Which Junk Needs Separate Handling in Shasta County

Nothing about a pile of household junk shows which pieces are the problem, and the running record junk removal redding acronym official holds shows that the same five items cause most of the trouble. A cleanout in Redding, CA is mostly ordinary household junk, but the exceptions decide whether a load is accepted at the transfer station or turned around at the gate. Each of them follows its own route out of Shasta County.

What is special about refrigerators and freezers?

Waste collector loading a collection truck on a street.

They hold refrigerant, often called freon, and it has to be recovered by a certified person before the unit is crushed. Appliance recycling handles the shell. Doors should be taken off or taped shut for a safe move, and the unit should be tipped as little as possible, because the compressor oil runs where it should not.

What happens to old electronics?

Red and white pickup truck parked on a roadside.

Televisions, monitors, printers and computers are e waste. They carry lead and other metals and are kept out of the landfill by rule. Electronics recycling drops are the correct stop, and loading them last, in a separate crate, makes the handoff quick.

Why are mattresses their own category?

A mattress and its box spring take up a surprising amount of truck bed and are collected for mattress recycling in many places because the steel and foam can be separated. Keep them dry and bagged. A wet mattress is heavy and is more likely to be refused.

Can a hot tub go in the truck?

Not whole. A hot tub is cut apart, the shell broken into pieces, the pump and wiring removed and the frame sorted for scrap. The job takes a crew and a day, and the hauling usually needs a dump trailer or a roll off dumpster rather than a single pass in a box truck.

Why do weight tickets matter?

The landfill charges a tipping fee by weight, so every load gets a weight ticket on the way in. Loads that mix yard waste, soil and concrete read heavy, and it is worth separating them from the lighter household items so the heavy material can be weighed on its own. The ticket also records where the material was taken.

What is the simplest way to stay out of trouble?

Sort at the curb. Make four groups before the truck arrives: appliances, electronics, mattresses and everything else. The crew loads the groups in order, and each group goes to its proper stop without a surprise at the scale.