Home › By item › Scrap metal › Tucson
A public resource guide
Free scrap metal removal in Tucson, AZ
Every free and paid way to get rid of scrap metal in Tucson, verified October 2026.
Checked against Tucson Environmental Services
Home › By item › Scrap metal › Tucson
A public resource guide
Every free and paid way to get rid of scrap metal in Tucson, verified October 2026.
Checked against Tucson Environmental Services
2x a year
Brush and Bulky collection in each of Tucson's 26 service areas
10 cu yd
maximum per household, out by Monday of your week
5
tires accepted, in a separate pile
Every route for scrap metal in Tucson, checked in October 2026 against the city’s current rules and the drop-off sites named. The full Tucson guide covers every other item.
Here is how each route works in Tucson, starting with the city program and ending with paid pickup.
Tucson Brush and Bulky collection: scrap metal
FreeScrap metal and pipes up to 5 feet long are accepted. Scrap yards take metal any time.
Who qualifies: City of Tucson residential trash customers in the 26 service areas. Apartment complexes use commercial service.
How to schedule: No appointment. Crews visit each service area twice a year; find your weeks on the city's Brush and Bulky schedule and map. Set items in front of your home by Monday of your collection week; collection finishes by the end of the week. A Brush and Bulky Anytime special pickup is available for a fee ($55 for up to 10 cubic yards) between cycles.
Limits: 10 cubic yards per household (one cubic yard is about a washing machine). Up to 5 tires in a separate pile. Brush up to 5 feet long and 24 inches across; lumber, metal, and pipe up to 5 feet.
Set-out: In front of your home, out by Monday of your scheduled week and no more than two weeks ahead. Separate piles for tires and lumber. Remove refrigerator and freezer doors.
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 Tucson: 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 Tucson: you can start the conversation now through the For partners page.
Tucson runs a unique zone-based bulky pickup system: FREE Brush & Bulky Plus collection TWICE per year, 10 cubic yards per event, included in the Environmental Services fee with no additional charge. The City has 26 residential service areas, each receiving collection roughly every 6 months. Place piles at the curb by 6 AM Monday of your zone’s scheduled week; collection occurs anytime that week (Mon-Fri). CRITICAL CHANGE EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2026: piles MUST be at the curb in front of your home, piles in alleys will NOT be collected (with limited exceptions for special pickup areas). Brush & Bulky has strict separated-pile rules: brush separate, lumber separate, tires separate, scrap metal separate. Brush limit: under 5 ft long, 24 in diameter; lumber under 5 ft. Box cactus pieces with a 25-lb limit per box. Remove appliance doors. Glass is NOT in the blue recycling bin, use the unique purple drop-off containers across the city. Plastic bags and Styrofoam ARE collected curbside through the Hefty ReNew orange bin program (rare nationally). Mandatory composting via FoodCycle program. Holiday schedule is one of the simplest, only 3 holidays affect collection. Special Brush & Bulky pickups available for $55 base + $25 per additional 15 minutes + $5 per additional cubic yard. This page walks through every legitimate option in order from free to paid.
The Tucson rule for scrap metal: Scrap metal and pipes up to 5 feet long are accepted. Scrap yards take metal any time.
Program basics: 10 cubic yards per household (one cubic yard is about a washing machine). Up to 5 tires in a separate pile. Brush up to 5 feet long and 24 inches across; lumber, metal, and pipe up to 5 feet. In front of your home, out by Monday of your scheduled week and no more than two weeks ahead. Separate piles for tires and lumber. Remove refrigerator and freezer doors.
What the city will not take: TVs and computer monitors, construction material, concrete, dirt, rocks, and gravel, glass and mirrors, compressed gas cylinders, and household hazardous waste.
How we checked this. The rules on this page were verified in October 2026 against: City of Tucson Environmental Services: Brush and Bulky. Programs change; confirm fees and limits before you go.
Hazardous and regulated components in Tucson. Tucson residents have free hazardous waste disposal at the Los Reales Sustainability Campus, open Monday-Friday. Plus free monthly Saturday drop-off events on the second Saturday of each month at rotating Eastside and Westside locations. Free for City of Tucson residents with proof of residency. $10 fee for residents of Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita, and unincorporated Pima County. Drop off paint, motor oil, pesticides, household cleaners, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, propane tanks, and electronics. 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, most pharmacies for unused medications. Tucson’s Small Business Waste Assistance Program (SBWAP) provides safe and affordable disposal for small businesses through Environmental Services.
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 or in-home pickup, exceed the 10-cu-yd-per-event limit, can’t wait until the next zone rotation, have items the City won’t accept (concrete, construction debris, glass, TVs), or want full-service hauling without managing separated-pile rules and curb-placement requirements, LoadUp offers professional removal in Tucson 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 Tucson with LoadUp → Round-up option appears at checkout. Optional, opt-in only.
Rules change at city limits. If you are outside Tucson proper, start with the guide for your own city:
Related guides: the complete Tucson 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 Tucson: mattress, couch, refrigerator, washer and dryer, furniture, tv and electronics, dresser, bed frame and box spring.
Does Tucson pick up scrap metal for free?
Yes, in pieces under 5 feet, on your Brush and Bulky week.
How much does paid scrap metal removal cost in Tucson?
Through the LoadUp marketplace, a single scrap metal pickup in Tucson 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 or in-home pickup, exceed the 10-cu-yd-per-event limit, can’t wait until the next zone rotation, have items the City won’t accept (concrete, construction debris, glass, TVs), or want full-service hauling without managing separated-pile rules and curb-placement requirements, LoadUp offers professional removal in Tucson 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 Tucson page maintained?
Yes. Freemoval maintains this page as a public resource alongside the full Tucson guide. We update it when programs change rules, fees, or contact methods. Last updated October 2026. If you find outdated information, let us know.