Home › By item › Scrap metal › Richmond
A public resource guide
Free scrap metal removal in Richmond, VA
Every free and paid way to get rid of scrap metal in Richmond, verified October 2026.
Checked against Richmond DPW
Home › By item › Scrap metal › Richmond
A public resource guide
Every free and paid way to get rid of scrap metal in Richmond, verified October 2026.
Checked against Richmond DPW
Every 2 weeks
bulk and brush on your trash day during your recycling week, no appointment
$50
per appliance for a scheduled DPW pickup through 311 (free if you self-haul)
2
free city drop-off sites: East Richmond Road Convenience Center and Southside Transfer Station
Every route for scrap metal in Richmond, checked in October 2026 against the city’s current rules and the drop-off sites named. The full Richmond guide covers every other item.
Here is how each route works in Richmond, starting with the city program and ending with paid pickup.
Richmond bi-weekly bulk and brush collection: scrap metal
FreeMetal household items are bulk, and both city sites take scrap metal.
Who qualifies: Households with City of Richmond DPW trash collection.
How to schedule: No appointment. Bulk and brush is collected every other week, on your trash day during your recycling week (check your Blue or Red week at cvwma.com or the DPW Service Finder). Put items next to your recycling cart the night before. If the crew misses you, they return by Saturday of that week.
Limits: No published volume cap for ordinary household bulk. Appliances are a separate $50 per-appliance pickup through 311. A 24-hour rush pickup is $100.
Set-out: Next to your recycling cart, at the same spot as household trash, by 6 a.m. on trash day during recycling week. Brush under 6 feet and 3 inches, bundled.
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 Richmond: 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 Richmond: you can start the conversation now through the For partners page.
Richmond runs an unusually comprehensive system: biweekly year-round Bulk and Brush pickup that mirrors the recycling Blue/Red week schedule, two free transfer stations open year-round, AND a 15 neighborhood Saturday Cleanup program that visits each zone twice between March and November. Trash collection requires City-issued "supercans" only per Section 86-81 ordinance, items in non-issued containers will not be collected and a violation notice will be issued. Set-out timing is strict: out no earlier than 4 PM the day before, removed by 7 AM the day after. Appliance pickups carry a $50 fee. Tire disposal limited to 4 free per household at the East Richmond Road Convenience Center. This page walks through every legitimate option in order from free to paid.
The Richmond rule for scrap metal: Metal household items are bulk, and both city sites take scrap metal.
Program basics: No published volume cap for ordinary household bulk. Appliances are a separate $50 per-appliance pickup through 311. A 24-hour rush pickup is $100. Next to your recycling cart, at the same spot as household trash, by 6 a.m. on trash day during recycling week. Brush under 6 feet and 3 inches, bundled.
What the city will not take: Carpet, auto parts, construction debris, and electronics. Tires are collected only with rims removed. Hazardous waste goes to the East Richmond Road Convenience Center.
How we checked this. The rules on this page were verified in October 2026 against: City of Richmond DPW: Bulk and Brush collection, City of Richmond DPW: Trash Collection (transfer station and appliance fee), City of Richmond: Neighborhood Clean-Up Program 2026. Programs change; confirm fees and limits before you go.
Hazardous and regulated components in Richmond. Richmond residents can dispose of household hazardous waste through Central Virginia Waste Management Authority (CVWMA) HHW programs and periodic special events. The City of Richmond does NOT accept hazardous waste in regular trash, bulk pickup, or Saturday Cleanups. Several retailers 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. To report discarded tires or illegal dumping in your alleyway or along the roadside: call 3-1-1 or 804-646-7000 and provide the specific location to have abandoned tires removed.
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 need same-day service, can’t wait for biweekly Bulk and Brush, have items the City won’t take, want to avoid the $50 appliance fee while also avoiding self-hauling, live in apartments, or want full-service in-home pickup, LoadUp offers professional removal in Richmond 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 Richmond with LoadUp → Round-up option appears at checkout. Optional, opt-in only.
Rules change at city limits. If you are outside Richmond proper, start with the guide for your own city:
Related guides: the complete Richmond 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 Richmond: mattress, couch, refrigerator, washer and dryer, furniture, tv and electronics, dresser, bed frame and box spring.
Does Richmond pick up scrap metal for free?
Yes, during recycling week, or a city drop-off site or scrap yard.
How much does paid scrap metal removal cost in Richmond?
Through the LoadUp marketplace, a single scrap metal pickup in Richmond starts around $80 to $100 with upfront pricing, and full-truck loads run $300 to $600 depending on volume. For households who need same-day service, can’t wait for biweekly Bulk and Brush, have items the City won’t take, want to avoid the $50 appliance fee while also avoiding self-hauling, live in apartments, or want full-service in-home pickup, LoadUp offers professional removal in Richmond 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 Richmond page maintained?
Yes. Freemoval maintains this page as a public resource alongside the full Richmond guide. We update it when programs change rules, fees, or contact methods. Last updated October 2026. If you find outdated information, let us know.