About 60% of what we pick up from Nashville homes could be donated or recycled instead of trashed. Most homeowners don't know what they could do. Here's the breakdown.
Donation candidates (40%+ of typical pickup)
Furniture in working condition. Appliances under 10 years old that work. Books, electronics, household goods, clothing.
Where it goes: Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity ReStore (great for furniture), local charity thrift stores, churches.
How: we coordinate pickup or drop-off. About 40% of what we collect goes to charity.
Recycle candidates (~20% of pickup)
Metals (copper, aluminum, steel), cardboard, plastic bottles + containers, paper, glass, large appliances (after refrigerant draining).
Where it goes: Nashville recycling facility + scrap metal yards.
Hazardous waste (~3% of pickup)
Paint, batteries (especially lithium), electronics, hazardous chemicals, asbestos.
Where it goes: special hazardous waste facility. We don't take asbestos.
Landfill (genuinely needed) (~37% of pickup)
Items that can't reasonably be donated or recycled. Damaged furniture, mattresses (most don't get recycled), bulk yard debris that can't be composted.
The math
If we just dumped everything: $40-60 per truck load to dump.
With sorting + donation + recycling: $20-40 to dump + tax write-off for donations.
It's actually cheaper to do it right.
The right junk removal company makes sustainability and cost work together — not against each other.
Tell us your priorities — landfill-only is cheapest, but donation-first is more responsible. Free quotes both ways.
Need recycling & donation in Nashville?
We're Hauloff Junk Removal — family-owned, fully licensed, and answering the phone live. Most Nashville jobs booked same-day.