What We Take & Won't Take

What we haul away

If it isn't hazardous and it fits in our truck, we can almost certainly take it. Our Cape Girardeau crews regularly remove:

• Furniture: couches, recliners, sofbeds, dressers, tables, chairs, desks, bookshelves
• Mattresses and box springs of every size
• Appliances: refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, stoves, dishwashers, microwaves
• Electronics: TVs, monitors, computers, printers, stereos (we handle the disposal steps the city recycler won't)
• Hot tubs and spas (we drain, cut apart, and haul)
• Yard and garage clutter: tools, lawn equipment, bikes, totes, boxes
• Construction and remodel debris: lumber, drywall, cabinets, flooring, fixtures
• Whole-home volumes: estate, foreclosure, and eviction cleanouts

We separate items for donation and recycling wherever possible - usable furniture and appliances can go to local charities instead of the landfill.

What we can't take

A short list of materials are restricted by law or by the local transfer station and can't ride in our trucks. The City of Cape Girardeau Transfer Station specifically will not accept tires, batteries, motor oil, concrete, railroad ties, automobile parts, pesticides, oil-based paint, or other hazardous materials. Following that, we generally cannot haul:

• Wet/liquid paint, solvents, and chemicals (oil-based paint is a hazardous waste)
• Gasoline, oil, antifreeze, and other automotive fluids
• Pesticides, herbicides, and pool chemicals
• Asbestos and materials containing it
• Medical/biohazard waste, needles, and pharmaceuticals
• Ammunition, explosives, and flammables
• Full propane tanks (empty, valve-removed tanks may be OK - ask us)

Items we handle with special steps

Some things we do take, but they involve extra handling:

• Refrigerators and freezers: the refrigerant must be recovered by a certified tech before disposal.
• TVs and monitors: Cape's electronics recycler does not accept them, so we route them to the transfer station for proper disposal.
• Tires: not accepted at the transfer station; we direct these to a scrap-tire recycler, which charges a per-tire fee.

Where to take the items we can't

For household hazardous waste, watch for the City of Cape Girardeau's periodic grant-funded HHW collection events, offered with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Southeast Missouri Solid Waste Management District. Latex paint can be solidified with cat litter or sand (two parts litter to one part paint) and put in your trash cart; used motor oil is accepted at the city's Fleet Maintenance shop at 2007 Southern Expressway. Batteries, tires, and automotive fluids each have their own drop-off, so keep them separate rather than mixing them into a general junk pile.

We sort so more gets reused

Not everything we load ends up at the landfill. Whenever an item is still usable, we route it to a local charity like the Habitat Cape Area ReStore or the Salvation Army Family Store, and we send metal, cardboard, and eligible electronics to recycling. Diverting reusable furniture and appliances keeps disposal weight - and therefore your cost - down, and it keeps good items out of the transfer station. If you'd like specific items donated, just point them out and we'll set them aside.

Not sure about an item?

When in doubt, just ask. Call or text (573) 266-2040 with a photo and we'll tell you on the spot whether we can take it and roughly what it will cost. If it's something we can't legally haul, we'll point you to the right local drop-off so it still gets handled correctly.