Home › By item › Scrap metal › Atlanta
A public resource guide
Free scrap metal removal in Atlanta, GA
Smaller scrap steel and aluminum can be dropped at CHaRM for free with an appointment.
Checked against ATL311
Home › By item › Scrap metal › Atlanta
A public resource guide
Smaller scrap steel and aluminum can be dropped at CHaRM for free with an appointment.
Checked against ATL311
12
free scheduled bulk pickups per household each year
8 cu yd
maximum per pickup, about a small room of furniture
7 p.m.
earliest set-out, the night before your collection day
1 free
Freemoval pickup per referred household
Every route for scrap metal in Atlanta, checked in October 2026 against the city’s current rules and the drop-off sites named. The full Atlanta guide covers every other item.
Here is how each route works in Atlanta, starting with the city program and ending with paid pickup.
City of Atlanta scheduled bulk collection: scrap metal
FreeMetal appliances are white goods and go through bulk. Loose household scrap is better recycled: CHaRM takes steel and aluminum at no charge, sorted on site.
Who qualifies: Single-family homes with City of Atlanta sanitation service. Apartment and condo residents are served by their building's private hauler.
How to schedule: Schedule through the Solid Waste Services Collection Tool on atlantaga.gov, by messaging @ATL311 on social media, or by calling 404-546-0311. Pickup happens on your regular weekly collection day.
Limits: 12 free scheduled collections per household per year, up to 8 cubic yards each (about a small room of furniture). A 13th collection costs $336.38.
Set-out: Items go at the curb in front of the property, clear of power lines, branches, mailboxes, and cars. Set out no earlier than 7 p.m. the night before pickup. An early set-out can draw a citation. Cancel by 3 p.m. the day before if plans change.
CHaRM Atlanta (Live Thrive): scrap metal
FreeHousehold steel (bed frames, wire shelving, keys, nails) and aluminum (screens, gutters) are accepted free. Separate magnetic steel from aluminum when you arrive.
Where: 1110 Hill St SE, Atlanta, GA 30315
How it works: Appointment required, booked at livethrive.org. No cash; cards, Venmo, and Apple Pay only. A second location, CHaRM DeKalb, is at 1225 Columbia Dr in Decatur.
Freemoval (free pickups through partner organizations)
FreeFreemoval funds free junk removal and cleanouts for households referred by trusted partner organizations, such as nonprofits, housing programs, and senior services. Families don’t apply directly. A partner submits the request and vouches for the need.
Where: Launched in metro Atlanta in 2026 and onboarding its first partner organizations.
How to access: Ask a caseworker, housing counselor, or nonprofit you already work with to submit a request, or use the Get help page to be connected.
What’s covered: One free pickup per household. Scrap metal, furniture, appliances, and bulk household items within standard LoadUp marketplace service.
How it’s funded: LoadUp customer round-ups and direct contributions, spent at standard LoadUp rates. The household pays nothing.
If you’re reading this, you probably need to get rid of something in Atlanta and you’re looking for the cheapest legitimate way to do it. This page covers every option, in order from free to paid, with what each one actually accepts and how to access it.
The Atlanta rule for scrap metal: Metal appliances are white goods and go through bulk. Loose household scrap is better recycled: CHaRM takes steel and aluminum at no charge, sorted on site.
Program basics: 12 free scheduled collections per household per year, up to 8 cubic yards each (about a small room of furniture). A 13th collection costs $336.38. Items go at the curb in front of the property, clear of power lines, branches, mailboxes, and cars. Set out no earlier than 7 p.m. the night before pickup. An early set-out can draw a citation. Cancel by 3 p.m. the day before if plans change.
What the city will not take: The city will not collect auto parts (including tires), building or construction materials, items from evictions or vacant properties, or anything left by a contractor.
How we checked this. The rules on this page were verified in October 2026 against: ATL311 Bulk Collection Request (KB0011524), updated September 2026, City of Atlanta Public Works: Yard Trimmings, Live Thrive CHaRM: Items We Accept and fees. Programs change; confirm fees and limits before you go.
Hazardous and regulated components in Atlanta. Household hazardous waste, paint, motor oil, pesticides, pool chemicals, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, and old electronics with batteries, cannot go in regular trash and shouldn’t go to standard transfer stations.
Why scrap metal are different from ordinary bulk. Most household scrap is mixed. An appliance is a steel shell around a copper motor and aluminum fins; a bike is a steel or aluminum frame with rubber and plastic. Yards accept mixed items at the steel rate, so sorting pays only if you have enough non-ferrous metal to make it worth the time. A magnet and ten minutes usually tells you.
Three mistakes that get scrap metal left at the curb:
Paid options barely exist for metal, except when the metal is attached to things that are not metal.
Mixed loads to a transfer station
$20 to $60If metal is mixed into a larger cleanout, transfer stations charge by weight for the whole load. Pull the metal out first and give it to a scrapper; it reduces the fee and keeps metal out of the landfill.
Most transfer stations have a free metal pile. Ask before you tip.
LoadUp paid scrap metal pickup
$80+For households not eligible for free programs, LoadUp offers professional removal with upfront pricing and same-week scheduling. Independent loaders in the marketplace handle pickup, loading, and licensed disposal.
What’s included: Loading, hauling, and licensed disposal of your scrap metal. No prep needed beyond pointing out what goes.
Pricing: Starts around $80 for a single item; full-truck pickups range from $300 to $600 depending on volume.
If you can pay for a pickup, your booking helps fund free pickups for someone else. Every paid LoadUp customer can opt in to round up at checkout, and 100% of round-ups go directly to Freemoval’s subsidized jobs.
Book scrap metal pickup in Atlanta with LoadUp → Round-up option appears at checkout. Optional, opt-in only.
Rules change at city limits. If you are outside Atlanta proper, start with the guide for your own city:
Related guides: the complete Atlanta junk removal guide (every item type, city services, hazardous waste, and how to report dumping) and the national scrap metal disposal guide with rules for all 117 cities we cover.
Other free removal guides for Atlanta: mattress, couch, refrigerator, washer and dryer, furniture, tv and electronics, dresser, bed frame and box spring.
Does Atlanta pick up scrap metal for free?
Metal appliances go through scheduled bulk collection. Smaller scrap steel and aluminum can be dropped at CHaRM for free with an appointment.
How much does paid scrap metal removal cost in Atlanta?
Through the LoadUp marketplace, a single scrap metal pickup in Atlanta starts around $80 to $100 with upfront pricing, and full-truck loads run $300 to $600 depending on volume. For households not eligible for free programs, LoadUp offers professional removal with upfront pricing and same-week scheduling. Independent loaders in the marketplace handle pickup, loading, and licensed disposal.
Will someone pick up scrap metal for free?
Yes. Independent scrappers in every metro collect appliances, grills, frames, and other metal from the curb free, usually the same day you post it, because they sell it by weight. Many city bulk programs also collect metal.
How much does a scrap yard pay?
Steel pays a few cents per pound; a washer or water heater might bring a few dollars. Aluminum pays several times more, and copper and brass pay the most, often a few dollars per pound. Prices change weekly with commodity markets.
How do I tell what kind of metal I have?
Use a magnet. If it sticks, the metal is ferrous (steel or iron) and pays the base rate. If it does not, it is aluminum, copper, brass, or stainless and worth sorting out. Copper is reddish, brass is yellow, aluminum is light and silver, stainless is heavy and silver.
Can I scrap a refrigerator or air conditioner?
Yes, but the refrigerant must be recovered first by a certified technician or by the yard if it has recovery equipment. Do not cut the lines. Many yards accept sealed units and recover the gas themselves; call first.
Is this Atlanta page maintained?
Yes. Freemoval maintains this page as a public resource alongside the full Atlanta guide. We update it when programs change rules, fees, or contact methods. Last updated October 2026. If you find outdated information, let us know.