How to get rid of old appliances in Providence

The short answer

Providence's free bulky-item pickup takes refrigerators, stoves, washers and dryers, water heaters and air conditioners from buildings with six or fewer units, scheduled with Waste Management at least 24 hours before your trash day. For appliances in basements, upper floors or larger buildings, a flat-price pickup is washer $133, dryer $128, electric range $134, gas range $137, tank water heater $131 and dishwasher $109.

What the city program covers

The City of Providence names these large appliances in its free bulky-item program: refrigerators, stoves, washer-dryers, water heaters and air conditioners. There is no extra fee for them. The same rules apply as for furniture: six or fewer units in the building, schedule 24 hours before trash day, set out no earlier than the night before.

Electronics are a separate category. Rhode Island bans e-waste, such as TVs, monitors and laptops, from the trash, and Providence handles them through a free Waste Management e-waste pickup by appointment and RIRRC collection events. Microwaves and small kitchen appliances are worth checking on the city's page before you set them out.

If your building has seven or more units, none of this applies. The city does not provide trash service to those buildings, so appliance disposal falls to the owner or a private hauler.

Using the free pickup, step by step

1. Check your building. Count the units. Six or fewer qualifies; seven or more does not.
2. Book it. Schedule with Waste Management online or at 1-800-972-4545, at least 24 hours before your regular trash day.
3. Prepare the appliance. Disconnect water and gas lines, drain water heaters and washers, and empty and defrost any fridge or freezer.
4. Move it out. Get it to the curb no earlier than the night before. This is the step the program leaves to you.
5. Keep it tidy. Leave it upright, off the travel lane and away from parked cars.

If you can manage step four, the city route costs nothing. If the appliance is a water heater at the bottom of a cellar stair, or a washer on a third-floor back porch in Smith Hill, step four is the entire job, and that is where a carry-out pickup earns its price.

Where Providence appliances actually live

In much of Providence, the washer and dryer are not in the kitchen. They are in the basement, shared by every unit in a triple-decker, or on a back porch closet off the second or third floor. Water heaters are almost always in the basement, beside the furnace, at the bottom of a steep wooden stair with a low beam at the top.

That is the real work. Lifting a washer onto a dolly in a garage is easy. Carrying a tank water heater up a narrow basement stair in Olneyville or Elmwood, without catching the beam or the railing, is a two-person job that people get hurt doing.

Gas ranges add one more step. The gas line has to be shut off and disconnected properly before anyone moves the stove. Have a plumber or your gas utility do that part.

Flat prices for large appliances

Carry-out from any floor or basement is included, and there is no stairs fee. Disposal is included in each price. The minimum order is $100.

Worked examples

Washer and dryer from a shared triple-decker basement in Pawtucket. $133 + $128 = $261.

Kitchen remodel in Cranston: fridge, gas range and dishwasher. $164 + $137 + $109 = $410.

Basement after a heating upgrade in Warwick: old furnace and tank water heater. $131 + $131 = $262.

A single countertop microwave. $30 on the list, so on its own it bills at the $100 minimum. Add a dehumidifier from the same basement and it is $30 + $77 = $107.

These are the prices you see before booking. They only change if you approve a change, for example if you add an item on the day.

Outside the Providence city line

The free program described above is the City of Providence's. The towns around it run their own systems, and the details matter. Cranston holds periodic free bulky-waste pickups as events rather than an on-demand service, so an appliance can wait months for the next date. East Providence handles bulk items through its contractor, MEGA Disposal; check the city's public works page for the current rules before you set anything out.

For Warwick, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, North Providence, Johnston and the Massachusetts towns such as Fall River, New Bedford and Attleboro, look up your own town's page or call public works. Rules on appliances, fees and scheduling vary.

The flat prices here are the same across the whole service area, from the Blackstone Valley to the SouthCoast and Connecticut's Quiet Corner. A fridge and a stove from a kitchen in Seekonk cost $164 + $134 = $298, the same as on the East Side.

Old basements and oil tanks

Older homes across Rhode Island and the Massachusetts SouthCoast sometimes still have oil equipment in the basement, or a tank left behind after a conversion. Those are specialized jobs. An empty oil tank is $461 and a tank that still has oil in it is $847, because of the extra handling.

Cast iron radiators also come out of old houses during renovations. They are extremely heavy for their size. A cast iron radiator is $123.

If you have anything that might contain hazardous material beyond normal appliance refrigerant or oil, such as old chemicals stored beside the boiler, mention it when you book. Hazardous waste is handled case by case, so ask. RIRRC runs Eco-Depot collection events for household hazardous waste.

Before the crew arrives

• Shut off and disconnect water lines to washers, dishwashers and water heaters. Drain the water heater if you can.
• Have a professional disconnect any gas line.
• Empty and defrost refrigerators and freezers.
• Clear the basement path: move stored boxes away from the stair and check the overhead beam.
• Take photos of each appliance and its route out for the instant quote.

Same-day pickup is available when you book by 4 PM, and you choose a two-hour arrival window. For more on who else collects appliances, see who picks up old appliances in Providence.

Frequently asked questions