The short answer
Many city bulky-item programs in LA and Orange County pick up an old refrigerator for free, but several have extra rules for appliances that hold refrigerant: tape or remove the doors, get it tagged refrigerant-free, or pay a recovery fee. If you can't get it to the curb or need it gone today, a hauler can carry it out of the kitchen or garage for you.
Want it handled for you? See our refrigerator removal service.
1. Schedule a city bulky pickup (and follow the fridge rules)
A fridge is a standard bulky item, but it's the one item where cities add the most fine print, mostly about the doors and the refrigerant.
Rules from LA County programs:
- Long Beach: refrigerators and freezers must have the doors removed or taped shut. The city may charge a regulatory fee for special-handling items like appliances.
- Commerce (Athens Services): appliances are accepted with fridge doors taped, and pickups are weekly with no annual limit stated.
- Redondo Beach (Athens Services): tape or remove appliance doors; up to 4 bulky or electronic items a week, free.
- Rosemead (Republic Services): appliances must be tagged refrigerant-free before pickup.
- San Dimas (WM): freon appliances need the freon removed by a certified person first.
- City of Los Angeles (LASAN): unlimited free bulky pickups for homes on City service, but commercial appliances are excluded.
- Lomita (Athens Services): refrigerators are on the accepted list, with 4 free on-call pickups a year for single-family homes.
More on this: bulky pickup rules by city · Commerce bulky item rules · Rosemead bulky pickup
Sources: City of Long Beach: Special Collection 101; City of Commerce: Residential Trash & Recycling Collection; City of Redondo Beach: Bulky Item and E-Waste Collection; Republic Services: Rosemead Bulky Items; City of San Dimas: Waste Disposal and Recycling; LA Sanitation & Environment: Schedule a Bulky Item Pickup; City of Lomita: Recycling & Waste Collection, checked Nov 2026
Refrigerator pickup in Orange County
OC programs handle refrigerant differently from city to city, and a couple of them spell out the cost:
- Garden Grove (Republic Services): 3 free pickups a year of up to 10 items, by appointment, but items with CFCs or Freon, like refrigerators and air conditioners, carry a small recovery fee.
- Tustin (CR&R): 4 free pickups a year of up to 4 items, and bulky items containing Freon are picked up at no charge.
- Laguna Hills (CR&R): runs a separate white goods (appliance) collection on top of 2 bulky pickups a year.
- Irvine (WM): 4 pickups a year of up to 4 items; furniture, appliances and e-waste all count. Call at least 48 hours before collection day.
- Costa Mesa Sanitary District: 3 pickups a year of up to 10 items, but nothing over 150 lb or larger than 8 by 4 ft. Check a large fridge against those limits before you book.
More on this: Garden Grove bulky pickup · Tustin bulky pickup rules
Sources: City of Garden Grove: Collection Schedule FAQs; City of Tustin: Residential Collection Services; City of Laguna Hills: Recycling for Residents; WM: City of Irvine 2025 Residential Guide; Costa Mesa Sanitary District: Large Item Collection, checked Nov 2026
“handled my heavy old refrigerator…”
2. Drop it off at a facility that takes appliances
Fewer dumps take refrigerators than take furniture, so check the list before you wrestle one into a truck. What the official pages say:
- Sunshine Canyon Landfill, Sylmar: takes appliances for recycling only, with a hard-to-handle charge. Bring the Origin Report Form LA County requires.
- California Waste Services Downtown LA: takes appliances with restrictions, but lists refrigerators with freon as not accepted.
- CLARTS (Los Angeles) and Savage Canyon Landfill (Whittier) both list appliances as not accepted.
- In Orange County, none of the facility pages we checked list refrigerators by name. Call OC Waste & Recycling or your city's hauler before you go.
More on this: Sunshine Canyon Landfill drop-off rules · self-hauling to the dump
Sources: Sunshine Canyon Landfill: Drop-Off Information; California Waste Services: Los Angeles; LA Sanitation & Environment: CLARTS; City of Whittier: Landfill Services, checked Nov 2026
3. Donate a working fridge
A clean, working refrigerator can be worth donating, especially a newer one. Not every donation center takes large appliances, and those that do usually want it working, clean and empty. Call ahead and ask before you unplug it.
4. Sell it or give it away
Working fridges sell or get claimed quickly, often for a garage or a rental. Post the brand, the size and the inside measurements, and tell buyers they need a dolly and a truck. If you're buying a new one, ask the store whether it hauls the old one away at delivery.
5. Hire a hauler to take it out
Refrigerators are heavy and awkward on stairs and through kitchen doorways, and city bulky programs pick up at the curb. That's where a hauler earns the fee.
Roa Solution Junk Removal carries refrigerators and freezers out of the kitchen or garage, loads them and hauls them away. Please have it unplugged, emptied and disconnected from the water line before we arrive. Same-day or next-day pickup depending on availability.
Pricing starts at $190. Text a photo of the fridge and where it sits to (562) 219-9266 for a price by text.
More on this: our refrigerator removal service
What it usually costs
Free city pickups cover a fridge in many cities, though Garden Grove charges a recovery fee for refrigerant items. Sunshine Canyon charges for each appliance it takes for recycling. With a hauler, the price depends on truck space, weight, stairs and the carry, and one fridge still meets the $190 starting minimum.
More on this: appliance removal cost in LA
Sources: City of Garden Grove: Collection Schedule FAQs; Sunshine Canyon Landfill: Drop-Off Information, checked Nov 2026
Sources
- City of Long Beach: Special Collection 101
- City of Commerce: Residential Trash & Recycling Collection
- City of Redondo Beach: Bulky Item and E-Waste Collection
- Republic Services: Rosemead Bulky Items
- City of San Dimas: Waste Disposal and Recycling
- LA Sanitation & Environment: Schedule a Bulky Item Pickup
- City of Lomita: Recycling & Waste Collection
- City of Garden Grove: Collection Schedule FAQs
- City of Tustin: Residential Collection Services
- City of Laguna Hills: Recycling for Residents
- WM: City of Irvine 2025 Residential Guide
- Costa Mesa Sanitary District: Large Item Collection
- Sunshine Canyon Landfill: Drop-Off Information
- California Waste Services: Los Angeles
- LA Sanitation & Environment: CLARTS
- City of Whittier: Landfill Services
Rules change. Check the city or county page before you rely on a limit, fee or date.