How to Dispose of a Refrigerator in Houston and Katy
A refrigerator is one of the few appliances you can't just drag to the curb and forget about. There's refrigerant sealed inside it, and City of Houston heavy trash won't take any appliance holding coolant until a certified technician has removed the refrigerant and tagged it. Here's every realistic way to get rid of an old fridge in Houston, and the catch that comes with each. We pick up refrigerators for a living, so we'll also tell you when you don't need us.
City heavy trash and drop-off center rules checked on houstontx.gov on October 6, 2026.
Why a fridge can't just go in the trash
Inside every refrigerator is a sealed cooling system. Refrigerant circulates through closed tubing, the compressor at the bottom holds oil, and the foam insulation packed into the walls and doors was made with chemical blowing agents.
Federal rules under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act require that refrigerant to be recovered before a fridge's final disposal. The EPA's safe disposal requirements page puts that duty on the last stop in the chain, such as a scrap metal recycler or landfill, which has to make sure the refrigerant came out before the fridge is disposed of. The City of Houston adds its own rule on top. Heavy trash won't take a fridge without a certified technician's tag showing the refrigerant was removed, which is covered in option 4.
One request from the people who haul these. Don't cut or drill the lines to "drain" it yourself. You can get hurt doing it. Some newer fridges run on isobutane (R-600a), which the EPA's list of household fridge refrigerants rates A3, the top flammability class. Cutting the lines also lets out the very refrigerant the rules say has to be recovered, and a fridge with cut lines is finished for anyone who might have fixed it.
Start here: is it working?
Working or broken is only the first fork. Find the line that sounds like your fridge.
- It works and looks decent. Sell it or donate it (options 1 and 2). Someone can still use it.
- It works, and a new one is on the way. Ask the store about haul-away when you order (option 3).
- It's dead, and the City of Houston picks up your trash. Heavy trash can take it once a certified technician recovers the refrigerant and tags it (option 4). The city's drop-off centers want a tag too (option 5).
- It's rusted out, it smells, or it sat dead in a hot garage all summer. Nobody is going to buy it. Your real choices are the city, a scrap yard or a pickup.
- It's upstairs. This is where people get hurt and stair treads get gouged. Unless you have two strong people, an appliance dolly with straps and a clear landing, hire it out (option 8).
- It's a garage fridge. The easy case. It's already at ground level.
- It's built in. It may be fastened to the cabinets and tied into a water line. Ask whoever is taking it whether they handle built-ins before anyone starts pulling.
- It's a French-door model that won't clear the doorway. Measure before anyone lifts. The doors may have to come off, and our crew does that when a doorway needs it.
Option 1: Sell it
The usual places to list a used fridge are Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and OfferUp. Post photos with the doors open, the brand and model number, the exact measurements, and one plain line saying the buyer brings help and handles the move.
Selling is worth the hassle when the fridge cools well, looks clean, sits on the ground floor and you aren't in a hurry. It's not worth it when the fridge is dated or dented, or when you need the space this weekend. Be ready for a no-show or two, and for the buyer who agreed on a number in the chat and offers less at your door.
If you can, move it to the garage before anyone comes to look at it.
Option 2: Donate a working fridge in Houston
If the fridge works and you'd rather it help somebody, donation is the next stop. Have the brand, rough age and a photo ready. Charity resale stores and thrift shops each set their own appliance rules, like age limits, whether they pick up or you drop off, and whether they take refrigerators at all. Those rules change, so call the location near you and ask before you load anything.
Don't skip the smaller places. A church or a family shelter may need a working fridge more than a resale floor does.
We do this too. A working fridge we pick up gets repaired if it needs it and re-homed, and many working units go to Houston shelters and non-profits. More on that further down.
Option 3: Retailer haul-away when you buy new
Buying a new fridge? Ask about haul-away while you're ordering, not after the delivery truck pulls away. Stores typically take the old unit only when they're delivering a new one you bought from them, it may cost extra, and it runs on their delivery calendar instead of yours. Policies and charges change, so make sure it's written on your order.
Ask up front whether the old fridge has to be emptied and disconnected first, and whether they'll take it from upstairs. If the new fridge already came and the old one is still sitting in the garage, skip ahead to the city or a pickup.
Option 4: City of Houston heavy trash
If the City of Houston collects your trash, a fridge can go out on your heavy trash day with one big condition. The city takes refrigerators and freezers only when they carry a tag from a certified technician showing the refrigerant was removed. No tag, no pickup. Your whole set-out can be up to 8 cubic yards.
That makes the real sequence: find a certified technician, have them recover the refrigerant and tag the unit, then get the fridge out to the curb yourself before your heavy trash day. For the technician, call appliance repair or heating and air companies and ask for someone with EPA Section 608 certification who can recover the refrigerant and tag the fridge for city heavy trash. Ask what the visit costs while you have them on the phone.
Look up your own schedule on the city's heavy trash page or call 311. We checked the tag rule and the 8 cubic yard limit there on October 6, 2026. This option falls apart when you can't line up a technician in time or nobody in the house can move a fridge.
Option 5: City of Houston Residential Drop-Off Centers
The city also runs Residential Drop-Off Centers where residents bring bulk items themselves, and refrigerators are on the accepted list. When we checked the city's Residential Drop-Off Centers page on October 6, 2026, these were the rules that matter for a fridge:
- A refrigerator needs a tag showing the Freon was removed.
- For bulk items, bring a current Texas-issued ID and a current City of Houston utility bill or lease. The address has to match on both.
- Pickup trucks and trailers up to 10 feet long are allowed. U-Hauls and box trucks are not.
- You unload your own items.
Locations and hours are on that same city page, or call 311. This option makes you the moving crew at both ends. A full-size fridge rides upright and strapped down, and somebody has to help you load it.
Option 6: Utility and recycling programs
Before you pay anyone, spend five minutes on your electric company's website and search for appliance or refrigerator recycling. If a program is running, it will be listed there with its own rules. We couldn't confirm a current program for the Houston area when we put this page together, so we aren't naming one.
Option 7: Scrap yards
A scrap yard feels like the natural end of the road for a dead fridge. Call first and ask whether they accept refrigerators at all. Under the federal rules the yard is the one responsible for making sure the refrigerant was recovered, so if it was already removed, expect to sign a statement with the name and address of whoever removed it and the date. Don't count on much money. Refrigerant recovery and a truck or trailer come out of your pocket before the yard pays you anything.
Option 8: Hire a pickup
This is the one we do, so this is exactly how it works with us.
- Refrigerators are always accepted, in any condition, working or not. No photos needed.
- You pay a flat rate, and you see it when you book. If the fridge comes down from upstairs, that's one separate flat total, not a stair fee stacked on top.
- If the doors have to come off to get through a doorway, the crew takes them off at no extra charge.
- A two-man crew does the lifting. The fridge has to be completely empty before they get there.
Pickups run on a route. We bundle stops by area, so you go on the pickup list for your part of town. Then you hear from us twice: once to confirm your day, and again when the driver texts that he's headed your way.
You may have seen that we pick up some appliances for free. That applies to washers, dryers and stoves that qualify after a photo check, and rusted-out or very old units don't qualify. Refrigerators and freezers are separate. They're always taken, always at the flat rate. See refrigerator removal or go straight to the booking page. Getting rid of a washer, a dryer or a stove too? See how free appliance pickup works.
Outside Houston city limits: Katy, Cinco Ranch, Cypress and Fort Bend
Everything in options 4 and 5 assumes you live in the City of Houston. Many homes in Katy, Cinco Ranch, Cypress and Fort Bend County are served through a MUD or HOA contract with a private hauler instead. That contract decides what goes out on bulk day and whether a refrigerator is allowed at all. Look for your hauler's name on the MUD or HOA website and read its bulk-item rules for refrigerators. If the answer is no, the city's drop-off centers won't help either, since they ask for a City of Houston utility bill or lease. That leaves selling, donating, store haul-away, a scrap yard or a pickup.
We're based in Katy, so this side of town is home for us. There's more about pickups in Katy, Cinco Ranch, Cypress and Fort Bend County, and the full list is on our service areas page.
Houston fridge disposal options compared
| Option | Cost | Who lifts | Refrigerant | Broken fridge OK? | Upstairs OK? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sell it | Free, and you may get paid | The buyer, often with you | Stays in use | No | Up to the buyer |
| Donate it | Free | Depends on the charity | Stays in use | No | Ask first |
| Retailer haul-away | May cost | Their delivery crew | Ask the store | Ask the store | Ask the store |
| City heavy trash | May cost (technician visit) | You, to the curb | Certified technician, before set-out | Yes, with the tag | You bring it down |
| City drop-off center | May cost (refrigerant removal, truck or trailer) | You, loading and unloading | Removed and tagged before drop-off | Yes, with the tag | You bring it down |
| Scrap yard | May cost (recovery, hauling) | You | The yard makes sure it was recovered | Ask the yard | You bring it down |
| Pickup with us | Flat rate shown when you book | Two-man crew | Handled through certified recycling | Yes, any condition | Yes, one separate flat total |
Utility programs aren't in the table because we couldn't confirm one running in the Houston area.
Getting the fridge ready
- Empty it completely, door bins and crisper drawers included. Move frozen food you're keeping into a cooler or a neighbor's freezer first. Toss spoiled food the day before your trash day so it isn't sitting in the bin in Houston heat.
- Keep it upright when it moves.
- Measure the fridge, then every doorway, hallway turn and stair landing on the way out. French-door models are a common sticking point.
- If it will sit outside for any amount of time, take the doors off or strap them shut. A child who climbs inside an old fridge can get trapped.
For a pickup with us, the fridge has to be completely empty. The crew handles the doors.
What happens after a fridge is recycled
Once the refrigerant and compressor oil are recovered, a recycler breaks the fridge down for its steel, copper, aluminum and plastics.
Here's our side of it. A fridge we pick up that still works gets repaired if it needs it and re-homed, and many working units go to Houston shelters and non-profits. The rest are broken down and recycled, with the refrigerant handled through certified recycling and the metals and materials recovered.
Freezers and mini fridges
Upright freezers go the same way as fridges. City heavy trash wants the technician's refrigerant tag on a freezer too, and we take upright freezers in any condition at a flat rate shown when you book. See upright freezer removal.
A mini fridge is small, but it still has a sealed cooling system. If yours is a mini fridge or a chest freezer, call or text (281) 975-8607 and ask before you book.
How to tell a real local remover from a lead site
Search for fridge disposal in Houston and a lot of what comes up isn't a Houston business. Some pages are lead sites that sell your request to whoever bids on it. Others are question-and-answer pages nobody local wrote. Four checks sort them out:
- Google reviews you can open and read on a real business profile. Here are our Google reviews.
- Photos of actual jobs, not stock pictures. Here are our real pickups.
- A local number you can call or text. Ours is (281) 975-8607.
- A straight answer about who shows up. Ask whether it's their own crew or a company they pass the job to.
Katy Appliance Removal has been Texas family owned since 2010.
Refrigerator disposal questions
How do I get rid of an old refrigerator for free in Houston?
Sell it or donate it, if it still works. Those are the realistic free routes. City of Houston heavy trash will take a fridge, but only after a certified technician recovers the refrigerant and tags it, and that visit may cost you. Our free pickup is for washers, dryers and stoves that qualify after a photo check. Refrigerators are always accepted in any condition, at a flat rate shown when you book.
Will Houston heavy trash pick up a refrigerator?
Yes, but only with a tag from a certified technician showing the refrigerant was removed. Without the tag, the city won't take it. A heavy trash set-out can be up to 8 cubic yards. Check your schedule on the city's heavy trash page or call 311.
Do I need to take the doors off before getting rid of a fridge?
Not for a pickup with us. If the doorway is too tight, our crew takes the doors off at no extra charge. If the fridge is going to sit outside, at the curb or in a carport, take the doors off or strap them shut so a child can't climb in and get trapped.
Who removes the Freon, and does it have to happen before pickup?
Federal rules under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act say the refrigerant (often called Freon) has to be recovered before a fridge's final disposal, and the last stop in the chain, such as a scrap metal recycler or landfill, has to make sure that happened. The City of Houston goes further. Heavy trash takes a fridge only with a certified technician's tag showing the refrigerant was removed, and the city's drop-off centers also want a tag, so that step happens before the fridge leaves your house. When we pick up a fridge, you don't arrange anything. The refrigerant is handled through certified recycling.
Does Waste Management take old refrigerators?
It depends on your service. If WM hauls your trash through a city, MUD or HOA contract, that contract sets the rules for bulky items and refrigerators. Check your WM account or call the number on your bill, or ask your MUD or HOA.
What we remove
Done with the old fridge?
We take refrigerators in any condition, no photos needed, for a flat rate shown when you book. Upstairs units have one separate flat total, and the two-man crew does the lifting.
Book a fridge pickup Call (281) 975-8607