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A public resource guide
Free scrap metal removal in El Paso, TX
Every free and paid way to get rid of scrap metal in El Paso, verified October 2026.
Checked against El Paso Environmental Services
Home › By item › Scrap metal › El Paso
A public resource guide
Every free and paid way to get rid of scrap metal in El Paso, verified October 2026.
Checked against El Paso Environmental Services
5
Citizen Collection Stations, free with a recent El Paso Water bill and matching ID
4
free station visits per household per month
8
tires without rims accepted per household per year at the stations
Every route for scrap metal in El Paso, checked in October 2026 against the city’s current rules and the drop-off sites named. The full El Paso guide covers every other item.
Here is how each route works in El Paso, starting with the city program and ending with paid pickup.
El Paso special collection and Citizen Collection Stations: scrap metal
Scheduled pickup; confirm feeMetal items go by special collection or free to a station; scrap yards may pay.
Who qualifies: Households with City of El Paso Environmental Services trash service, billed through El Paso Water. Apartments use private haulers.
How to schedule: Two routes. Scheduled special collection: call Environmental Services at 915-212-6000 or 311 to request a bulky pickup; the city code allows a fee for on-call bulk collection, so confirm the cost when you book. Free route: take items to one of the five Citizen Collection Stations with a recent El Paso Water bill and matching ID, up to 4 visits a month.
Limits: Citizen Collection Stations: free for residents who pay the monthly solid waste fee, 4 visits per month, 8 tires without rims per year. Special collection item lists apply; refrigerators must have refrigerant removed.
Set-out: For a scheduled special collection, items go at the curb in front of your home by 6 a.m. on the day given, 5 feet from carts, mailboxes, meters, cars, and trees, not blocking the sidewalk. Nothing goes out without a scheduled date.
El Paso Citizen Collection Stations: scrap metal
Free with water bill and IDAccepted.
Where: Northeast 4501 Hondo Pass, Central 2492 Harrison, Westside 121 Atlantic, Mission Valley 1034 Pendale, Eastside 3510 Confederate
How it works: Free for El Paso residents paying the solid waste fee: bring a water bill dated within 3 months and ID matching the address. Up to 4 visits a month. Household trash, furniture, appliances, tires without rims (8 a year), yard waste, electronics, and household hazardous waste. No contractors or businesses.
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.
Status in El Paso: Not yet available. Freemoval currently serves metro Atlanta and plans to expand nationwide.
How it works where it operates: One free pickup per household, covering scrap metal, furniture, appliances, and bulk household items within standard LoadUp marketplace service. Funded by LoadUp customer round-ups and direct contributions, spent at standard LoadUp rates.
If you run a nonprofit or housing program in El Paso: you can start the conversation now through the For partners page.
El Paso is one of the few major U.S. cities where curbside bulky item pickup is not free. The City charges $35 for the first 5 cubic yards of curbside bulky service, which creates a real cost barrier for lower-income households and contributes to El Paso’s illegal dumping problem. The good news: El Paso operates five free Citizen Collection Stations where residents can self-haul trash, bulky items, HHW, and electronics at no charge (with a water bill and ID). This guide covers every disposal option for El Paso residents, with specific rules for each pathway.
The El Paso rule for scrap metal: Metal items go by special collection or free to a station; scrap yards may pay.
Program basics: Citizen Collection Stations: free for residents who pay the monthly solid waste fee, 4 visits per month, 8 tires without rims per year. Special collection item lists apply; refrigerators must have refrigerant removed. For a scheduled special collection, items go at the curb in front of your home by 6 a.m. on the day given, 5 feet from carts, mailboxes, meters, cars, and trees, not blocking the sidewalk. Nothing goes out without a scheduled date.
What the city will not take: Tires (curbside), compressed gas cylinders, titled vehicles and trailers, commercial material, and recyclables. Refrigerators and freezers are accepted only clean, odor-free, doors off, with refrigerant removed.
How we checked this. The rules on this page were verified in October 2026 against: City of El Paso Environmental Services: Special Collections (bulky item pickups), City of El Paso: Citizen Collection Stations. Programs change; confirm fees and limits before you go.
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 El Paso households who need same-day or in-home pickup, can’t self-haul to a CCS, have more than 5 cubic yards to dispose of, or want full-service crew-based hauling, LoadUp connects you with independent loaders in the El Paso area for upfront-priced pickup.
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 El Paso with LoadUp → Round-up option appears at checkout. Optional, opt-in only.
Rules change at city limits. If you are outside El Paso proper, start with the guide for your own city:
Related guides: the complete El Paso 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 El Paso: mattress, couch, refrigerator, washer and dryer, furniture, tv and electronics, dresser, bed frame and box spring.
Does El Paso pick up scrap metal for free?
Special collection, a Citizen Collection Station, or a scrap yard.
How much does paid scrap metal removal cost in El Paso?
Through the LoadUp marketplace, a single scrap metal pickup in El Paso starts around $80 to $100 with upfront pricing, and full-truck loads run $300 to $600 depending on volume. For El Paso households who need same-day or in-home pickup, can’t self-haul to a CCS, have more than 5 cubic yards to dispose of, or want full-service crew-based hauling, LoadUp connects you with independent loaders in the El Paso area for upfront-priced pickup.
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 El Paso page maintained?
Yes. Freemoval maintains this page as a public resource alongside the full El Paso guide. We update it when programs change rules, fees, or contact methods. Last updated October 2026. If you find outdated information, let us know.