Junk removal in Pickering

What junk removal costs in Pickering

Pickering is priced the same way as the rest of our service area: by the load, not by the hour. A minimum pickup of one or two items (up to 1 cu yd), is $119. A 1/8 load is $169, a 1/4 load is $259, a 1/2 load is $389, and a full load of about 16 cubic yards is $599. All prices are before 13% HST.

Each load size includes a weight allowance, and a full load includes 1,000 kg. Anything over the allowance is $250 per tonne, billed from the scale ticket. Old fridges, freezers and air conditioners carry plus $30 per unit for the refrigerant. Same-day service is plus $50 when the day's schedule allows it.

Send photos of what is going and where it sits, and you get a quote before anyone drives out. Volume is confirmed on site, and the confirmed volume sets the price.

What Durham collects in Pickering, and where it stops

In Pickering, the Region of Durham runs bulky item collection, not the City. Furniture and large items go to the curb by 7 a.m. on your regular biweekly garbage day, and the Region takes up to two items per collection. There is no appointment and the Region's page lists no fee. Mattresses and box springs are on the accepted list, along with couches, loveseats and sectional sofas, chairs, dressers, desks, cribs, headboards, luggage and sports equipment. Anything unacceptable is tagged and left, so you will be bringing it back in.

Metal goods work differently. Fridges, freezers, stoves, washers, dryers, dishwashers, air conditioners, furnaces and hot water tanks are collected by appointment only, with no item limit. Fridges must be empty with the doors removed, freezers need the door removed, and washers and hot water tanks must be drained. Book through the Region's waste app or collection calendar, or call 311.

Garbage itself is capped at four bags or cans every other week, and each one can weigh no more than 20 kg. Pickering sells extra bag tags at $2.50 each or $12.50 for a sheet of five, at City Hall or online. Durham states plainly that it does not collect cabinetry, lumber, drywall, doors, carpet or underlay.

• Two furniture or large items per collection, out by 7 a.m., no appointment
• Metal goods and appliances by appointment, no item limit
• Four garbage bags or cans every other week, 20 kg each, extra bags tagged
• No collection of cabinetry, lumber, drywall, doors, carpet or underlay

Drop-off in Pickering or a pickup

The only waste site in Pickering is the Pickering Private Waste Disposal Facility at 1220 Squires Beach Road, run by a private operator. It is open Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Durham's page says only household hazardous waste is free there on the Region's behalf. Everything else is charged at the operator's rates, which the Region does not publish, so call ahead before you load the vehicle.

The Region's own posted rates are at its Oshawa facility on Ritson Road North: $7 for a load up to 40 kg, then $1.40 for each extra 8 kg, which works out to $175 per 1,000 kg. A 400 kg load of old furniture and boxes is $70 at that rate. Mixed loads are charged for their full weight, fridges and air conditioners carry a $20 fee, and the site takes card or debit only, no cash.

Do the arithmetic against your own morning. If it is one sofa and you can wait for garbage day, the curb costs nothing. If it is a garage, a basement or a whole house, a drive to a scale means loading, lifting and unloading it all yourself. A bin parked on the road or boulevard also needs a City of Pickering road occupancy permit: $175 per street, applied for at least 7 days ahead, with $5,000,000 in liability insurance naming the City. We do not leave a bin on your street, so there is no permit to apply for. If the Region's two-item limit is already used, a single mattress or box spring pickup is $99.

Common jobs by neighbourhood

Pickering's suburbs began in the area around Frenchman's Bay after the Second World War, and Dunbarton is an older village again, established in 1849. In postwar neighbourhoods like Bay Ridges, Frenchman's Bay and Liverpool, garages and basements have had decades to fill. A cleanout there often means tools, shelving, exercise equipment, a deep freezer and a bedroom set or two, which goes well past a two-item curb limit.

In Amberlea, Rougemount and Duffin Heights, a common reason to call is a move. Furniture that does not fit the next place, a sectional with a broken frame, a bunk bed nobody needs. Seaton, in north Pickering, is a large new community. If you are closing on one house and moving into another, tell us the date and we will try to schedule around it.

Pickering City Centre, near the GO station and Pickering Town Centre, has condominium towers with more planned around them. If you live in one, book the freight elevator and loading dock with your property manager first, and tell us which floor and how far the carry is so we can quote it properly.

Yard waste and the seasons

Durham collects yard waste curbside from April to early December, and its waste facilities no longer accept leaf and yard waste at all. Outside that season there is no curbside option, so storm-damaged branches or a broken patio set have nowhere to go until spring. We take those as a regular load. Bagged leaves in season are best left for the Region's free collection.

Heavy loads are easy to underestimate: wet carpet already rolled up from a flooded basement, a sleeper sofa, or a chest freezer. Heavy items count toward the weight allowance, and anything over it is $250 per tonne. Tell us what is in the pile and we will give a price from the photos.

How to book in Pickering

Use the quote form on this site and attach photos. Include your street or neighbourhood, whether the items are in the garage, basement or driveway, and any stairs. We reply with a price. We cannot take paint, propane, chemicals or asbestos. Durham's household hazardous waste depot at the Squires Beach Road facility is free to use for household hazardous waste.

Pickering is outside the City of Toronto, so this page covers junk removal only. We are insured, prices are posted, and the quote is based on the load you show us.