Everyone wants free appliance removal. I get it. A washer that stopped spinning is not something you want to spend money on. The problem is that "free" usually means "free if you are willing to wait, drive, or buy something."
There are real free options in Massachusetts. I am going to walk through each one honestly — what works, what does not, and what your Saturday looks like if you go that route. And if none of them fit, I will tell you what we charge instead.
Mass Save appliance rebate — the best free option
Mass Save is a Massachusetts energy-efficiency program funded by your utility bill. They offer rebates for old refrigerators and freezers because those units draw power 24 hours a day. An old fridge from the early 2000s can cost you $150 a year in electricity alone.
Here is how it works: you schedule a pickup through the Mass Save website or by calling 1-866-527-SAVE. They send a crew to your house, pick up the qualifying appliance, and mail you a rebate check. The rebate is $50 for a refrigerator and $100 for a refrigerator plus a freezer picked up at the same time. Some program years have offered up to $150 for a combined pickup.
The catch: Mass Save only picks up refrigerators and freezers. Not washers, not dryers, not stoves, not dishwashers. And the appliance has to be working — they are recycling the refrigerant and metals, not hauling trash. If your fridge has been dead in the garage for two years, they may not take it.
Scheduling takes about two weeks in most Middlesex County towns. In peak summer months, it can stretch to three or four weeks. If you are in no rush, this is the cleanest free option available.
Municipal bulk pickup days
Some towns in the Billerica area run periodic bulk-item pickup days where you can put large items — including appliances — at the curb for free collection. The schedules and rules vary by town, and not every town offers this.
Billerica runs a spring cleanup week in April or May where bulk items are accepted at the curb on your regular trash day. Tewksbury and Burlington have run similar programs. Chelmsford and Bedford typically direct residents to the transfer station instead.
The catch: these are usually once or twice a year. You cannot put a dead fridge on the curb in October and hope the trash truck takes it. You need to check your town's public works website for the current schedule. And even during bulk weeks, appliances with refrigerants (fridges, freezers, AC units) may require a separate sticker or appointment.
If your town does not run a bulk pickup program, the transfer station is the next option. Most Middlesex County transfer stations accept appliances for a small fee — usually $10 to $30 per item. You need a truck or a friend with one, and you need to load it yourself.
Retailer haul-away when buying new
When you buy a new appliance from Home Depot, Lowe's, Best Buy, or a local dealer, most offer to haul away the old one for free or for a small fee. This is the easiest option if you are already replacing the appliance.
Home Depot and Lowe's typically include free haul-away with delivery of large appliances — refrigerators, washers, dryers, ranges. Best Buy charges $30 to $50 for haul-away if it is not included in the delivery package. Local appliance dealers vary — some include it, some charge, some will not touch the old one at all.
The catch: this only works when you are buying new. If your washer died and you are not ready to replace it, retailer haul-away does not help. And the haul-away is usually bundled with delivery — you cannot walk into Home Depot and ask them to pick up your old fridge without buying something.
Also worth noting: the haul-away crew will not disconnect gas lines or modify plumbing. If your dryer is gas or your fridge has a water line, you need to disconnect those before they arrive. Some installers will do it for an extra fee, but the haul-away crew itself just moves the unit.
Scrap metal collectors and curbside pickup
If your appliance is mostly metal and still has some value as scrap, someone will probably take it for free. Scrappers patrol neighborhoods on trash day looking for metal items — washers, dryers, stoves, water heaters. Put it at the curb with a "free" sign and it may be gone by morning.
This works best for heavy metal appliances — washers, dryers, ranges. It works poorly for refrigerators and freezers because the scrap value does not cover the cost of proper refrigerant removal. A scrapper who takes a fridge is probably venting the refrigerant illegally, which is an EPA violation and bad for the environment.
The catch: there is no guarantee. You might put a washer at the curb and it sits there for a week. Or someone takes the door off and leaves the rest. Scrappers are not a service — they are opportunists. If the item is still there after three days, you have a bigger problem than when you started.
Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist "free" listings work similarly. Post a working appliance for free and someone will come get it. Post a broken one and you will get three messages, two of which are bots, and one person who never shows up.
Donation — if the appliance still works
If the appliance is in working condition, donation is a real free option. Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Salvation Army, and Goodwill all accept working appliances. Some will pick up for free — Habitat ReStore in particular runs a pickup truck in the Greater Lowell and Middlesex County area.
The catch: the appliance has to work. A dryer that heats unevenly or a fridge that runs but does not cool to temperature is not donatable. And scheduling a pickup from Habitat or Salvation Army can take one to three weeks depending on demand.
If you can drop it off yourself, the timeline is faster. Most donation centers accept drop-offs during business hours. You still need a truck and someone to help load it.
When free is not worth the hassle
Here is the honest math. Mass Save takes two to four weeks and only covers fridges and freezers. Municipal bulk pickup happens once or twice a year. Retailer haul-away requires buying something. Scrappers are unreliable. Donation requires a working appliance and patience.
If you need a washer gone by Saturday, none of these work. If you have a fridge in the basement that has been sitting there since the last tenant moved out, Mass Save may not take it because it is not running. If you live on the second floor with no elevator, the transfer station is not happening without help.
That is where we come in. We haul one or two appliances for $90 flat — labor, loading, hauling, disposal, all in. We handle the second-floor walk-down. We handle the disconnected water line. We sweep up behind us when we are done. You text us photos and your town, we send back the number within 24 hours, and we pick a two-hour window that works for you.
We are not free. But we are done by the weekend.
What we actually charge
Our pricing is flat, by volume, all in. No hourly meter, no walkthrough games, no surprises.
| Volume | Flat price | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 appliances | $90 | Labor, loading, hauling, disposal — one trip |
| Truck load | $250 | Multiple appliances plus other items |
| Half trailer | $425 | Full cleanout or renovation debris |
| Full trailer | $650 | Everything — estate cleanout, hoarder situation, move-out |
Pricing details
Add $40 for one flight of stairs. Add $80 for two or more. Quotes carry roughly ±15% until we see the job — we tell you the band up front, not after the truck is loaded.
If a transfer-station run is cheaper for your situation, we will tell you that instead. We would rather lose the ninety bucks than charge you for something you could do yourself on a Saturday morning.
What we cannot take
Hazardous materials need a specialist, not us. We cannot take wet paint, asbestos, chemicals, medical waste, or propane tanks. If your appliance has any of those — a fridge with a chemical spill, a water heater with a gas line that is still live — call your town's hazardous waste program first.
For everything else — fridges, freezers, washers, dryers, stoves, dishwashers, microwaves, AC units, water heaters — we can handle it.