Plenty of people assume everything goes straight to the landfill. It does not — and the order we work in matters: donate first, recycle second, landfill last.
Donation comes first
Furniture in usable shape, working household goods, tools and unopened supplies go to local charities before anything else happens to them. It costs us an extra stop and it is worth it — your old couch keeps working for somebody in this community instead of taking up space in a hole in the ground.
Metals and appliances
Appliances are mostly steel, which recyclers genuinely want. Refrigerators, freezers and AC units get routed separately to facilities licensed to recover refrigerant safely — that is a legal requirement, not a nicety.
Green waste
Branches, brush, leaves and grass go to composting where facilities allow, rather than into a landfill cell where they would generate methane.
Electronics, and why TVs cost extra
E-waste contains recoverable metals and genuinely hazardous components. Old CRT televisions and monitors carry documented recycling fees, which is why they are a line item on your quote rather than a hidden markup.
What genuinely has to be landfilled
Broken particle-board furniture, contaminated materials and mixed construction waste that cannot be separated go to licensed Washoe County facilities. We pay the tipping fees and keep the receipts.
What we cannot take
Paint, solvents, fuels, chemicals, asbestos and medical waste are outside what we are permitted to haul. Washoe County runs a household hazardous waste program for exactly this — ask us and we will point you to it.
How you can help
Separate the genuinely usable items from the genuinely broken ones before we arrive. Two piles instead of one means more gets donated and less gets buried.
Questions about where your load will end up? Ask when you call 775-386-7730 — we will tell you.