Home › By item › Scrap metal › Lincoln
A public resource guide
Free scrap metal removal in Lincoln, NE
Every free and paid way to get rid of scrap metal in Lincoln, verified October 2026.
Checked against City of Lincoln
Home › By item › Scrap metal › Lincoln
A public resource guide
Every free and paid way to get rid of scrap metal in Lincoln, verified October 2026.
Checked against City of Lincoln
0
city trash or bulky service; every home contracts a licensed hauler
N. 48th St
city transfer station takes furniture, appliances, and tires for posted fees
$5.25
per car tire at North 48th Street, limit 9, plus a vehicle fee
Every route for scrap metal in Lincoln, checked in October 2026 against the city’s current rules and the drop-off sites named. The full Lincoln guide covers every other item.
Here is how each route works in Lincoln, starting with the city program and ending with paid pickup.
Lincoln bulky item disposal: scrap metal
Your hauler, for a feeScrap yards take metal free and may pay.
Who qualifies: Lincoln has no city trash collection. Every household contracts one of the city's licensed private haulers, and bulky pickups are arranged with that hauler for a fee.
How to schedule: Call your hauler to schedule a bulky pickup; fees vary. Self-haul option: the city's North 48th Street Solid Waste Management Facility (5101 N. 48th St) takes furniture, appliances, tires, and debris for posted fees. Lincoln Transfer Station fees include per-item charges for appliances and tires.
Limits: Set by your hauler. North 48th Street: loads covered and secured, trailers under 60 square feet; 9 tires per customer.
Set-out: Only on a date your hauler confirms.
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 Lincoln: 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 Lincoln: you can start the conversation now through the For partners page.
Lincoln, Nebraska (#72 nationally) operates a unique waste management system: the City does NOT provide municipal trash collection. Lincoln residents are required to contract with one of 17+ licensed private haulers for waste service, with no city-assigned zones or collection days. Nebraska state law BANS yard waste from landfills April 1 through November 30, requiring all haulers to collect yard waste separately during this period and send it to composting facilities. The City’s Bluff Road Landfill (6001 Bluff Road) handles solid waste and yard waste composting with tipping fees of $52.09/ton for construction waste and $25.15/ton for yard waste. Some haulers like Husker Refuse include 1 free bulk item per month with service. This guide covers every disposal option for City of Lincoln residents.
The Lincoln rule for scrap metal: Scrap yards take metal free and may pay.
Program basics: Set by your hauler. North 48th Street: loads covered and secured, trailers under 60 square feet; 9 tires per customer. Only on a date your hauler confirms.
What the city will not take: Nothing is collected free citywide. Grass and leaves are banned from the trash April 1 to December 1.
How we checked this. The rules on this page were verified in October 2026 against: City of Lincoln: Solid Waste Management facilities, City of Lincoln: Solid Waste and Recycling FAQ (tires, haulers). Programs change; confirm fees and limits before you go.
Hazardous and regulated components in Lincoln. Lincoln does not have a dedicated municipal HHW facility, but several resources handle hazardous materials:
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 Lincoln households needing in-home pickup, items beyond your hauler’s bulk policy, items the landfill won’t accept, or service when crew labor is needed (heavy items, multi-piece sets), LoadUp connects you with independent loaders in the Lincoln 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 Lincoln with LoadUp → Round-up option appears at checkout. Optional, opt-in only.
Rules change at city limits. If you are outside Lincoln proper, start with the guide for your own city:
Related guides: the complete Lincoln 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 Lincoln: mattress, couch, refrigerator, washer and dryer, furniture, tv and electronics, dresser, bed frame and box spring.
Does Lincoln pick up scrap metal for free?
Scrap yard, free or paid.
How much does paid scrap metal removal cost in Lincoln?
Through the LoadUp marketplace, a single scrap metal pickup in Lincoln starts around $80 to $100 with upfront pricing, and full-truck loads run $300 to $600 depending on volume. For Lincoln households needing in-home pickup, items beyond your hauler’s bulk policy, items the landfill won’t accept, or service when crew labor is needed (heavy items, multi-piece sets), LoadUp connects you with independent loaders in the Lincoln 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 Lincoln page maintained?
Yes. Freemoval maintains this page as a public resource alongside the full Lincoln guide. We update it when programs change rules, fees, or contact methods. Last updated October 2026. If you find outdated information, let us know.