What We Don't Take (And Where to Take It Instead)

Take Care Junk hauls the overwhelming majority of what people want gone — furniture, appliances, mattresses, yard waste, construction debris, whole-house cleanouts. What we cannot take is a narrow, legally defined set of materials: hazardous chemicals, certain paints, and other regulated materials. California treats those as household hazardous waste, and they have to go through a permitted facility rather than a hauler's truck. The good news for Sacramento residents is that most of it can be dropped off free.

The Short List of What We Cannot Haul

These are regulated materials. It is not a matter of preference — a junk removal truck is not a permitted hazardous waste transporter, and dump scales will reject them.

• Hazardous chemicals — solvents, pesticides, pool chemicals, cleaners, automotive fluids and used motor oil.
• Wet or liquid paint — including stains and lacquers. Fully dried-out latex paint is treated differently; see below.
• Propane tanks and pressurized cylinders, including camping canisters.
• Asbestos-containing material — common in older Sacramento-area popcorn ceilings, floor tile and pipe insulation. This requires a licensed abatement contractor, not a hauler.
• Medical and biohazard waste, including sharps.
• Ammunition, fireworks and explosives.
• Contaminated soil and unmarked drums.

Where Each One Actually Goes

Sacramento County runs free household hazardous waste drop-off for residents, which covers most of the list above. Check the current locations and hours at the county's HHW drop-off centers page, and the North Area Recovery Station runs its own HHW drop-off.

• Paint — California funds a statewide paint stewardship program, so leftover architectural paint is accepted free at participating retailers. Find the nearest one through PaintCare, and see CalRecycle's paint program for what qualifies.
• Electronics — covered separately under California's e-waste rules; see CalRecycle electronic waste. We can take most of these, see the next section.
• Asbestos — a licensed abatement contractor. Do not disturb or bag it yourself.
• Propane — many exchange retailers take tanks back, and the county HHW centers accept them.

Things People Assume We Cannot Take — But We Can

This trips up a lot of callers, so it is worth being explicit. These items have special handling requirements, and we handle them.

• Refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners. Their refrigerant is regulated under EPA Section 608 and has to be recovered by a certified technician before the unit is scrapped. We route appliances through processors that do exactly that.
• Televisions, monitors and computers. These are e-waste and cannot go in a landfill in California. We take them to permitted recyclers.
• Mattresses and box springs, which most transfer stations surcharge and many haulers refuse.
• Tires, in limited quantities — call and tell us how many.
• Fully dried latex paint. Once it is solid all the way through, it is no longer treated as liquid hazardous waste. Wet paint is a no.

Why It Matters Who Hauls It

Handing regulated material to a hauler who is not set up for it is how it ends up dumped. The City of Sacramento treats illegal dumping seriously and publishes both a reporting route and the penalties on its illegal dumping page. If a hauler quotes you a price for a load of paint cans and solvents without blinking, that should worry you rather than reassure you.

Not Sure About Something in Your Pile?

This is the easiest phone call you will make all week. Send a photo or describe it, and we will tell you straight away whether it goes on our truck or needs the county — and we will still take everything around it. Call (916) 770-7619 or request a free estimate.