Every one of these items has its own disposal rules in Nanaimo, which is exactly why they end up living in garages. Here is the honest route for each: haul it yourself, donate it, or have it carried out.
Mattresses and box springs
Curbside collection does not take them, and the Nanaimo Regional Landfill charges a per unit surcharge on top of the tipping fee because each one has to be broken down by hand. A clean, structurally sound mattress can sometimes be donated, though acceptance is always the charity's call.
We pick up from inside the house, any size: a queen runs about $135, a king about $150, and a box spring added to the same pickup about $75. The mattress removal page has the rest.
Couches and furniture
Good furniture deserves a second home first: clean, sound pieces can go to local charities, and that is the first thing we check on every furniture job. Past that point, the landfill charges by weight, and a sofa bed is heavier than it looks.
Our furniture removal starts at the $125 minimum for a single piece, from any room of the house.
Fridges and freezers
The refrigerant has to come out before the metal can be recycled, so a fridge cannot just go to scrap, and the landfill charges extra per refrigerant unit. Unplug it and defrost the freezer the day before if you can.
We take fridges, freezers and AC units to an appropriate facility for proper handling. See appliance removal.
TVs and electronics
Electronics are the one category with a genuinely free do it yourself route: BC's regulated recycling program takes TVs and electronics at depot drop offs at no charge. The catch is the lifting, the wall mount, and the carload of cables that comes with them.
We take the whole lot in one trip, off the wall and out of the cabinet, through the electronics recycling service.
Hot tubs
A hot tub is project on its own: disconnect, drain over a thousand litres, cut the shell into liftable sections, then several trips. Most people call at the point the reciprocating saw enters the plan.
Our hot tub removal typically runs $500 to $675, with roughly $100 per seat as a rule of thumb, and the price depends most on accessibility, size and the work the site requires.
Pianos
An upright weighs 200 to 300 kilograms with most of it in a cast iron plate mounted high, which is why piano injuries are a moving day classic. This is not a two friends and a pickup truck job.
We move them on a 1,500 pound capacity four wheel dolly with a crew that has done it before. Piano removal typically runs $500 to $600 for an upright.
The do it yourself math
For one clean load you can lift, the dump is the cheap option. The math turns once you add a truck or trailer rental, fuel, tipping fees and surcharges, a tarp, and the Saturday itself, multiplied by the separate stops for donation, electronics and scrap.
Click the Get a free estimate button below and send the details through the request form. Same-day or next-day service may be available depending on our schedule, your location and the size and scope of the job.