Short answer: inside Dothan city limits, appliances count as bulk items in the city’s weekly trash collection, so a refrigerator can go out in your curbside trash pile. Refrigerant is the part people miss: federal rules put it on whoever disposes of the appliance last, and the EPA warns that curbside appliances can end up handled unsafely. Here is how the city service works, what the EPA says, and the other options.
What the City of Dothan picks up
The City of Dothan Environmental Services Division runs weekly garbage, recycling and trash collection for residential customers. Trash is the curbside service, and it covers yard waste and bulk items such as furniture and appliances.
- Place items at the curb, not in the street.
- Keep the pile neatly stacked, with room for the boom truck.
- One pile per residence. Excessively large piles may not be collected.
- Not accepted: construction or demolition debris, tires and commercial waste.
Questions go to Environmental Services at (334) 615-3820, Monday to Thursday, 6:00 AM to 4:30 PM. If you live outside city limits, check with the Houston County Sanitation Department at 334-793-5442.
The refrigerant question
Refrigerators and freezers hold refrigerant. Under EPA rules for appliance disposal, the final disposer of an appliance is responsible for recovering any refrigerant in it. If someone else recovers it earlier, the EPA requires a signed statement with that person’s name and address and the date of recovery.
The EPA also suggests a few routes for households:
- Ask your electric utility whether it runs a rebate or bounty program for old appliances, and check its rules on size, age and condition.
- Ask the store whether it hauls the old unit away when it delivers a new one.
- Ask your city or county how they handle appliances, since some require refrigerant removal first.
- Use a recycler or another program that schedules collection, rather than leaving the unit out. The EPA notes that appliances left curbside might be landfilled or otherwise disposed of unsafely.
Before it leaves the house
- Empty it and unplug it a day early so the freezer can defrost and drain.
- Take the doors off. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advises removing doors from old refrigerators so children cannot get trapped inside. If a door will not come off, it suggests chaining and padlocking it shut.
- Leave the shelves in. CPSC says shelves discourage children from climbing inside.
- Measure doorways and stairs before moving it, and get a second person or a dolly.
Your options at a glance
| Option | Works best when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| City curbside trash | You live inside Dothan city limits and can wait for your trash day | One neat pile, at the curb, not in the street |
| Store haul away | You are buying a new refrigerator | Ask before delivery day whether it is offered |
| Utility or recycling program | A program exists in your area | Size, age or condition rules |
| A junk hauler | It is upstairs, in a garage, outside city limits, or one of several items | Ask how the refrigerant is handled |
When a hauler makes sense
A hauler is worth it when the refrigerator is upstairs or in a tight spot, when it is part of a bigger cleanout, when you are outside city limits, or when it cannot sit at the curb until trash day. Junk Pickup Dothan passes requests to an independent local hauler, who quotes the job. See appliance removal in Dothan, or the Dothan garbage and landfill guide for the rest of the city’s rules.
Get a Free Junk Removal Quote in Dothan
Tell us what needs to go. Your request goes to an independent local hauler, who contacts you with a quote. Junk Pickup Dothan does not do the hauling itself.