Tacoma Dump Fees & Transfer Station Guide (2026)

How to dump for $0 in Tacoma

Start here. Most of what people pay to dispose of can go for free if you know where to send it.

1. Call-2-Haul — two free pickups a year

Every City of Tacoma residential solid waste customer already pays for this in their utility bill and most never use it.

What you get per pickup: up to 3 large items (mattress, couch, fridge, washer, dryer, BBQ, exercise equipment, carpet rolls) plus up to 15 bags or boxes of smaller household items. Schedule it: (253) 573-2468, or through your MyTPU account.

The catches:

• Items must be at the front curb by 7 AM, with nothing obstructing them. They will not come inside or into your yard.
• Only the items you disclosed when booking. Anything extra gets left behind.
• Exceed the limit and it counts as a double, which burns your entire year's allowance in one visit.
• Summer and year-end book up to three weeks out. Call early.
• No household garbage, recyclables, yard waste, or hazardous waste. No construction materials, no TVs or monitors, no tires, no vehicle parts.
• Multifamily and commercial customers can use it too, but it's $115 per pickup ($230 for a double).

2. Free electronics recycling — worth $85 a TV

This is the biggest money-saver on this page and almost nobody knows it. A television costs $85 to dump at Hidden Valley in Puyallup. That same TV is free at Purdy and Prairie Ridge through E-Cycle Washington. Computer monitors and towers are $26 each at Hidden Valley — also free at the E-Cycle sites.

E-Cycle Washington takes TVs, computers, laptops, monitors, tablets, and e-readers at no charge. Find drop sites at ecyclewa.org. It does not cover printers, speakers, keyboards, mice, small appliances, or anything not on that list. Those go in regular garbage at the standard rate — or a hauler can take them along with everything else during TV and electronics removal in Tacoma.

3. Yard waste — free under a ton

Free for Tacoma residents at the Tacoma Recovery & Transfer Center. Free at every LRI station for loads under one ton. Hit a ton or more and it's $115/ton. Loads must be completely unloaded before you exit the site.

Note that "yard waste" doesn't stretch. Noxious weeds are charged separately at $108.80/ton, land clearing debris at $85/ton, and wooden pallets aren't accepted as yard waste at all. If the pile is bigger than your car, yard waste removal in Tacoma is usually the faster route.

4. Scrap metal appliances — free, if there's no Freon

Water heaters, ovens, ranges, dishwashers, washers, and dryers are accepted free at LRI stations as scrap metal. Anything with a compressor — refrigerator, freezer, air conditioner, water cooler, dehumidifier — is $68 each at LRI, because the Freon has to be professionally recovered before the unit can be scrapped. That's not a markup, it's a legal requirement, and it's also why appliance removal in Tacoma is priced the way it is.

5. Household hazardous waste — free for residents

Never put these in the trash. Both counties take them free.

• Tacoma residents: HHW facility at the Tacoma Recovery & Transfer Center, 3510 S Mullen St. Open Friday–Monday, 8 AM–5:30 PM. Free, up to 15 gallons or 220 lbs per visit.
• Pierce County residents: HHW at Hidden Valley, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 AM–noon and 1–5 PM. Free, max 35 items or 35 gallons per vehicle.

Both take: oil-based paint, solvents, automotive fluids, gasoline, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, pesticides, and pool chemicals.

Latex paint is the exception. Water-based paint isn't accepted at HHW. Dry it out completely — leave the lid off, or stir in cat litter or a paint hardener — then put it in your regular garbage with the lid off so the hauler can see it's solid.

6. Donation — free, and someone gets a couch

If it's still usable, these Tacoma-area organizations will take it, and several pick up:

• Northwest Furniture Bank — furniture for families coming out of homelessness. Pickup available.
• Habitat for Humanity ReStore — furniture, appliances, building materials, fixtures. Pickup for larger items.
• Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul — general household goods.

None of them take stained or torn upholstery, anything with a recall, most mattresses, or particleboard furniture that won't survive a move.

2026 dump fees

Tacoma Recovery & Transfer Center

Rates effective January 1, 2026.

Weight rounds up to the next 100 lbs. Unloading longer than 30 minutes costs $12.25 per additional half hour.

LRI transfer stations (Pierce County)

Rates effective March 1, 2026. All figures include Washington's 3.6% state refuse tax.

New for 2026: as of March 1, with the penny discontinued, LRI rounds all transaction totals to the nearest $0.05 — cash, card, debit, and tap.

A note on the numbers: Pierce County's website lists LRI rates pre-tax ($39.06 minimum, $195.32/ton). LRI lists them post-tax ($40.50 and $202.35). Same rates, different presentation. Don't panic if the figures don't match.

What they won't take

Banned from regular garbage at both systems:

• Household garbage in a yard waste load, and vice versa
• Liquids of any kind
• Wet or oil-based paint, solvents, chemicals, gasoline
• Hazardous waste
• Ammunition and explosives
• Medical waste
• Contaminated soil
• Asbestos (Tacoma takes it by appointment only)
• Televisions, computers, monitors — these are e-waste, not garbage
• Freon appliances in a scrap bin — they must be processed
• Cars, trailers, vehicle parts, seats, engines, transmissions
• Wooden pallets
• Glass doors

Call-2-Haul additionally won't take construction materials of any kind — no sheet rock, insulation, fencing, roofing, cement, decking, or lumber — plus no yard waste, no pallets, and no projection TVs, computers, or monitors.

DIY vs. hiring someone: the real math

The number most people forget is the truck. Truck rental, realistically: Home Depot Load 'N Go from $19 for 75 minutes, or $129 for the day; U-Haul pickup from $19.95 plus per-mile — real local totals routinely land over $100 once mileage, fuel, and fees are counted.

At that size, a hauler quoting $400–700 all-in is the better deal — that price includes the truck, the labor, the dump fees, and the sorting. See junk removal cost in Tacoma for current market ranges.

The honest rule

Under 400 lbs and you own a truck: do it yourself. The math isn't close. Over half a truckload, or anything involving Freon appliances, five-plus mattresses, or stairs: get a quote. Once you add rental, per-item surcharges, fuel, and two trips, full-service usually costs about the same and takes none of your weekend.