Home › By item › Scrap metal › Los Angeles
A public resource guide
Free scrap metal removal in Los Angeles, CA
Small scrap goes in the blue bin.
Checked against LA Sanitation
Home › By item › Scrap metal › Los Angeles
A public resource guide
Small scrap goes in the blue bin.
Checked against LA Sanitation
Unlimited
free bulky item pickups for LASAN-served homes
1 day
minimum notice before your regular trash day
5
free monthly drop-off yards, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. one Saturday a month
Every route for scrap metal in Los Angeles, checked in October 2026 against the city’s current rules and the drop-off sites named. The full Los Angeles guide covers every other item.
Here is how each route works in Los Angeles, starting with the city program and ending with paid pickup.
LA Sanitation (LASAN) free bulky item pickup: scrap metal
FreeLarge metal items ride LASAN's metal item pickup, requested through MyLA311 like a bulky item. Small metal goes in the blue recycling bin.
Who qualifies: Homes with 1 to 4 units that get trash service from LASAN. Buildings with 5 or more units are served by a recycLA hauler instead; ask your building manager to request bulky pickup through that hauler.
How to schedule: Request it through MyLA311 (website or app) or the 24-hour Customer Care Center at 1-800-773-2489, at least one business day before your regular trash day. Have an itemized list ready (one mattress, two chairs, a desk) so the right truck is sent.
Limits: Unlimited. LASAN describes it as an unlimited curbside service at no additional charge. Pickup happens on your regular trash day.
Set-out: Put the items at the curb by your normal collection time on the scheduled trash day, clear of bins and cars. Setting bulky items out without a request counts as illegal dumping in the City of LA.
LASAN metal appliance pickup: scrap metal
FreeRequest as a metal item pickup.
Where: Curbside at your address, on your regular collection day
How it works: Request it through MyLA311 or 1-800-773-2489 and list the appliances. Refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, dishwashers, air conditioners, and water heaters are collected free; LASAN handles refrigerant recovery, so no separate step for Freon.
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 Los Angeles: 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 Los Angeles: you can start the conversation now through the For partners page.
LA has one of the most generous bulky item pickup programs of any major U.S. city: 10 free scheduled collections per year, with up to 10 items per collection, on your regular trash day. Large electronics get a separate free pickup that doesn’t count against your annual limit. Critical to know: LASAN serves only properties within City of LA limits, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Culver City, West Hollywood, Inglewood, Torrance, and Long Beach are NOT served by LASAN. Most apartment buildings use recycLA franchise haulers, not LASAN. This page walks through every legitimate option in order from free to paid.
The Los Angeles rule for scrap metal: Large metal items ride LASAN's metal item pickup, requested through MyLA311 like a bulky item. Small metal goes in the blue recycling bin.
Program basics: Unlimited. LASAN describes it as an unlimited curbside service at no additional charge. Pickup happens on your regular trash day. Put the items at the curb by your normal collection time on the scheduled trash day, clear of bins and cars. Setting bulky items out without a request counts as illegal dumping in the City of LA.
What the city will not take: Automotive parts and used oil (including tires), construction materials such as concrete, bricks, and dirt, commercial appliances, paint, solvents and chemicals, medicines and needles, fluorescent lights, and cardboard (that goes in the blue bin).
How we checked this. The rules on this page were verified in October 2026 against: LA Sanitation: Schedule a Bulky Item Pickup (updated September 2026), LA Sanitation: Metal Appliance Pickup, LA Sanitation: S.A.F.E. Centers (household hazardous waste and e-waste), MyLA311 service requests. Programs change; confirm fees and limits before you go.
Hazardous and regulated components in Los Angeles. LA operates four S.A.F.E. (Solvents/Automotive/Flammables/Electronics) Collection Centers for residents to dispose of paint, motor oil, propane tanks, sharps, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, electronics, and household chemicals at no charge. Open Saturdays and Sundays 9 AM-3 PM. Limit: 15 gallons or 125 pounds per vehicle per visit. Pack items in cardboard or plastic bins, label original containers, stay in your vehicle during unloading for safety. Several retailers also offer ongoing free recycling: Home Depot for batteries and CFL bulbs, AutoZone for motor oil and car batteries, Best Buy for electronics, and most pharmacies for unused medications. California state law (the Electronic Waste Recycling Act) bans e-waste from regular trash.
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 who can’t wait weeks for an LASAN appointment, exceed 10 annual collections, live in 5+ unit buildings, or live outside City of LA limits where LASAN doesn’t serve, LoadUp offers professional removal across Greater LA with upfront pricing. 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 Los Angeles with LoadUp → Round-up option appears at checkout. Optional, opt-in only.
Rules change at city limits. If you are outside Los Angeles proper, start with the guide for your own city:
Related guides: the complete Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles: mattress, couch, refrigerator, washer and dryer, furniture, tv and electronics, dresser, bed frame and box spring.
Does Los Angeles pick up scrap metal for free?
Yes. Request a free metal item pickup through MyLA311. Small scrap goes in the blue bin.
How much does paid scrap metal removal cost in Los Angeles?
Through the LoadUp marketplace, a single scrap metal pickup in Los Angeles starts around $80 to $100 with upfront pricing, and full-truck loads run $300 to $600 depending on volume. For households who can’t wait weeks for an LASAN appointment, exceed 10 annual collections, live in 5+ unit buildings, or live outside City of LA limits where LASAN doesn’t serve, LoadUp offers professional removal across Greater LA with upfront pricing. 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 Los Angeles page maintained?
Yes. Freemoval maintains this page as a public resource alongside the full Los Angeles guide. We update it when programs change rules, fees, or contact methods. Last updated October 2026. If you find outdated information, let us know.