The short answer
A load leaving a Sacramento property gets separated, and the separation happens in a fixed order: reuse, then material recovery, then disposal.
- Donation and resale for anything genuinely usable.
- Scrap metal for appliances, frames and anything ferrous.
- Certified e-waste for televisions, monitors and electronics.
- Mattress recycling for beds, through the statewide system.
- Construction and demolition recovery for wood, metal, concrete and drywall.
- Landfill for what is genuinely left, which is a smaller fraction than most people assume.
None of that is a separate charge. It is inside the $126 for a sofa, the $164 for a fridge and the $241 for a quarter truck.
Why California pushes this harder than most states
California has long-standing landfill diversion requirements, and this region has infrastructure built around them: transfer stations that sort rather than simply tip, material recovery facilities, and a dense cluster of recyclers along the industrial corridors, particularly out around Power Inn Road and the belt south of US-50.
The practical consequence for a household is that several categories are legally or practically barred from the general stream, which is why the free routes quietly fail on exactly those items. Refrigerant appliances, televisions and monitors, and mattresses all have their own channels. That is also why a hauler who takes everything to one place and calls it done is not doing the job.
Step one: donation, and what actually qualifies
The first sort is reuse, and it happens on the truck rather than at a facility. Furniture in genuinely good condition, working small appliances, kitchenware, books, clothing and toys are set aside for donation outlets rather than disposal.
The Sacramento qualifier is condition, and the reason is the climate. A sofa that has been in an uninsulated garage through a triple-digit August is not donatable no matter how it looks: the foam has degraded and the glue joints have let go. The same applies to anything that came out of a storage unit that was not climate controlled, which is most of them in this metro.
If you have specific items you want routed to a specific charity, say so when you book and it can be noted on the job.
Step two: metal, which is most of the weight
Scrap is the easiest and most complete recovery stream in this trade. Washers, dryers, dishwashers, ranges, water heaters, bed frames, filing cabinets, patio furniture frames, barbecues, exercise equipment: all of it is largely steel and all of it is recovered.
Refrigerators, freezers and air conditioning units go the same way, but only after refrigerant has been recovered by a certified technician, which is a separate step at a facility equipped for it. That step is the reason a scrapper in an alley off Franklin Boulevard will take your dryer and leave your fridge.
Prices for reference: Washer $133, Dryer $128, Refrigerator (Standard) $164, Water Heater (Tank) $131, Treadmill $115.
Step three: electronics and mattresses, the two regulated streams
E-waste. Televisions, monitors, towers, printers and the general drawer of devices are handled through California's certified electronics recycling channels, where boards, metals and glass are separated. CRTs go to the operations equipped for leaded glass. TV (under 42 inches) $62, TV (42 to 65 inches) $68, TV (65 inches and up) $73, Computer Monitor $58, Box of Electronics $77.
Mattresses. Around ninety percent recoverable by weight: steel from the springs to scrap, foam shredded into carpet underlay, cotton and felt into filtration and insulation, timber from the box spring frame to mulch or biomass. Mattress, Queen $103, Mattress and Box Spring Set $143.
The exception in both cases is contamination. A mattress that sat outside through a February atmospheric river week, or a screen that has been smashed open, goes to disposal rather than recovery.
Step four: renovation material
Construction and demolition material is separated by type at recovery facilities: clean timber, metal, concrete and masonry, drywall, and cardboard.
Two Sacramento specifics. Concrete and masonry is a heavy, well-established recovery stream here, because hardpan soil means a lot of properties have more patio and pathway than lawn, and those get replaced. Concrete / Masonry Debris is $219 per quarter truck for that reason, priced separately from general debris at $120.
And redwood decking, which is everywhere in the older suburban ring, is genuinely worth separating rather than mixing into a general load.
What is left, and what never goes on the truck
Landfill takes the remainder: heavily soiled textiles, degraded foam, laminated materials, mixed plastics and anything contaminated. It is the last destination rather than the first, which is the whole point of sorting.
Never on the truck at all: paint, stain, solvents, pesticides, pool chemicals, motor oil, antifreeze, car batteries, propane cylinders and fluorescent tubes. These go through household hazardous waste channels. Check your county's current drop-off arrangements, and set them aside before the pickup rather than hiding them in a box.
Anyone who offers to take those on a general junk truck is telling you where the rest of your load is going.
What this looks like on one real load
A Carmichael garage: Refrigerator (Standard) $164 + Washer $133 + Treadmill $115 + Lawn Mower $65 = $477. Above the half truck at $431, so it books at $431.
Of that load, the fridge goes for refrigerant recovery then scrap. The washer, treadmill and mower are almost entirely steel and go to scrap. The plastic bins that came with them are degraded from ten Sacramento summers and go to disposal. The boxed kitchenware on the shelf above goes to donation.
Four destinations, one price, no separate line items.
Frequently asked questions
Do you donate things or just dump everything?
Usable items are separated for donation first. Then scrap metal, certified e-waste and mattress recycling. Landfill is the last destination, not the first.
Is recycling an extra charge?
No. Sorting, recycling and disposal are all inside the quoted price. There is no separate recycling or gate-rate line.
Can I choose where my things go?
Tell us when you book if you want specific items routed to a specific charity and it can be noted on the job.
Why will scrappers take my dryer but not my fridge?
Refrigerant has to be recovered by a certified technician before the shell can be processed, and a casual scrapper cannot do that. It is handled on our side at no surcharge.
What happens to a mattress?
It goes into the recycling stream, where steel, foam, fiber and timber are separated. Around ninety percent by weight is recoverable, unless it is wet, infested or badly soiled.
Will you take my old paint?
No, and neither should anyone else on a general truck. Paint, solvents, pool chemicals, propane and batteries go through household hazardous waste channels.