How to get rid of a refrigerator in Pittsburgh

The short answer

You cannot put a refrigerator out with City of Pittsburgh bulk trash. Freon appliances are on the City's list of refused items. In Mt. Lebanon, the township hauler takes a fridge only with a sticker certifying the refrigerant has been removed. A working fridge can be offered to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Swissvale, which accepts appliances. Otherwise, JunkRabbit removes a standard refrigerator for $164, a side-by-side or French-door model for $183 and a mini fridge for $115.

Why the curb says no

Refrigerators, freezers, dehumidifiers and air conditioners all contain refrigerant, and federal rules under the EPA's Section 608 program require it to be recovered before the appliance is scrapped or disposed of. That is a job for certified equipment, not a garbage truck. So the City's bulk page lists freon appliances as an exclusion, alongside TVs, construction waste and tires. Set one at the curb and it will most likely still be there after the truck passes, now with a neighbor asking when it is going. In Mt. Lebanon, the rule is slightly different. Its contractor, County Hauling, will take a freon appliance curbside, but only if it carries a sticker certifying that the refrigerant has been removed. Other suburbs have their own approach, set through their own hauler contracts. If you are not sure what your borough allows, check its garbage page before you drag anything outside.

The basement fridge problem

A huge number of Pittsburgh refrigerators are not in the kitchen. The City's median home dates to 1942, and basements are almost everywhere in the older stock, from Brookline and Carrick to Lawrenceville and the North Side. The old kitchen fridge often retired downstairs as the beer and overflow fridge, and twenty years later it is still there. Getting it out is the hard part. Basement stairs in pre-war rowhouses are narrow, steep and sometimes turn at the bottom. A full-size fridge weighs a lot, and the compressor sits low at the back, which makes it awkward to tip onto a hand truck. Doors may need to come off to clear the stairwell. Then there may be outside steps between the front door and the street. If you have one of these, take a photo of the fridge and one of the stairs. JunkRabbit's price is the same from the basement as from the kitchen.

Before it leaves the house

A little prep makes any fridge removal quicker and cleaner. Empty it completely a day ahead, including the freezer and the door shelves. Unplug it and let the freezer defrost overnight with towels on the floor, because a fridge leaking meltwater down a staircase is slippery and unpleasant. Wipe it out so it does not smell. Tape the doors shut or remove them, especially if a child could get near it while it waits. If it has an ice maker or water dispenser, turn off the water supply valve and disconnect the line first; leave that to a plumber if you are unsure. Note whether it is a standard top-freezer, a side-by-side, a French-door or a built-in, because each has a different price. Clear a path from the fridge to the door, including anything on the basement stairs. In winter, salt the outside steps before the arrival window.

Donating or selling a working fridge

A working refrigerator that is clean, cold and not too old can find a second home. The Habitat for Humanity ReStore at the Swissvale Shopping Center lists appliances among the items it accepts and offers free pickup for donations, subject to its own condition checks. Expect questions about age, size and whether it runs. Listing it for sale works too, especially for newer stainless models, but the buyer has to haul it, and buyers back out when they see a narrow basement stair. Set a deadline. If it has not sold in a week, it probably will not. A fridge that does not cool, has a cracked liner or smells beyond cleaning is a disposal item, and it needs refrigerant recovered before it can be scrapped. When JunkRabbit takes a working appliance, we try to donate usable items when local charities accept them, and we recycle whatever we can.

Flat fridge and freezer prices

The classic Pittsburgh basement pair, an old fridge and a chest freezer, is $164 + $146 = $310. Add the dehumidifier that ran next to them for years and it is $310 + $77 = $387. A kitchen remodel that swaps out a French-door fridge and a dishwasher at $109 is $183 + $109 = $292. The flat price is the whole price, with no stairs fee.

Booking a fridge pickup

Pick the fridge online or upload a photo, and you see the flat price before booking. It only changes if you approve the change. The crew carries it from wherever it sits, whether that is a kitchen, a basement, a back porch or a garage, and takes it down any interior or outside steps to the truck. JunkRabbit works 7 days a week from 8am to midnight, and same-day pickup is available when you book by 4 PM, which helps when a new fridge is being delivered the same afternoon. You choose a 2-hour arrival window. The price is the same inside the City and across the suburbs, from the North Hills to the South Hills and out to the Mon Valley. There is no sales tax line, since hauling is not a taxable service in Pennsylvania.

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