Where to Take Everything in Placer County — A Disposal Guide

Every household in Placer County eventually hits the same wall: a garage, closet, or storage unit full of things that don’t belong in the regular trash can, and no clear idea where they actually go. This page is that answer, organized by material, with real addresses, hours, and fees where we could verify them.

Facility hours, fees, and accepted-material lists change. Everything below reflects what we could confirm at the time of writing — call ahead or check the source link before you make a special trip, especially for anything time-sensitive.

The Short List: Where Things Go

Item	Where It Goes	Cost
Household trash-can junk	Curbside collection (check your hauler’s schedule)	Included in service
Furniture, general junk (self-haul)	WPWMA MRF, 3195 Athens Ave, Lincoln	~$109.25/ton or $25.25/cu. yd.
Green waste, tree trimmings	Curbside green bin, or WPWMA self-haul	Curbside included; self-haul ~$85/ton or $20/cu. yd.
Paint, solvents, pesticides, propane	WPWMA Household Hazardous Waste Center	Free (residents, 15 gal/125 lb limit)
TVs, computers, monitors (e-waste)	WPWMA HHW Center (part of e-waste stream)	Free — recycling fee already paid at purchase
Mattresses, box springs	WPWMA (Bye Bye Mattress program)	Free — recycling fee already paid at purchase
Car and household batteries	WPWMA HHW Center, or many auto parts retailers	Free
Motor oil, filters	WPWMA HHW Center, or oil-change retailers	Free
Tires	WPWMA self-haul, or retailer trade-in when buying new	~$5.25/car tire self-haul; often free at retailer
Refrigerators, freezers, AC units	WPWMA (refrigerant recovery required)	~$46.50 (refrigerated units)
Other appliances (non-refrigerant)	WPWMA self-haul	~$11 each
Usable furniture, household goods	Habitat ReStore, Goodwill, Salvation Army	Free (donation)
Prescription medication, sharps	WPWMA HHW Center, or pharmacy drop boxes	Free

Household Hazardous Waste: Paint, Chemicals, Pesticides, Propane

This is the category people are most likely to get wrong, because it’s the one thing you genuinely cannot put in a trash can or on a junk truck — it’s illegal, and for good reason.

The Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA) runs a Household Hazardous Waste Center at its Materials Recovery Facility, 3195 Athens Avenue in Lincoln, just west of Roseville. Placer County residents can drop off HHW there free, daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., no appointment required, up to a limit of 15 gallons or 125 pounds per visit. Accepted materials include:

Paint, stains, and varnish (latex and oil-based)
Solvents and household chemicals
Herbicides and pesticides
Propane cylinders up to 5 gallons
Automotive fluids, antifreeze, and gasoline
Household and vehicle batteries
Motor oil and oil filters
Fluorescent tubes and bulbs

Residents on the Auburn side of the county have a second option: the Auburn Transfer Station, 12305 Shale Ridge Lane in Auburn, operated by Recology. It accepts sharps, lead-acid batteries, compressed gas cylinders up to five gallons, latex paint, and used motor oil and filters at no charge for Placer County residents.

Some jurisdictions also offer curbside HHW pickup, but it’s appointment-only — items set out without a scheduled pickup simply won’t be collected. Check with your trash hauler if that’s more convenient than a drop-off trip.

One practical note if you’re clearing a garage: keep hazardous materials in their original, labeled containers if at all possible, and don’t mix different products together in one container. Mixed or unlabeled chemicals are harder for the facility to process and can be refused.

Electronics: TVs, Computers, Monitors

Televisions, computer monitors, laptops, and similar electronics can’t go in the regular trash in California — they contain lead, mercury, and other materials the state classifies as hazardous. The good news is that recycling them is already paid for.

Since 2004, California has required retailers to collect an Advance Recovery Fee — currently $4 to $6 depending on screen size — when you buy a new TV or monitor. That fee funds the free recycling network, so when the device eventually dies, disposing of it correctly costs you nothing.

E-waste is handled as part of the household hazardous waste stream at the WPWMA’s Athens Avenue facility, free for residents during normal operating hours. Many retailers (Best Buy is the most consistent option in the Roseville/Rocklin corridor) also take back electronics at no charge regardless of where you bought them.

Starting in 2026, the state’s e-waste program is expanding to cover battery-embedded products — cordless tools, some toys, small appliances with built-in batteries — so expect that category to broaden.

Mattresses: Bye Bye Mattress

Mattresses and box springs are bulky, heavy, and illegal to landfill loose in most California facilities without deconstruction — which is exactly why the state built a dedicated recycling program for them.

Bye Bye Mattress, run by the nonprofit Mattress Recycling Council, is funded by a recycling fee charged at the time a mattress is sold new in California. That means by the time you’re getting rid of an old one, the recycling cost has already been paid. The WPWMA accepts mattresses and box springs from the public free of charge at the Athens Avenue facility during normal hours — no separate fee, no appointment.

Tires, Motor Oil, and Car Batteries

California funds tire recycling through a fee — currently $1.75 per tire — collected when you buy a new one. As part of the same framework, retailers that sell new tires are generally required to take your old tire in trade at no extra charge, so the simplest disposal path is often the shop where you’re already buying the replacement.

If you’re clearing out tires with no new purchase attached, the WPWMA accepts them at a per-tire fee: roughly $5.25 for a car tire, $25.25 for a truck tire, and $99.75 for a tractor tire, based on the current rate schedule.

Motor oil, oil filters, and car batteries are simpler — most auto parts retailers (O’Reilly, AutoZone, and similar chains in the Lincoln/Roseville area) take used oil, filters, and batteries back for free, no purchase required. The WPWMA’s HHW Center also accepts all three.

Appliances and Refrigerant

Refrigerators, freezers, window units, and central AC components all hold refrigerant, and California’s Refrigerant Management Program requires it to be recovered by certified equipment before the unit is scrapped. That’s a real regulation, not a facility being difficult — cutting into a sealed system without recovery is illegal.

The WPWMA takes appliances at the Athens Avenue facility for a flat per-unit fee: $46.50 for refrigerated units (fridges, freezers, most AC units) and $11 for non-refrigerated units (stoves, dishwashers, washers, dryers). If you’ve already had the refrigerant professionally recovered, bring documentation — some facilities won’t accept a unit that’s been opened without proof the refrigerant was properly handled.

Appliances that still run are usually better off donated than scrapped — see the donation section below.

Green Waste and Fire-Season Debris

The City of Lincoln runs a curbside green waste program — a 96-gallon bin collected on a biweekly schedule alongside regular trash. For volumes beyond what the bin holds, the WPWMA accepts self-hauled green waste at roughly $85 per ton or $20 per cubic yard.

Placer County sits in a real fire-risk zone, and defensible space around a home isn’t optional in the way it might be in a wetter county. The county’s general guidance is 100 feet of defensible space where terrain allows, with dead vegetation, dry grass, and overhanging branches cleared first. If you’re doing a defensible-space clearing yourself, route the debris through the curbside green bin or a WPWMA self-haul run — don’t pile it and leave it, since dry cut vegetation sitting in a yard is its own fire hazard. Check Placer County’s wildfire preparedness page for any seasonal defensible-space events, since timing and locations for those are announced separately each year and we won’t guess at dates here.

Donation: Give It a Second Life Before the Landfill

If it still works, someone else can use it. Three regional options with confirmed details:

Organization	Location	Takes
Habitat for Humanity ReStore (Foothills Habitat for Humanity)	8292 Industrial Ave, Roseville — open Wed–Sat, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.	Furniture, working appliances, building materials, home goods
Goodwill (Donation Xpress)	Lincoln Blvd, Lincoln	Furniture, clothing, household goods, small electronics
The Salvation Army Family Store	Roseville	Furniture, clothing, household goods

Every organization has its own condition standard — expect them to decline anything stained, broken, or missing parts. Call ahead for large pieces; some locations can’t take a couch without a scheduled pickup or truck-bed drop-off slot.

Prescription Medication and Sharps

This one matters more than people think, especially for households managing medications for aging parents or a spouse. Don’t flush unused prescriptions, and don’t put loose pills or needles in the household trash.

The WPWMA’s Athens Avenue facility accepts both medication and sharps free, daily, during normal operating hours, no appointment needed. Beyond that single location, Placer County maintains pharmacy drop-box locations throughout the county, and there are free mail-back programs — search Medtakebackcalifornia.org for medication or Sharpstakebackcalifornia.org for sharps, or call 211 for the nearest option to you.

Where a Junk Removal Service Fits In

Most of what’s above is worth the drive yourself — it’s free, and dropping off a load of HHW or an old mattress takes twenty minutes. Where people usually call us instead is volume: a garage that hasn’t been sorted in a decade, an estate with six rooms of furniture, or a job where getting the truck loaded and the material correctly sorted between recycling and disposal is more than a Saturday project. If that’s where you’re at, Lincoln Junk Removal Co. handles the sorting and the hauling, including routing mattresses, e-waste, and appliances into the correct programs above instead of the landfill.

Common Disposal Questions

Can I self-haul a truckload to the WPWMA yourself?

Yes. The Western Placer Waste Management Authority's Materials Recovery Facility at 3195 Athens Avenue in Lincoln is open to the public — no appointment needed. Pull onto the scale, get weighed, dump, get weighed again, and pay at the scalehouse. Hours are Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

What does it cost to dump a truckload at the WPWMA?

As of the rate schedule effective July 1, 2025, general refuse runs $109.25 per ton or $25.25 per cubic yard, whichever the scale calculates. A pickup-bed load of household junk is usually a few hundred pounds to a ton — call ahead or check wpwma.ca.gov for the current schedule before you go, since rates change.

Where do I take paint, chemicals, pesticides, and propane tanks in Placer County?

The WPWMA's Household Hazardous Waste Center, same Athens Avenue address, takes these free from Placer County residents daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., no appointment needed, up to 15 gallons or 125 pounds per visit. The Auburn Transfer Station on Shale Ridge Lane is a second drop-off option for residents on that side of the county.

Are old TVs and computers free to recycle?

Yes. California's e-waste law already built the recycling cost into what you paid at the register — retailers collect an Advance Recovery Fee on new TVs and monitors specifically to fund free recycling later. E-waste is treated as household hazardous waste and goes to the same free Athens Avenue drop-off, never the trash.

Where can I get rid of an old mattress for free?

The WPWMA takes mattresses and box springs from the public free of charge, same Athens Avenue facility, daily during operating hours. It's funded by the recycling fee already charged when the mattress was sold new under California's Bye Bye Mattress program, so there's nothing more to pay at drop-off.

What happens to a refrigerator or an old AC unit?

Both hold refrigerant, and California requires it to be recovered by a certified technician before the unit is scrapped — that's a safety and environmental rule, not a suggestion. The WPWMA accepts appliances for a set per-unit fee ($46.50 for refrigerated units, $11 for non-refrigerated, per the current fee schedule) and handles the recovery. If a unit still has an intact sealed system, most haulers, including us, can take it as-is.

Where can I donate furniture and household goods that are still good?

Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Roseville (8292 Industrial Avenue, open Wednesday through Saturday) takes furniture and working appliances. Goodwill has a donation location on Lincoln Boulevard in Lincoln. The Salvation Army Family Store in Roseville also accepts furniture donations. Call ahead if you're bringing something large or unusual — condition standards vary by organization.

What do I do with leftover prescription medication or needles?

Don't flush them and don't put loose pills or sharps in the trash. The WPWMA's Athens Avenue facility takes both free, daily, no appointment. There are also pharmacy drop boxes around the county and a free mail-back option — search Medtakebackcalifornia.org or Sharpstakebackcalifornia.org, or call 211.