Guide · 6 min read · updated 2026-09-17
Refrigerator and freezer disposal: the refrigerant rules and what every gate charges
Why a fridge cannot just go in a trailer, who is legally on the hook for the refrigerant, and what each gate in San Joaquin and Sacramento counties charges.
The short answer
A refrigerator, freezer or air conditioner has to go somewhere that makes sure the refrigerant is recovered before the metal is crushed. Every county gate in this area takes them at a separate appliance line, usually with a flat per-unit fee.
- North County Landfill, Lodi: San Joaquin County residents bring up to 2 per trip free. Businesses pay $20 each (effective 2026-01-01).
- Kiefer Landfill and North Area Recovery Station: the first two large appliances per day are free; after that it is $35 each (effective 2026-01-01) at Kiefer and $40 each (effective 2026-01-01) at NARS.
- WM Lodi Transfer Station: $86.14 each (effective 2024-08-15) at business rates. Drive the extra twelve minutes.
What you are really deciding is whether a heavy, awkward box is worth moving yourself.
Why a fridge is different from other junk
Refrigerators, freezers, window units and dehumidifiers carry refrigerant in a sealed loop. Older units hold CFCs and HCFCs; newer ones hold replacement refrigerants. None of it may be vented.
The federal rule is Section 608 of the Clean Air Act, implemented at 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F. The EPA's safe-disposal requirements put the duty on the final person in the disposal chain — typically the scrap metal recycler or the landfill — to make sure the refrigerant is recovered before the appliance is disposed of. If someone recovered it earlier, that final stop must keep a signed statement giving the name and address of whoever recovered it and the date.
California goes further. Health and Safety Code §25212 says that "materials that require special handling" in a major appliance cannot be disposed of at a solid waste facility and must be removed before the appliance is crushed, baled, shredded or otherwise processed. Public Resources Code §42167 defines those materials: refrigerants, PCB and DEHP capacitors, used oil, and mercury switches among them.
That is why a fridge is a line item and not just a volume of junk: the handling is required, and it has a cost.
What every gate charges
All figures below are from each operator's posted sheet, shown with the date the rate took effect.
| Gate | Household / resident | Business or additional units |
|---|---|---|
| North County Landfill, Lodi | Up to 2 per trip free with SJ County proof of residency | $20 each (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Kiefer Landfill, Sloughhouse | First two per day no fee (effective 2026-01-01) | $35 each (effective 2026-01-01) from the third |
| North Area Recovery Station, Sacramento | First two per day no fee (effective 2026-01-01) | $40 each (effective 2026-01-01) from the third |
| Gilton Resource Recovery, Modesto | $45 each (effective 2026-07-01) | $45 each (effective 2026-07-01) |
| WM Lodi Transfer Station | — | $86.14 each (effective 2024-08-15), before WM's weekly-variable energy surcharge and 14.50% waste water charge |
Three details on the county sheets people miss
Empty it first. North County's sheet charges residents $20 each (effective 2026-01-01) for "additional or unemptied units." Take the food out, take the shelves out if they are loose, and tape the doors shut for the ride.
Ammonia units are refused. Both San Joaquin County sheets list ammonia refrigerant units as unacceptable. That is mostly old absorption-style refrigerators, the kind found in RVs, campers and some very old cabins. If yours runs on propane or has no compressor, ask before you drive it anywhere.
Commercial refrigeration is a different category. Kiefer lists commercial refrigeration and large air conditioning units under hard-to-handle materials, at $144.90 a ton (effective 2026-01-01). A walk-in cooler or a reach-in from a restaurant is not a household fridge, and the county household limits do not apply to it.
The household hazardous waste facility is the wrong stop
This trips people up because a fridge feels hazardous. The San Joaquin County Household Hazardous Waste Facility in Stockton lists refrigerating units, air conditioners and large appliances on its not accepted list. Refrigerant appliances go to the landfill or transfer station scale house, where the appliance area handles them.
The same is true in Sacramento County: large appliances go to Kiefer or NARS, not to a paint-and-batteries drop-off.
Doing it yourself, safely
A full-size refrigerator is a two-person carry and a hand-truck job. A few rules keep it from becoming a repair bill or an injury.
- Keep it upright if you can. Laying a working fridge down matters if you intend to plug it back in. For disposal it matters less, but upright is still easier to strap.
- Take the doors off for tight spots, or tape them shut. A door swinging open on a staircase is how walls get gouged.
- Strap it to the hand truck, then strap it to the truck. A fridge that tips in a pickup bed will dent everything it lands on.
- Never cut the lines. Cutting a refrigerant line to "drain" a fridge is venting, which is exactly what the federal rule prohibits. It also means the gate may treat it differently.
If there is a gun safe, a piano or a freezer full of spoiled food in the same garage, the appliance removal page explains what we need to know to quote it in one call.
What we charge, and when it is worth it
Our per-item line for a refrigerator or freezer is $90, and the same for an air conditioner still holding refrigerant. The price book notes it plainly: refrigerant recovery is required by federal law, it is not an upsell.
If you live in San Joaquin County, own a truck and have a helper, the county gate is cheaper than us for one or two units, and we will say so. The math changes when the fridge is in a basement or up a flight of stairs, when it is one item in a garage full of stuff, or when it is full of a week of spoiled food from a power outage or an empty house. That last case is common in estate cleanouts, and it is a job nobody wants to do twice.
Everything that moves the price — stairs, long carries, same-day — is published on the pricing page.
One fridge, four ways
Here is the same garage refrigerator, emptied and ready, handled four different ways around Lodi. Every figure is the posted rate with its effective date.
- You haul it to North County as a San Joaquin County resident: it is one of your 2 free units for the trip. Your cost is the drive and a helper.
- A contractor or landlord hauls it to North County as a business load: $20 for the unit (effective 2026-01-01).
- Someone hauls it to the WM Lodi Transfer Station: $86.14 for the unit (effective 2024-08-15), before WM's weekly-variable energy surcharge and 14.50% waste water charge.
- We haul it: our refrigerator line is $90, with the carry, the truck and the disposal included.
The spread between the two Lodi gates is why our Lodi-area loads go to Harney Lane, not Turner Road. If a hauler quotes you a high per-fridge number, ask which gate it is going to.
Air conditioners, dehumidifiers and water coolers
The refrigerant rules are not only about kitchen fridges. California's definition of a major appliance (Public Resources Code §42166) names air conditioners and dehumidifiers alongside refrigerators and freezers, and anything with a sealed refrigerant loop gets the same treatment at the gate.
That includes window units, portable air conditioners, dehumidifiers, bottled-water coolers with a compressor, and wine or beverage fridges. The county sheets group them together: North County's line reads "A/C units, freezers, refrigerators," and Kiefer's large-appliance line includes the home air conditioner.
Central air condensers and heat pumps are a different job. They are hard-wired, often still charged, and usually removed by an HVAC contractor who recovers the refrigerant on site before the unit is pulled. If you are replacing one, the installer normally takes the old unit.
Our price book carries air conditioners that still hold refrigerant at $90, the same as a fridge, for the same reason.
Quick answers
Can I sell it for scrap myself? A scrap yard will take the steel, but under the federal rule it is the last stop in the chain and must make sure the refrigerant was recovered. Expect to be asked, and expect some yards to refuse units still holding refrigerant.
Is a chest freezer the same as a refrigerator? Yes, for disposal. Same refrigerant rule, same fee line.
What about a wine fridge or a mini fridge? Same rule: if it has a compressor and refrigerant, it is a refrigerant appliance.
Where do the other gates fit in? The full list of every gate, its hours and its per-ton rate 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.
- US EPA — Stationary refrigeration safe disposal requirements (Clean Air Act §608, 40 CFR Part 82 Subpart F) — read 2026-09-17
- California Health and Safety Code §25212 — removal of materials requiring special handling — read 2026-09-17
- California Public Resources Code §42167 — definition of materials that require special handling — read 2026-09-17
- San Joaquin County — North County Recycling Center & Sanitary Landfill price sheet, effective 2026-01-01 — read 2026-09-17
- San Joaquin County — Lovelace MRF & Transfer Station price sheet, effective 2026-01-01 — 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 Household Hazardous Waste Facility — read 2026-09-17