Residential Service
Refrigerator & Freezer Removal
Overview
What refrigerator removal covers
Refrigerators and freezers are regulated differently from every other appliance in a house. They contain refrigerant, and older units may also contain foam blowing agents, both of which are controlled substances under the federal Clean Air Act. Section 608 requires that refrigerant be recovered by a certified technician before the appliance is disposed of — it cannot legally be released or simply crushed with the unit.
That is why a refrigerator often cannot go out with ordinary bulk waste, and why scrapyards that happily take a washing machine will turn away a fridge that has not been evacuated.
Junk Koala removes the unit and delivers it to a facility equipped for certified refrigerant recovery, where the refrigerant is captured and the remaining steel, aluminum, copper and plastic are recycled. Older units in particular are worth handling properly: appliances made before the mid-1990s can contain CFC refrigerants with far higher environmental impact than modern equivalents.
Who this is for
- Anyone replacing a refrigerator with no haul-away from the retailer
- Households with a second fridge or chest freezer in a garage or basement
- Owners of pre-1995 units that predate current refrigerant standards
- Landlords and property managers turning over a unit
- Estate and probate cleanouts where a full or failed unit needs removing
- Anyone whose municipality refuses refrigerant appliances at the curb
What's included
Refrigerant appliances we take
Refrigeration
- Side-by-side and French door refrigerators
- Top and bottom freezer refrigerators
- Chest freezers and upright freezers
- Compact and dorm refrigerators
- Wine coolers and beverage centers
- Ice makers
Other refrigerant units
- Window air conditioners
- Portable air conditioners
- Dehumidifiers
- Mini-split indoor units already disconnected
- Commercial reach-in coolers
- Water coolers with cooling units
Our approach
How Junk Koala handles refrigerators
Routed to a certified recovery facility
Units go to a facility that evacuates the refrigerant under EPA Section 608 requirements before the appliance is processed. This is the part of the job that a curbside pickup cannot do.
Doors secured during transport
Refrigerator doors are secured for the move. Child entrapment in discarded units is the reason federal law has required a means of opening from the inside since 1958, and it is why an old fridge should never be left unattended with a working latch.
Moved upright, on the right equipment
Refrigerators are transported upright wherever possible to keep compressor oil out of the refrigerant lines, and moved on appliance dollies rather than dragged.
Metals recovered after evacuation
Once the refrigerant is captured, the steel cabinet, aluminum, copper tubing and compressor are all recyclable and are processed rather than landfilled.
Cost & preparation
What moves the price, and how to get ready
What affects the price
- The refrigerant recovery and disposal fee, which is charged per unit and set locally
- Unit size — a compact fridge and a commercial reach-in are very different loads
- Location in the building and whether stairs are involved
- Whether the unit is emptied and defrosted before the crew arrives
- How many units are being removed in one visit
- Whether the removal is part of a larger cleanout
How to prepare
- Empty the unit completely — food, shelves, drawers and ice trays.
- Defrost it the day before and dry the interior. A freezer that thaws in transit leaks meltwater through the truck and across your floor on the way out.
- Unplug it at least a few hours ahead so the compressor is not hot when it is moved.
- Do not remove or damage the door seal yourself — the unit needs to arrive at the facility intact for the refrigerant to be recovered properly.
- Tape the doors shut if the unit will sit outside before pickup, or remove them entirely if it will be unattended around children.
FAQ
Refrigerator Removal questions
Why does refrigerator removal cost more than other appliances?
Because of the refrigerant. Recovery has to be done by a certified technician using dedicated equipment, and the receiving facility charges a per-unit fee for it. That cost is separate from the labor of moving the appliance.
Can I just put my old fridge at the curb?
In most municipalities, no. Refrigerant appliances are commonly excluded from bulk collection precisely because the refrigerant has to be recovered first. Check your local rules — but if the fridge has been sitting at the curb uncollected, this is usually why.
Do you take working refrigerators?
Yes. Some markets have utility-run appliance recycling programs that pay a rebate for a working second fridge, and it is worth checking whether your utility offers one before booking. If not, the crew removes and recycles it.
What about a chest freezer full of food?
It needs to be emptied before the crew arrives. Crews remove appliances, not their contents, and a full chest freezer is both far heavier and prone to leaking through the house during the carry.
Do you handle built-in and commercial units?
Built-in refrigerators need to be uninstalled from the cabinetry and disconnected from any water line first. Commercial reach-in and walk-in components can be removed as a commercial job — request a quote with photos so the crew can scope the access and weight.
Related
Other services people book with this
Appliance Removal
Washers, dryers, ranges and dishwashers hauled out and recycled.
View serviceResidential Junk Removal
Single items through whole-home cleanouts, handled by a local crew that does the carrying.
View serviceGarage Cleanouts
Get the garage back — sorted, cleared and swept in a single visit.
View serviceMoving Cleanouts
Clear what the movers left behind, before the closing or the final inspection.
View service
Get started
Need refrigerator removal?
Book a pickup or send us the details and we'll come back with a price.