Free Appliance Pickup Available in San Diego
Have multiple appliances and Can’t bring your appliance to our warehouse? Appliance pickup and removal are available throughout San Diego County.
We can help with the pickup of refrigerators, washers, dryers, stoves, ovens, microwaves, dishwashers, and other household or commercial appliances.
Once we receive your information, you’ll be contacted directly to discuss the appliances and arrange a convenient pickup time. Pickup availability may vary based on location, appliance type, quantity, and accessibility.
Book Your Appliance Pickup Appointment
Schedule your appointment for secure, certified recycling of home appliances. If you have any questions, call us at (619) 889-1305 or email us at [email protected].
At a Glance
Appliance Prices, Pickup and What to Know
What It Costs
Working or broken makes no difference to the price.
Free Small appliances: toasters, air fryers, blenders, coffee makers, kettles, fans
$3 Microwaves & vacuums, carpet and steam cleaners
$5 Mini fridges, beverage coolers, countertop ice makers
$10 Large appliances: washing machines, dryers, ovens and stoves, dishwashers, lawnmowers
We charge a small recycling/handling fee for the appliances listed above because they require special handling and have additional downstream recycling costs. All standard e-waste is accepted free of charge.
Pickup From Your Home or Business
Have multiple appliances and can’t bring them to our warehouse? Appliance pickup and removal are available throughout San Diego County.
Minimum 3–5 appliances per pickup
Volume pricing and recurring pickups are available for businesses.
Before You Bring It
Not sure about an item? Call or text (619) 889-1305.
All devices are securely processed with certified data destruction to protect your information. Call or Text us Now at (619) 889-1305 or email us at [email protected] for FREE E-Waste Disposal!
Free Appliance Recycling & Removal Service in San Diego
APPLIANCES ONLY ACCEPTED AT OUR 3 MAIN DROP-OFF LOCATIONS
Before You Load Up
Appliances and Materials We Cannot Accept
We take almost any appliance, working or broken. These are the few exceptions, mostly for safety reasons.
We can't take
Why, and what you can do
The cooling gas (refrigerant) is harmful, and by law a certified technician has to remove it first. Once it's removed, we can take the unit. See the refrigerator rules above.
These are the fridges built into kitchen cabinets. We aren't set up to handle them. Ask the company installing your new fridge to take the old one.
Lawnmowers, leaf blowers and pressure washers can leak or catch fire. Empty all the gas and oil first, then bring it in.
The portable heaters that look like old radiators on wheels. The oil is sealed inside and can't be safely removed here.
If oil, coolant or any other liquid is dripping out, we can't safely accept it.
Damaged batteries can catch fire. They're common in robot vacuums and cordless tools. Call us first and we'll tell you what to do.
Some furnaces and water heaters made before 1980. These must be handled by a licensed asbestos removal company.
Anything with mold, pests, chemicals, bodily fluids or an unknown substance on it.
Large commercial or industrial machinery is too big for our process. We accept normal household and small-business appliances.
Cabinets, countertops, furniture and building debris. We only recycle things that plug in or have electrical parts.
Not sure about an item, or bringing a lot at once?
Call us and describe it before you load anything. Large drop-offs need approval first. Chemicals and other household hazardous waste go to a San Diego County household hazardous waste (HHW) facility.
Items & Pricing
Appliances We Accept and What Each One Costs
Working or broken makes no difference to the price. Everything below is accepted in any condition.
Small Appliances Recycle for Free
Free
No fee, no quantity limit. If you're clearing a kitchen, bring it all.
Large Appliances: $10 Recycling Fee per Item
$10 each
Microwaves and Vacuums: $3 Recycling Fee Each
$3 each
Mini Fridges: $5 Recycling Fee Each
$5 each
Cooling appliances follow the refrigerant rules below.
Refrigerators, Freezers and Air Conditioners Recycling Rules
We accept refrigerators and freezers only once the refrigerant has been removed.
Every refrigerator, freezer, window AC unit, portable AC, dehumidifier, and wine cooler contains refrigerant (a cooling gas). Older units use Freon (R-12 or R-22); newer ones use refrigerants such as R-134a, R-600a or R-410A. Under EPA Clean Air Act Section 608, that refrigerant must be recovered by a certified technician before the appliance is disposed of or scrapped. Venting it is a federal offense, and it's the reason a fridge can't be scrapped like a washing machine.
Dream does not perform refrigerant recovery, so you have three options:
Window and portable AC units, as well as dehumidifiers, follow the same rule.
1
Have it evacuated first
An HVAC or appliance technician recovers the refrigerant and gives you a signed certification tag. Bring the unit and the tag, and we'll take it from there.
2
Check for a utility program
SDG&E and similar programs have offered free refrigerator and freezer recycling, including collection and refrigerant recovery, sometimes with a rebate. Worth checking before you pay anyone.
3
Call us anyway
Tell us what you have on (619) 889-1305 and we'll tell you which route is cheapest for your situation, even when that route isn't us.
Water Heaters, Furnaces and Outdoor Equipment
Many recyclers turn these away. We take them:
Anything that ran on gasoline must be completely drained of fuel and oil before it arrives. We can't accept it otherwise.
Appliance Brands We Accept
Every brand. The brand genuinely doesn't matter.
Whirlpool GE LG Samsung Maytag Frigidaire Kenmore Bosch KitchenAid Amana Electrolux Speed Queen Hotpoint Magic Chef Sub‑Zero Viking Thermador Miele Haier Insignia and the rest
Do I Need to Disconnect the Appliance Myself?
Yes, appliances need to be disconnected before we arrive. Our crews collect and load; they aren’t licensed to break gas or plumbing connections. Specifically:
- Gas ranges, gas dryers, gas water heaters and furnaces a gas line must be shut off and disconnected by a licensed plumber or HVAC technician. This is not a DIY job and we can’t do it for you.
- Dishwashers and washing machines water supply shut off, supply lines disconnected, drain line pulled. A competent DIYer can manage this; a plumber takes fifteen minutes.
- Hardwired appliances like ovens, cooktops and some dryers are wired into a junction box rather than plugged in. That’s an electrician’s job.
- Anything plugged into a socket just unplug it.
Stairs, Apartments and Difficult Access
If you are having a new appliance delivered, ask the installer to disconnect the old one. Have it disconnected and moved to a ground-floor room, garage or kerbside if you can. We can still collect from inside if you don’t.
Second-floor flats, basement laundry rooms, narrow stairwells, and buildings with lift restrictions are all workable, but we need to know in advance so we can send the right crew and equipment. Mention it when you schedule the pickup. For apartment communities and HOAs handling multiple-unit turnovers, we schedule recurring collections.
Our Process
How Appliance Recycling Works and What Happens Next
From drop-off or pickup to material recovery, we handle each appliance through a documented recycling process.
For Appliance recycling
Why Choose Dream Electronic Recycling
Dream Electronic Recycling makes appliance recycling straightforward, with clear pricing and flexible pickup options across San Diego County. Small appliances can be recycled for free, while larger appliances have published handling fees of $3 to $10, so you know the cost before you bring them in or schedule a pickup.
We accept a wide range of household and light commercial appliances, including items that many recyclers do not handle, such as water heaters, furnaces, lawnmowers and trash compactors. For larger or multiple appliances, our countywide pickup service means you do not have to move heavy equipment more than once. We also work with property managers, contractors, restaurants and businesses that need scheduled collections for turnovers, remodels, equipment replacements and larger cleanouts.
Our R2v3 certification and CalRecycle registration (CEWID #127772) support a documented recycling process rather than simply hauling appliances away. We also provide straightforward guidance when an appliance requires special handling. For example, if a refrigerator or freezer needs refrigerant recovery before recycling, we’ll explain the available options, including utility programs when applicable.
Whether an appliance is working, broken, rusty or missing parts, we can help determine the appropriate recycling option. Locally owned and operating since 2015, Dream Electronic Recycling provides appliance recycling and pickup services throughout San Diego County.
What Is Appliance Recycling and Removal?
If you need to have your appliances properly recycled, contact Dream E Waste today!
Appliance recycling is the process of collecting an end of life appliance, removing the components that can’t go into a shredder, and separating the rest into recoverable material streams mostly ferrous and non-ferrous metal, with plastics, glass and wiring alongside. Appliances are heavy, and that’s most of the story. A washing machine is roughly two thirds steel by weight. A dryer drum is steel, its motor is copper-wound, and its housing is often aluminium. Recovered properly, all of that goes straight back into manufacturing.
The parts that don’t are the reason the process is regulated. Older appliances contain mercury switches in chest freezer lids and some ranges, PCB-containing capacitors in units manufactured before the late 1970s, compressor oil, and in anything that cools, refrigerant. Under the EPA’s Clean Air Act Section 608, refrigerant must be recovered by a certified technician before an appliance is disposed of or scrapped. That isn’t a best practice, its federal law, and its why the refrigerator question below has a longer answer than you’d expect.
In California, appliances also can’t simply go in a dumpster. Anything with electronic components falls under e-waste rules, and refrigerant-containing units are regulated separately as hazardous waste until the refrigerant is out.
SERVICE AREAS
Appliance Recycling Service Areas We Cover Throughout San Diego
We proudly serve homeowners and residents throughout San Diego County, including Chula Vista, North County, San Marcos, Miramar, Kearny Mesa and multiple other countys. Drop off appliances at our San Diego, Chula Vista or San Marcos Recycling Center, or schedule a pickup anywhere in San Diego County.
LOCAL RECYCLING LOCATIONS WE SERVE
Find Appliance Recycling Near You
NEED A CONVENIENT OPTION?
Don't See Your Area Listed?
We provide Home Appliance recycling services and pickup throughout San Diego County.
Why do we charge anything at all?
Large appliances are mostly steel, and steel has scrap value but they also contain compressor oil, capacitors, mercury switches in older units, and insulation foam, all of which have to be removed and handled separately before the metal is worth anything. The fee covers that handling. It doesn’t cover the truck, the crew or the drive, which is why it is $10 and not $100.
Why does junk removal cost ten times more than recycling?
They are not recycling the electronics. They are charging you for labour, a truck and a landfill tipping fee and a good share of what they collect gets buried. You are paying for disposal, not for secure recycling. Here you are paying for certified recycling processing.
What San Diego Community Says About Us
Rated Excellent by 2000+ locals for fast, friendly, and completely free electronic recycling.
