Junk removal costs in Seattle

Seattle Public Utilities will come get your old couch, but it charges per item, and the charge lands on your combined utility bill. The person whose name is on that bill has to be the one who can approve it.

The list covers most of a house: sofas, dressers, cabinets, mattresses and box springs, washers, dryers, stoves, TVs and computers. Each piece has to stay under 300 pounds and 8 feet tall. Fridges and freezers made before 2005 hold CFCs, so SPU puts them in their own, separate category. Take off any door that latches, or tie it shut with rope or duct tape.

Then there's the weather. SPU asks you to cover items set out on rainy days, so here a tarp belongs in the plan.

Electronics have a second route. Through E-Cycle Washington, the state program, you can drop off TVs, computers, laptops, monitors, tablets and e-readers at collection sites around the state. Keyboards, mice and printers aren't part of it, though some participating stores take them. A badly broken old tube TV may get turned away, so call ahead.

The city's service is counted per piece. A few big items fit it well. A whole garage is closer to a truckload, which is how the ranges on this page are counted.