How to Get Rid of Old Appliances in Austin: Haul-Away, Resale, and Recycling Options

To get rid of old appliances in Austin, you have five realistic options: schedule a free bulk pickup through Austin Resource Recovery, pay $25–$50 for retailer haul-away when you buy a replacement, call a private hauler for $75–$200, sell it on a marketplace and arrange shipping through uShip or Dolly, or drop it at the Hornsby Bend recycling center for free. Working appliances under 10 years old usually pay you back. Dead ones cost you $0–$50 if you plan ahead, or $150+ if you don’t.

Here’s the breakdown by route, with real Austin prices and the rules that trip people up.

Austin Resource Recovery bulk pickup: free but slow

If you’re a City of Austin utility customer, you already pay for two scheduled bulk collections per fiscal year (October through September). They’ll take refrigerators, washers, dryers, dishwashers, stoves, water heaters, and microwaves curbside. No fee, no weight limit on the appliance itself, but the total pile can’t exceed roughly 10 cubic yards.

The catch: you have to schedule it, and slots fill up. Call 3-1-1 or use the Austin 311 app. Wait times in spring and late summer routinely stretch 3–6 weeks. Refrigerators and freezers must have the doors removed or secured shut — federal CPSC rule, not a city quirk.

One detail people miss: Freon-containing appliances (fridges, freezers, AC units, dehumidifiers) get tagged and routed separately for refrigerant recovery. They still get picked up on your bulk day; you don’t need a separate appointment.

What ARR won’t take

• Commercial-sized units (anything from a restaurant or laundromat)
• Appliances from a rental property if you’re not the tenant scheduling it
• Items inside the house or garage — curbside only, set out by 6:30 a.m.

If you rent and your landlord pays the utility bill, the pickup is tied to that account. Coordinate, or you’ll be told the slot’s already been used.

Retailer haul-away when you buy new

Buying a replacement is the cleanest exit for a working-but-tired appliance. Every major retailer in Austin offers haul-away, but pricing and conditions vary more than the marketing suggests.

Three things to confirm before delivery day. First: the old unit must be disconnected, drained, and accessible. Crews won’t shut off gas, cut copper lines, or move furniture. Second: water heaters and built-in microwaves often aren’t covered by standard haul-away — ask explicitly. Third: if there’s mold, mice, or roaches, they can refuse on the spot and you eat the trip charge.

Costco’s free haul-away is genuinely the best deal in town if you’re already a member and buying a like-for-like replacement. The fine print actually delivers.

Private haulers and junk removal

If you’re not buying a replacement and can’t wait six weeks for bulk pickup, a private hauler is the fast lane. Austin pricing as of 2024:

• 1-800-GOT-JUNK: $129–$189 for a single appliance, more if it’s in a basement or upstairs unit
• College Hunks Hauling Junk: $99–$175, often runs 10% off coupons
• Junk King Austin: $108–$158 for a single appliance pickup
• Independent haulers on Craigslist/Nextdoor: $40–$80 cash, no insurance, hit or miss

The big franchises charge by volume, not item count, so if you’re tossing a fridge plus an old grill plus a busted dehumidifier, the per-item math improves fast. They also handle the Freon paperwork and recycling routing for you, which is worth something.

Independent haulers are cheaper but you’re trusting that the appliance actually gets recycled rather than dumped in a field off SH-130. Ask where it’s going. A legit operator will name Hornsby Bend or a specific scrap yard.

Scrap metal pickup: get paid (a little) to make it disappear

Working or not, anything mostly metal has scrap value. In Austin, current rates run roughly:

• Steel appliances (washers, dryers, stoves, dishwashers): $0.04–$0.08 per pound, or $8–$25 per unit
• Refrigerators and freezers: usually $10–$30, less the refrigerant recovery fee at some yards
• Copper-heavy units (window AC, older water heaters): $20–$60 depending on copper content

Yards like CMC Recycling on Burleson Road and Encore Recyclers in Pflugerville will take walk-ins. Bring ID. If you can’t haul it yourself, scrappers on Nextdoor and Craigslist will pick up free — they’re keeping the scrap value as payment. Post “free working/non-working appliance, you haul” on Facebook Marketplace and you’ll get five replies in an hour, especially for anything with a compressor or copper coil.

The trade-off: you’re not getting paid in this version, but you’re not paying either, and someone shows up same-day or next-day. For a dead dryer sitting in your garage, that’s often the right answer.

Resale: when the appliance still works

This is where the math changes. A 5-year-old GE side-by-side fridge that retails new for $1,800 will pull $300–$600 on the Austin used market. A clean front-load washer from the last decade goes for $150–$350. Stoves and dishwashers move slower but still fetch $75–$250 if they’re not beat up.

Two routes worth comparing: the free-for-all of Facebook Marketplace, and listing on HomeShow with shipping built in.

Facebook Marketplace

Cheapest to list (free), biggest audience, zero logistics support. You write the description, take the photos, field 40 messages from people asking “is this available” and never following up, schedule the pickup, and pray they show up with a truck and a friend. Expect 1–3 weeks to sell at a fair price, faster if you underprice by 20%.

The friction points are real. Buyers cancel. Cash deals fall through when they realize the fridge won’t fit in their Civic. You’re responsible for screening, and porch pickups in some neighborhoods invite people you’d rather not have your address.

HomeShow listing with uShip or Dolly integration

HomeShow.ai’s listing flow uses the photo-to-AI tool to write the listing for you and bakes shipping quotes from uShip (long-haul or out-of-metro) and Dolly (same-day local muscle) into the buyer checkout. The buyer sees the appliance price and the delivery cost, picks a slot, and the hauler shows up at your door on the scheduled day.

For a washer-dryer set sold across town in Austin, Dolly quotes typically run $79–$129 for two movers and a truck, paid by the buyer. uShip quotes for moving an appliance to San Antonio or Houston usually land $120–$220. You don’t lift anything. You don’t coordinate. You don’t get the “running late” text at 9 p.m.

The trade-off versus Marketplace: smaller buyer pool right now (HomeShow is Austin-first), but higher close rate per inquiry because the logistics friction is gone. For a working appliance worth $200+, the convenience usually wins. For a $60 microwave, Marketplace is fine.

Donation: Habitat ReStore and Goodwill

Habitat for Humanity ReStore (two Austin locations: South Pleasant Valley and Metric Boulevard) accepts working appliances less than 10 years old. They’ll do free pickup within their service area for larger items — schedule about a week out. You get a tax receipt at fair market value, which for a working fridge is typically $150–$400 on IRS Publication 561 guidance.

Goodwill takes smaller appliances at any donation center. They generally don’t accept large appliances anymore — that policy changed around 2019 because the resale margin didn’t cover the logistics. Call ahead before loading anything bigger than a microwave.

Salvation Army Austin still does free large-appliance pickup if the item is in working condition. Wait times run 2–4 weeks.

Recycling drop-off: Hornsby Bend and beyond

If you can haul it yourself, the city’s Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center on FM 973 (Hornsby Bend area) accepts appliances from Austin residents for free. Bring proof of residence. They take Freon units, microwaves, dishwashers, washers, dryers — basically everything. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday.

For Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Pflugerville residents who don’t qualify for Austin services, each suburb runs its own program. Round Rock charges $20–$30 for curbside appliance pickup. Cedar Park includes one free bulk pickup per year with utility service. Pflugerville requires an appointment but is free for residents.

Which option fits which situation

The decision usually comes down to three variables: is it working, are you buying a replacement, and how fast do you need it gone.

• Working + buying a replacement → Costco haul-away (free) or retailer haul-away with the install package
• Working + not replacing + worth $200+ → HomeShow listing with uShip/Dolly, or Habitat ReStore for the tax receipt
• Working + not replacing + worth under $200 → Facebook Marketplace or free-to-scrapper post
• Dead + can wait a month → Austin Resource Recovery bulk pickup (free)
• Dead + need it gone this week → Free scrapper pickup via Nextdoor, or $100–$180 junk removal franchise
• Dead + you have a truck → Hornsby Bend drop-off, free

One last point worth raising: track the appliance’s purchase date, model number, and warranty before you toss it. If the dishwasher died at year 8 of a 10-year sealed-system warranty, you might be entitled to a free replacement part or full unit. HomeShow’s HomeVault tool stores receipts and warranty PDFs against each appliance in your home, which is exactly the moment that pays off. Plenty of Austin homeowners have thrown out warrantied units because they couldn’t find the paperwork at 9 p.m. on a Sunday.

Plan the exit before the appliance dies. The cheap routes all require lead time.