Guide · 6 min read · updated 2026-09-17
Washer, dryer, water heater and scrap metal disposal in San Joaquin and Sacramento counties
What counts as a major appliance under California law, which parts must come out before it is crushed, what each gate charges, and when clean metal is free.
The short answer
Washers, dryers, stoves, dishwashers and water heaters are easy to get rid of if you know where to take them.
- Sacramento County: Kiefer Landfill and the North Area Recovery Station take the first two large appliances per day at no fee. From the third it is $35 each (effective 2026-01-01) at Kiefer and $40 each (effective 2026-01-01) at NARS. Clean scrap metal is no fee (effective 2026-01-01).
- Modesto: Gilton charges $40 each (effective 2026-07-01) for washers, dryers and water heaters.
- San Joaquin County: North County's current sheet only lists a per-unit appliance fee for refrigerant units. Ask at the scale house how they want a washer or dryer handled before you unload.
Anything with refrigerant — fridges, freezers, AC units — has its own rules. See the refrigerator and freezer guide.
What California counts as a major appliance
Public Resources Code §42166 defines a major appliance as any domestic or commercial device including a washing machine, clothes dryer, hot water heater, dehumidifier, conventional oven, microwave oven, stove, refrigerator, freezer, air conditioner, trash compactor or residential furnace.
That definition matters because of what comes next. Health and Safety Code §25212 requires "materials that require special handling" to be removed from a major appliance before it is crushed, baled, shredded or disposed of. Public Resources Code §42167 lists those materials:
- Refrigerants in cooling units
- PCB and DEHP capacitors and metal-encased capacitors
- Used oil
- Mercury in switches and temperature controls
Older washers, dryers and chest freezers are where mercury tilt switches and old capacitors turn up. That is why appliances go to an appliance area at the gate rather than into the general trash pile, and why a scrap yard may ask what is inside before taking one.
What each gate charges
Figures are from each operator's posted sheet with the date the rate took effect.
| Gate | Washer, dryer, stove, water heater | Clean scrap metal |
|---|---|---|
| Kiefer Landfill, Sloughhouse | First 2 per day no fee (effective 2026-01-01); then $35 each (effective 2026-01-01) | no fee (effective 2026-01-01) — 8 feet or shorter, tanks cut in half, batteries and fluids removed from mechanical equipment |
| North Area Recovery Station, Sacramento | First 2 per day no fee (effective 2026-01-01); then $40 each (effective 2026-01-01) | no fee (effective 2026-01-01), same rules |
| Gilton Resource Recovery, Modesto | $40 each (effective 2026-07-01) | Ask at the scale |
| North County Landfill, Lodi | No non-refrigerant line on the current sheet; ask at the scale | Wire, long pipe and large metal beams are hard-to-handle, $123.97 a ton (effective 2026-01-01) |
Clean metal is free — if it is actually clean
Sacramento County's gates take clean metal at no fee. The sheet's definition of clean is specific: 8 feet or shorter, tanks cut in half, batteries and fluids removed from mechanical equipment.
In practice that means:
- Cut or break long pieces — old swing-set tubing, bed rails, fence posts — to eight feet or less.
- Tanks cut in half. A water heater tank or an air compressor tank has to be opened so it is provably empty.
- Fluids and batteries out. A lawn mower with gas and oil in it, or a riding mower with a battery, is not clean metal.
A load of mixed metal and trash is a trash load. Keep the metal in its own pile.
Selling it for scrap
Steel appliances, aluminum rims and copper pipe all have scrap value, and a local scrap yard may pay for a clean load. We are not going to quote scrap prices; they move weekly and vary by yard. Call first and ask what they take and what they need from you.
Two practical notes. Scrap yards are the last stop in the chain for refrigerant appliances under the federal rule, so many will not take a fridge still holding refrigerant. And expect to be asked for identification when a yard pays out.
Honestly, for one washer and one dryer, the free county line at a Sacramento County gate is usually easier than a scrap run.
Water heaters
A water heater is the appliance people most often try to move themselves and most often regret. A 40- or 50-gallon tank that has not been fully drained is far heavier than an empty one, and years of sediment in the bottom make it heavier still.
- Turn off the gas or the breaker first, then the cold-water supply.
- Drain it completely through the drain valve, with a hose to a safe spot. Sediment can clog the valve; be patient.
- Cap the gas line properly if the heater is not being replaced the same day. If you are not comfortable with a gas fitting, stop and call a plumber.
Our per-item line for a water heater is $125, and it includes shutoff at the existing valves.
What we charge, and when it is worth it
Our price book has one line for non-refrigerant appliances — washer, dryer, range, dishwasher — with the first unit on a job and each additional one priced there, and water heaters at $125. Everything is on the pricing page, including stairs and long carries.
If you live in Sacramento County and have a truck, two appliances a day go free at Kiefer or NARS, and that is hard to beat. Hiring out makes sense when the appliance is in a basement or up a flight of stairs, when there are several of them, or when it is part of a bigger clear-out. Appliance removal covers what we take, and a garage cleanout is usually where the old freezer, the dead mower and the scrap pile all turn up together.
On our loads, usable appliances go to donation first and metal is separated out.
Appliances in a rental or an estate
Old appliances turn up in two situations more than any other: a rental turnover where the tenant left a washer and dryer behind, and an estate where the garage holds a second fridge, a chest freezer and a dryer that stopped working years ago.
On a rental, abandoned appliances can fall under the same personal-property hold rules as the rest of what a tenant leaves. Confirm the date before anything leaves the property. Our rental and property cleanout crews schedule to the date you give us.
In an estate, check inside before anything goes. The freezer is on the short list of places cash and documents turn up. The executor's checklist has the full list of where to look.
In both, a working appliance may be worth more to someone else than its scrap value. On our loads, usable appliances go to donation first.
Which gate for which town
Where your appliance goes depends on where you are.
- Lodi, Stockton, Acampo, Lockeford, Woodbridge, Victor, Clements, Thornton, Linden and Morada: North County Landfill. Refrigerant units have a posted per-unit line; ask at the scale about washers, dryers and water heaters.
- Galt, Elk Grove, Wilton, Herald, Rancho Murieta, Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Vineyard, Florin, Isleton, Courtland and Walnut Grove: Kiefer Landfill. Two large appliances a day at no fee, and clean metal is free.
- Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Orangevale, Antelope, North Highlands, Rio Linda, Elverta and Arden-Arcade: North Area Recovery Station. Same two-a-day rule, and a higher per-unit rate from the third.
- Modesto: Gilton, at the posted per-unit rate.
Hours and general per-ton rates for all of them are in the 2026 gate guide.
Quick answers
Can I put a microwave in the trash? A microwave is on the state's major appliance list. Take it to the appliance area at the gate or an e-waste drop-off, not the cart.
Does a gas stove need anything special? Shut off and cap the gas supply before it is moved. The stove itself goes with the other large appliances.
What about a hot tub? That is a cut-down job with its own pricing; see hot tub removal.
Where are the gates and their hours? The full list is in where to dump in San Joaquin and Sacramento counties.
Related guides
Sources
Every fee above is read from the operator's own published sheet and shown with its effective date. Rates change; call the gate before you load a truck around a number.
- California Public Resources Code §42166 — definition of major appliance — read 2026-09-17
- California Public Resources Code §42167 — materials that require special handling — read 2026-09-17
- California Health and Safety Code §25212 — removal before crushing or disposal — read 2026-09-17
- Sacramento County — Kiefer Landfill fees, effective 2026-01-01 — read 2026-09-17
- Sacramento County — North Area Recovery Station fees, effective 2026-01-01 — read 2026-09-17
- Gilton Resource Recovery price sheet, effective 2026-07-01 — read 2026-09-17
- San Joaquin County — North County Recycling Center & Sanitary Landfill price sheet, effective 2026-01-01 — read 2026-09-17