Appliance Disposal in Orlando: Why Your Old Fridge Is Harder Than You Think
Refrigerant law, scrap value and retailer haul-away. Every route for getting rid of a fridge, washer or water heater.
Appliances look like they should be easy. They are metal, metal recycles, and there is scrap value in them. Then you discover nobody will take your refrigerator.
The reason is refrigerant, and it is worth understanding because it determines which options are actually open to you.
Why refrigerators are different
Refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners contain refrigerant, which cannot legally be released into the atmosphere. It has to be recovered by a technician before the unit can be scrapped or landfilled.
That recovery step costs money, which is why many services that happily take a washing machine will refuse a fridge.
Route one: retailer haul-away on delivery
If you are replacing the appliance, ask the retailer to take the old one when they deliver. This is usually the cheapest route and it is built into their process.
Ask before you buy. Once delivery is scheduled it is often too late to add.
Route two: utility rebate programs
Some utilities run appliance recycling programs that collect old working refrigerators and freezers, sometimes with a rebate, because an old inefficient second fridge in a garage costs real money to run.
Availability and terms change, so check your own utility's current program directly rather than relying on what somebody told you last year.
Route three: scrap yard
Possible if you have a truck and the appliance has no refrigerant. Washers, dryers, ranges and water heaters are mostly steel and a yard will take them.
Do not expect to get rich. The scrap value of a household appliance is modest and it will not cover a day off work.
Route four: a hauler
Worth it when the appliance is in a basement or upstairs, when there are several, when it has refrigerant, or when you simply do not have a truck.
A hauler routes refrigerant units through a certified recycler and takes the metal ones to scrap.
Two safety points that matter
- Gas appliances. A gas range or dryer needs the gas line capped by a licensed plumber before anyone moves it. No hauler should be cutting a gas line.
- Water heaters. Drain it first. A full one holds forty or more gallons and is genuinely dangerous to carry.
- Old fridges and children. If an old refrigerator is sitting somewhere waiting for pickup, remove the door. This is a real hazard and it takes ten minutes.
The short version
If you are replacing it, retailer haul-away is almost always cheapest. If not, refrigerant is what determines your options, and gas appliances need a plumber before anyone moves them.
