the estimate, before the crew lifts a thing.
Where they go instead
Hazardous leftovers and infested pieces
Hazardous waste facilities
Hazardous materials go to an approved hazardous waste facility. That is where the paint, motor oil, batteries, propane tanks and chemicals a junk truck leaves behind are headed, rather than the landfill or the recycling yard.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency groups paint, oils, batteries and chemicals as "household hazardous waste", and its guide to household hazardous waste sends them to community collection programs, not regular hauling.
In practice that means a separate drop-off at the collection program that serves your area, while our crew hauls everything else. Set those containers apart from the pile before pickup day so nothing hazardous ends up in the load, and ask us on the call if you are not sure which side of the line an item sits on.
Items with bed bugs
Some services may take no item with a known or suspected bed bug infestation, and an infested mattress cannot be recycled or donated. The reason is the rest of the load: in the trade's words, "A mattress with bed bugs puts everything else in the truck at risk and cannot be recycled or donated."
That rules out the usual end for an old bed, couch or chair. Where a hauler does take an infested piece, bed bug wrapping is one of the common add-on charges across the trade, alongside same-day service and stair carries.
If you know or suspect bed bugs in anything on the list, tell us when you call. We would rather hear it on the phone than find it at the truck, because it decides what can go, how it is handled and what the estimate covers.
Coolant
Refrigerators and other appliances with coolant
Refrigerators that contain coolant are taken, and the coolant is handled by certified technicians. A fridge or freezer is not on the turned-down list; it simply needs special handling that a washer or a couch does not.
Items that need special handling, such as refrigerators with coolant and electronics, add to the cost, so a garage fridge is quoted with that handling in the price before pickup day. Junk removal is priced mainly by how much space the items take up in the truck, and the coolant is one more line in the same estimate.
Old fridges, freezers and washers, coolant or not, leave the house through our appliance removal, carried out from the kitchen, the laundry room or the garage. The answer for a dead refrigerator is yes: it goes, and the coolant inside it goes through the right hands first.
What goes on the truck
What junk haulers do take
Junk haulers take most household and business junk, from furniture and appliances to yard debris. The turned-down list is short next to everything that does go: the couches, beds, boxes, fridges, office desks and storm branches that fill most loads. If an item is not paint, motor oil, a battery, a propane tank or a chemical, the answer is usually yes, and one call settles it.
Junk haulers take most household items
Furniture, appliances, mattresses, hot tubs, electronics and yard debris are all accepted. The household items that go on the truck are these.
- Furniture
- Appliances
- Mattresses
- Hot tubs
- Electronics
- Yard debris
Homes and businesses send most household junk, a full garage or a single chair, through Phoenix junk removal for homes. The crew carries it out from wherever it sits and sweeps up before leaving.
Whether propane tanks are accepted
No, propane tanks are not accepted by regular junk removal. A propane tank is one of the hazardous materials on the turned-down list, alongside paint, motor oil, batteries and certain chemicals, so it goes to an approved hazardous waste facility instead. Take the tank off the grill before pickup day and set it aside from the pile, and the crew removes the rest.
Reviews
What Phoenix neighbors say
"The crew cleared years of boxes and an old couch out of our garage in one visit. The price they gave from our photos held on the day, and they swept the floor before they left."
"Our old spa had been dead for years. They cut it into pieces, carried it out through the side gate and left the pad swept clean."
"We were handling my mother's house from out of state. They sent photos of each room, set aside the papers they found and left the house ready to list."
Not sure about an item?
Call EJ Junk Removal before you sort the pile
Tell us what you have and where it sits, or text a few photos, and we say what goes on the truck, what goes to a hazardous waste facility, and what the whole job costs before we start. Every Phoenix customer gets the same promises.
- Free, no-obligation estimates
- We answer the phone or call back the same working day
- We show up when we say we will
- We quote the whole job before we start, with no surprise charges after
- We clean up when the work is done
(602) 755-2001 · Monday to Saturday