What a junk removal crew will not take is decided by the receiving landfill rather than by the crew, and the reason is the reverse of what most people assume. Pricing runs by the fraction of the truck you fill rather than by the hour, so a quarter truckload runs $125 to $200 and a half load $200 to $400. Household chemicals are federally excluded from the hazardous waste rules, which is exactly why nobody will haul them.
| Service | Typical |
|---|---|
| Junk removal, volume-based pickupNational range | $75 to $800 per load, from an eighth of a truck to a full one |
Ranges last checked September 2026. They come down automatically when they are due to be rechecked.
Every figure above comes from a named source we can link to, with the date we last checked it. We publish ranges rather than single prices because a range is what a provider will actually give you: the same job moves with what is being worked on, the materials, how hard it is to get at and how busy the trade is locally. Treat these as the order of magnitude to expect before you call, not as a quote.
The figures here are national. Where a source publishes figures state by state, the state pages carry that local figure instead of this one. We do not scale a national number by a multiplier of our own invention.
Every range carries a review date. When that date passes the number comes down until it is rechecked, rather than sitting here undated.
The unit in this trade is a fraction of a truckload, and the published tiers step up from an eighth of a load at two to three cubic yards through to a full load at thirteen to seventeen cubic yards. A quarter truckload runs $125 to $200 and a half load $200 to $400. Heavy material is the exception that proves the rule: dirt, concrete and gravel are still priced by volume, but a full truck of them is often capped at about a foot of bed height, because the weight arrives long before the space runs out.
Two national sources publish the same tier table, character for character, so they should be read as one set of figures rather than two independent confirmations.
The refusal list is short and specific. One national franchisor names chemicals, solvents and oils; asbestos; storage and oil drums unless empty with the top and bottom cut out; and oil and waste storage tanks, and says the list varies by location because local regulations vary.
The reason is the reverse of what most people assume. Wastes generated by normal household activities, routine house and yard maintenance among them, are excluded from the federal definition of hazardous waste. Household hazardous waste is instead handled at state and local level as solid waste. The EPA's own description covers leftover household products that can catch fire, react or explode, or that are corrosive or toxic, naming paints, cleaners, oils, batteries and pesticides, and it points consumers to local collection programs.
So the constraint is not a federal ban on the hauler. It is the receiving facility's state and local permit. That is why the answer to whether they will take your paint changes between cities.
Under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act, the final person in the disposal chain, such as a scrap metal recycler or a landfill owner, is responsible for ensuring refrigerant is recovered from equipment before final disposal. That person must hold either a signed statement naming who recovered the refrigerant and the date it was recovered, or a qualifying contract with a regular supplier. The EPA states that it does not mandate or accept a sticker as verification. Individuals recovering refrigerant from small appliances need not be certified technicians, but the recovery equipment must meet the same performance standards as servicing equipment.
The paperwork obligation lands at the end of the chain, and the cost of satisfying it gets passed back up it. That is the whole explanation for a separate charge on a fridge or a freezer.
A USDOT number is required where a vehicle has a gross weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more and operates in interstate commerce, or where safety-permit quantities of hazardous materials move intrastate. FMCSA also lists thirty-six states that require intrastate carriers to obtain one. Minnesota is on that list. New Mexico is not. Most junk trucks are over the weight threshold, so whether a given operator needs a number usually turns on the state and on whether it crosses a state line.
Get the quote as a fraction of the truck and confirm what the minimum charge is, because a single item is billed against a floor rather than against its own size. The two national sources disagree on the single-item range, one describing a minimum charge and the other a full item range, and as published they contradict each other, so treat any single figure you are quoted as that company's own.
Ask about the surcharges before the truck arrives. Appliances containing refrigerant, tires, and paint or chemicals by the pound are all quoted separately, and expedited pickup carries a markup. Disposal and tipping fees at the local landfill are the largest single input into the price, which is also why quotes move between neighboring towns.
Ask what happens to what they take. Companies vary in how much they divert to recycling or donation, and unlike the disposal rules that is not regulated, so it is a question about the company rather than about the law.
If you have paint, solvents, batteries or pesticides, plan a separate trip to a household hazardous waste collection program rather than hoping the crew will take them. They generally will not, and the reason is structural.
By the fraction of the truck your load fills, not by the hour. Published tiers run from an eighth of a load at two to three cubic yards up to a full load at thirteen to seventeen cubic yards. Heavy material such as dirt or concrete is still priced by volume, but a full truck of it is often capped at about a foot of bed height.
Because of where the load goes, not because of a federal ban on the hauler. Household wastes from normal household activities are excluded from the federal definition of hazardous waste, which leaves paints, cleaners, oils, batteries and pesticides to state and local rules at the receiving facility. Take them to a household hazardous waste collection program instead.
Under Section 608 the last person in the disposal chain has to ensure the refrigerant was recovered, and must hold a signed statement naming who recovered it and when, or a qualifying contract. The EPA does not accept a sticker as proof. The cost of satisfying that duty gets passed back up the chain to you.
Typically pickup from wherever the items are, loading, sweeping the area afterwards, and the associated disposal or recycling fees. Surcharges for refrigerant-bearing appliances, tires, paint and chemicals, and expedited pickup are quoted separately.
Not for the trade itself. The federal rules that reach it are about the truck and about the waste. A USDOT number is required at a gross weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more in interstate commerce, and thirty-six states also require one for intrastate carriers. Minnesota is on that list; New Mexico is not.
Local landfill tipping fees are the largest single input into the price, and they are set locally. Disposal bans and acceptance rules at the receiving facility vary the same way.