The short answer
Three numbers do most of the work.
- $75 is the minimum for a visit. Nothing costs less than that, no matter how small.
- Per-item flat prices cover anything you can name. A sofa is $126, a queen mattress is $103, a refrigerator is $164, a treadmill is $115.
- The truck-fill ladder covers anything you cannot: quarter $241, three-eighths $338, half $431, five-eighths $513, three-quarters $587, seven-eighths $661, full $732.
You are quoted both ways and you pay the lower one. No estimate visit, no repricing in your driveway in Gahanna.
How the two pricing systems work
Per item is exactly what it sounds like. Every common object has a published number attached to it. You tick the items, the total shows on screen, you book. That is the right system when you can list what is going: two chairs and a mattress, a washer and a dryer, a hot tub.
By volume prices how much of a truck bed the load takes up. A quarter truckload is roughly a small pickup bed piled level. A half is about a single garage bay cleared to the slab. A full truckload is most of a Columbus basement or a two-car garage that has been filling since the kids were small.
That system is right when the job is loose: a basement in Clintonville, a garage in Hilliard, a campus house on the morning after the lease ended.
The crossover, worked out
This is the part that saves real money and nobody does it.
Write your item list, add it up, then look at where the total sits on the ladder. If the item total is above the next rung, book the rung.
Example, Westerville basement. Sofa $126, recliner $98, treadmill $115, TV stand $96, large junk pile $208. That is $126 + $98 + $115 + $96 + $208 = $643. The three-quarter load is $587. Book the three-quarter load.
Example, Grove City bedroom. Queen mattress and box spring set $143, bed frame $68, nightstand $57. That is $143 + $68 + $57 = $268. The nearest rungs are $241 for a quarter and $338 for three-eighths, and a bedroom's worth is more than a quarter load, so itemizing wins.
Example, single item. One standard refrigerator: $164. A quarter load is $241. Itemize, obviously.
The rule of thumb: under about three big items, itemize. Above about six, check the ladder. In between, do the arithmetic.
What the typical Columbus job costs
| Job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| One sofa | $126 |
| Mattress and box spring | $143 |
| Basement laundry pair | $133 + $128 = $261 |
| Single-bay garage, alley-facing | $241 to $338 |
| Attached two-car garage | $431 to $587 |
| Century home basement | $431 to $732 |
| Campus house, end of lease | $431 to $732 |
| Hot tub off a suburban deck | $322 |
| Estate, whole house | Multiple loads at $732 |
What does not change the price in Columbus
Worth listing, because in this market these are the things people expect to be charged for.
- Stairs. A third-floor walk-up on Summit Street, a Clintonville basement with a turn at the landing, a converted attic in Victorian Village. Same price.
- Distance inside the metro. Dublin, Powell, New Albany, Pickerington, Grove City, Canal Winchester. Same published rates as Downtown.
- Access. A narrow brick service alley in German Village, a long carry from an alley garage in Merion Village, a permit-parking block in the Short North.
- Timing. Same-day, evening, weekend. No surcharge.
- Weather. February in central Ohio is not a premium.
- Disposal. Transfer, landfill and recycling are inside the price, not billed after.
What does change it
Only two things: how much there is, and what it is made of.
Weight-dense material has its own prices because it is genuinely its own job. Concrete or masonry debris is $219 per quarter truck. Construction debris is $120. A cast iron bathtub is $185 and a cast iron radiator is $123, both of which turn up constantly in the Italian Village and Olde Towne East rehab cycle.
Appliances are priced individually because they are handled individually, with refrigerant recovered where there is any. Refrigerator $164, side-by-side $183, chest freezer $146, washer $133, dryer $128, water heater $131.
Everything else is volume, and volume is the thing you can actually control by donating and selling first.
How to estimate your own job in five minutes
- Walk every space, including the basement, the garage, the attic and the crawl under the stairs. In Columbus the basement and the garage are always bigger than the walkthrough suggested.
- Write down every large item by name and price it from the list.
- Everything loose, call it a pile: small $82, medium $129, large $208.
- Add it up. Compare to the ladder. Book the lower one.
- Do it all in one visit, because the $75 minimum is per visit, not per item.
Why the price is published at all
Because the alternative is an estimate visit, and an estimate visit is a sales call with a truck attached. You block a window, somebody arrives, and you find out the number while they are standing in your driveway.
Publishing the rates means you can compare against a rental truck and a landfill run, put a real figure in front of a sibling handling an estate in Upper Arlington, or budget a whole season of campus-area turnovers in July. It also means the number does not move because your stairs turned out to be narrow, which in this city they usually are.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum charge for junk removal in Columbus?
$75 per visit. Most single items already cost more than that, so it mainly applies to very small jobs like a lone $30 countertop microwave.
How much is a truckload of junk in Columbus?
A full truckload is $732. The ladder below it runs $241 for a quarter, $338 for three-eighths, $431 for a half, $513 for five-eighths, $587 for three-quarters and $661 for seven-eighths.
Is it cheaper to pay per item or by the truckload?
Whichever is lower for your list, and you should check both. Once your item total passes the next rung on the ladder, the rung is cheaper.
Do you charge more for stairs or for the suburbs?
No. Carry-out from any floor is included, and Dublin, Westerville, New Albany, Hilliard, Grove City and the rest of the metro are on the same published rates as Downtown.
Is disposal included in the price?
Yes. Transfer, landfill and recycling are all inside the flat price, with refrigerant recovered properly on appliances. Nothing is billed afterward.