Seattle Bulky Item Pickup vs. Transfer Station Cost

For one Seattle sofa, mattress, or other accepted bulky item, the current special-item page lists $31 for large furniture, electronics, and appliances. CFC refrigerators and freezers manufactured before 2005 are $39.25. The transfer station lists a $37 garbage minimum, while an appliances-only transfer load is $34 per appliance, with a two-appliance limit. Seattle’s special-item page and rate table show the separate charges.

One ordinary bulky item favors pickup on the municipal charge: $31 versus the $37 garbage minimum. A CFC refrigerator pickup is $39.25, while a refrigerator already being hauled to the station can fit the $34 appliance line if prepared as required. The station’s $3 unsecured-load amount is a minimum and its $5/$10 figure is the rate column; do not add them together.

Two ordinary pickup items cost $31 × 2 = $62. Two appliances in an appliances-only transfer load cost $34 × 2 = $68. A mixed load follows different garbage/appliance charges; do not add ordinary garbage tonnage to that appliances-only worksheet. Seattle’s pickup page also limits items by weight and size and requires an accessible flat setout; an account holder schedules the service. Add fuel, rental, and labor to a self-haul comparison.

Use pickup when one qualifying item would otherwise require a separate trip. Use self-haul when several accepted items share a vehicle and the station classification is clear. Record the item type, count, and check date; these are Seattle municipal charges, not a private removal quote.

Pickup also changes the logistics: the item must be at a flat, accessible setout by 7 a.m., and the account holder schedules it. The page gives a 300-pound and 8-foot-by-4-foot limit, so a sectional or commercial appliance may fail the pickup test even when it would fit a transfer-station load. Call before moving an unusually large item; the cheaper line is useful only when the city accepts the exact object.