Junk Removal Georgetown & SoDo
Junk Removal in
Georgetown & SoDo
Seattle's industrial belt (98108, 98134) — brick warehouses, breweries, artist lofts, distribution floors and stadium-district offices. A whole space clears for a flat $241–$732 by truck-fill; construction debris is $120 a cubic yard, metal shelving $95, a conference table $149, and the minimum is $100. The city's bulky-item program doesn't serve businesses at all. We do.
The oldest neighborhood in Seattle, still working
Georgetown was settled in 1851 — it is Seattle's oldest neighborhood, and it never stopped being a working one. Worker cottages sit a block from brick warehouses; a brewery operates next to a machine shop; the Equinox building alone houses roughly 150 artists in studio space. Push north across the tracks and you're in SoDo, which is not mixed-use at all: it's warehouse, distribution, Port-adjacent logistics and the two stadiums.
That means the junk-removal problem down here is fundamentally different from the rest of the city. Nobody is clearing a basement. Someone is decommissioning pallet racking after a lease ends, pulling dead inventory that's been on the mezzanine for four years, hauling demo debris from a tenant improvement, stripping a brewery or restaurant of equipment after a concept closes, or turning over an artist studio between tenants. All of it is commercial — and commercial is precisely what the city's municipal option doesn't cover.
How a commercial clear-out works here
1 · Send photos
Shoot the racking run, the debris pile, the studio, the office floor. A flat price comes back in seconds — no walkthrough appointment and no "we'll quote on site" after you've already lost the morning.
2 · Pick a window
Tell us the dock, the roll-up door, the building access hours, and whether there's a game. We schedule around event traffic — early, late, or on a quiet day.
3 · We load & source-separate
Insured crew, our labor. Metal to scrap, clean wood separated, e-waste diverted, the genuine remainder tipped. Invoice matches the quote.
How much does junk removal cost in Georgetown & SoDo?
Whole spaces price by truck-fill — how much of the truck the load actually occupies — and individual pieces and debris price flat. Loading and disposal are inside both numbers, which is the part that matters when the alternative is your own staff, a rented van and a gate fee you can't predict.
| Job / item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Truck-fill — 2/8 (quarter) | $241 |
| Truck-fill — 3/8 | $338 |
| Truck-fill — 4/8 (half) | $431 |
| Truck-fill — 5/8 | $513 |
| Truck-fill — 6/8 | $587 |
| Truck-fill — 7/8 | $661 |
| Truck-fill — 8/8 (full truck) | $732 |
| Construction / demo debris — per cubic yard | $120 |
| Loose pile — large | $208 |
| Metal shelving unit | $71 |
| Storage cabinet | $74 |
| Filing cabinet (large) | $75 |
| Desk (standard) | $83 |
| Conference table | $260 |
| Commercial copier | $97 |
| Gas range / oven | $137 |
| Range hood | $53 |
| Chest freezer | $146 |
| Storage unit — 10×20, emptied | $1,174 |
$100 minimum on any job. Loading, carry and disposal included. A studio turnover or a small office FF&E clear typically lands at 2/8–4/8 ($241–$431); a racking decommission or a full warehouse corner usually runs 6/8–8/8 ($587–$732) per truck, and large jobs simply run multiple trucks at the same published tiers — no mystery multiplier. A small WA refuse tax may apply on the disposal portion.
Third-party context: Homeyou and Yelp Costs put the average Seattle junk-removal job at roughly $253–$325, and 1-800-GOT-JUNK's full truck is commonly cited at $700–$1,000 — quoted only after an on-site estimate. See the full Seattle price guide →
4 ways a Georgetown or SoDo business clears a space
| Option | Cost | Speed | The catch for a commercial tenant |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPU special-items pickup | — | — | Not available. The $30-per-item program is residential only; a warehouse, brewery or studio cannot use it at any price |
| Self-haul to SPU South station (8105 5th Ave S) | ~$35 min/trip ≤420 lb · ~$165/ton published (a 2025 study cited ~$234.80/ton commercial — ⚠ confirm) | Same day, if you have a truck and a driver | Your staff, your vehicle, your loading hours, and multiple trips for a racking run |
| Self-haul to King County Bow Lake (Tukwila) | $243.38/ton · $40.25 min load · +$25 unsecured load | Same day | Same labor problem, plus the unsecured-load fee if the tarp job isn't right |
| Roll-off dumpster | Container + haul + placement | Days on site | Occupies a dock or a parking bay for days, and your crew still loads it by hand |
| JunkRabbit | $241–$732 truck-fill · $120/yd debris · $100 min | Often same day; after-hours available | None — flat photo price, our crew loads, source-separated and invoiced |
Municipal figures are published SPU and King County Solid Waste rates (SPU's self-haul page is dated 4/1/2023 — confirm the current commercial gate rate before you load). Ours are flat and photo-quoted with the labor included.
Does Seattle pick up bulky items for businesses in Georgetown?
No — and this is the single most important thing to understand about commercial clear-outs in this neighborhood. Seattle Public Utilities' special-items collection is a residential program. It serves households on residential garbage service at $30 per item, by appointment, curbside only, on your next regular garbage day. Details are at seattle.gov/specialitems. If you operate a warehouse, a brewery, a restaurant, a machine shop or an artist studio, that door is closed to you entirely. There is no commercial version of it, no premium tier you can pay into. The homeowner's fallback simply doesn't exist for a business tenant.
What exists instead is self-haul at commercial rates. The nearest facility is SPU's South Recycling & Disposal Station at 8105 5th Ave S, right in the neighborhood, publishing roughly $35 minimum per trip (up to 420 lb) and about $165 per ton — but that page is dated 4/1/2023 and a 2025 study cited a commercial rate around $234.80 per ton, so ⚠ confirm the current gate rate before you build a budget on it. South of the line, King County's Bow Lake station in Tukwila charges $243.38 per ton with a $40.25 minimum load and a $25 unsecured-load fee if your load isn't properly covered. Either way, you're supplying the truck, the driver, the loading labor and the trips.
There's a compliance layer on top of the cost. Under SMC 21.36, Seattle bans recyclables, yard waste, food scraps and compostable paper from the garbage and requires source separation — cardboard, wood, metal and yard waste kept out of the garbage stream. A load more than roughly 10% contaminated earns a violation tag instead of a collection. That is exactly what happens when a shop pushes cardboard, banding, broken pallets, scrap lumber and shrink wrap into one pile and sends an employee to the gate with it. Sorting isn't optional here, and a hauler who doesn't sort is handing the problem back to you.
What we clear out in Georgetown & SoDo
- Warehouse racking & dead inventory — pallet racking, wire decking, mezzanine shelving, workbenches, broken pallets, obsolete stock.
- Construction & demolition debris — tenant-improvement tear-out, framing offcuts, drywall, old fixtures and flooring (clean, non-hazardous), priced at $120 a cubic yard or by truck-fill.
- Brewery & restaurant equipment — ranges, hoods, chest freezers, prep tables, shelving, kegs and dead walk-in panels, with stainless routed to scrap.
- Artist-studio turnover — old canvases and frames, kiln shelving, scrap steel and wood, half-finished work and the accumulated material of a studio lease that's ending.
- Office FF&E — desks, conference tables, filing and storage cabinets, task chairs, copiers, cubicle panels.
- E-waste — monitors, desktops, laptops and TVs, which are banned from Washington garbage and go to the state E-Cycle stream rather than the tip floor.
- Storage units & overflow — a 10×20 emptied at $1,174, or whatever's left when a lease ends and the unit has to be handed back broom-clean.
Where a Georgetown load actually goes
On an industrial load, sorting is not a green talking point — it's most of the economics. Garbage tips at a published $243.38 a ton at King County; clean wood runs about $115; scrap metal is a commodity rather than a fee; and electronics are diverted rather than dumped. A truck that goes to the gate pre-sorted costs less and complies with SMC 21.36 at the same time.
- Steel racking, shelving and equipment go to metal recycling — diverted for scrap, not landfilled. This is usually the largest single fraction of a warehouse job.
- Clean wood is separated — pallets, crating, framing offcuts and dunnage, tipped at roughly $115 a ton instead of the $243.38 garbage rate.
- Cardboard and other recyclables come off the load — the exact fractions the ordinance requires you to keep out of the garbage.
- Office electronics route to WA E-Cycle, which recycles covered TVs, monitors, laptops and desktops at no charge for eligible drop-offs — they're banned from the garbage regardless.
- Usable furniture is offered for donation — Evergreen Goodwill, the Salvation Army (1-800-SA-TRUCK) and Habitat for Humanity ReStore take serviceable desks, chairs and cabinets. Receipt on request.
- The genuine remainder is tipped at the South station on 5th Ave S or Bow Lake in Tukwila, tarped and secured — which also avoids the county's $25 unsecured-load fee.
Docks, roll-up doors and game days
Access down here is industrial, which mostly makes our life easier — a dock height or a roll-up door beats a third-floor walk-up any day. What complicates it is timing. SoDo sits between two stadiums, and on an event afternoon 1st Ave S and 4th Ave S back up, parking evaporates and a truck that should take twenty minutes to stage takes an hour. So we schedule around it: early morning before the gates open, evening after load-in, or a non-event day entirely. Tell us the date you need and we'll tell you honestly whether the traffic makes another window smarter.
The Georgetown side has its own quirks. The brick warehouse and loft stock is old — freight elevators that predate the tenants, narrow interior stairs in converted studio buildings, tight alley approaches behind buildings on Airport Way. A studio on an upper floor of a converted warehouse is a carry job, not a dock job, and we plan crew size for it. Buildings that want a vendor certificate of insurance on file before anything moves get one; our crews are insured and vetted, and paperwork requests from a property manager aren't a delay.
One more practical note: we load, we don't disconnect. Gas ranges, hood systems and hardwired equipment need a licensed trade to disconnect first. Once it's disconnected and free-standing, it's ours to carry.
When Georgetown & SoDo call us
- Lease end on a warehouse bay. Racking down, floor swept, unit handed back on time.
- Dead-inventory purge. Four years of obsolete stock off the mezzanine, sorted so the cardboard and metal don't get tipped as garbage.
- Tenant-improvement demo. The old build-out hauled so the contractor isn't working around a debris pile — $120 a cubic yard or by truck-fill.
- A concept closes. Brewery or restaurant equipment, shelving and FF&E cleared quickly and quietly.
- Studio turnover at the Equinox and its neighbors. One artist out, the next one in, in a single afternoon.
- Office downsize or consolidation. Desks, conference tables, filing cabinets and copiers out; usable pieces donated with a receipt.
Why Georgetown & SoDo businesses choose JunkRabbit
- We serve commercial, full stop. The city's $30-per-item program doesn't. Everything on this page is priced for a business tenant, not a household.
- A number before we arrive. Photo-quoted and flat, so a facilities budget doesn't depend on an on-site estimator's judgment — the franchise model quotes only after a visit.
- Our labor, not your staff. Loading a racking run or a debris pile is what the price buys; your people stay on their actual jobs.
- Source-separated for SMC 21.36. Metal, clean wood, cardboard and e-waste come off the load — no contaminated-load violation tags, and a cheaper tip.
- Scheduled around the stadiums. After-hours and early-morning windows so a game day doesn't cost you the clear-out.
- The tax is named correctly. Washington's ~10.35% retail sales tax doesn't apply to this service; a 3.6% state Refuse/Solid Waste Collection Tax (RCW 82.18) rides on disposal and may appear as a small line on the invoice.
What Georgetown customers say
"Cleared the studio and old office furniture in one quote, e-waste recycled. Fast and fair."
"Warehouse turnover — whole space cleared same-day, flat truck-fill price. Professional."
"Loft move-out, furniture and mattress gone in an afternoon. Easy and fair."
Georgetown & SoDo questions, answered
How much does it cost?
Truck-fill for spaces: $241 (2/8), $338, $431 (half), $513, $587, $661, $732 (full). Flat line items: construction debris $120/cubic yard, large loose pile $208, metal shelving $71, storage cabinet $74, large filing cabinet $75, desk $83, conference table $149, commercial copier $97, gas range $131, range hood $53, chest freezer $146, 10×20 storage unit $1,174. $100 minimum, loading and disposal included.
Can my business use Seattle's $30-per-item pickup?
No. SPU's special-items collection is residential only — curbside, by appointment, for households. A warehouse, brewery, restaurant or studio can't use it at any price. See seattle.gov/specialitems.
Where does commercial waste go instead?
SPU's South station at 8105 5th Ave S (~$35 min/trip ≤420 lb, ~$165/ton published, page dated 4/1/2023; a 2025 study cited ~$234.80/ton commercial — ⚠ confirm), or King County's Bow Lake in Tukwila at $243.38/ton with a $40.25 minimum and a $25 unsecured-load fee. Our quote covers it.
Do you take racking and pallets?
Yes — pallet racking, wire decking, mezzanine shelving, workbenches, broken pallets. Steel goes to scrap recycling, not the tip floor.
Can you come after hours or around a game?
Yes. Event traffic makes SoDo dock access unpredictable, so early-morning, evening and non-event-day windows are normal for us.
Does the recycling ban apply to us?
Yes — SMC 21.36 requires source separation of cardboard, wood, metal and yard waste, and a load over ~10% contaminated gets tagged. We sort on the truck; clean wood tips near $115/ton against $243.38 for garbage.
Do you disconnect equipment?
No — gas, hood and hardwired equipment needs a licensed trade to disconnect. Once it's free-standing we carry it out.
Is there sales tax on it?
Not the ~10.35% retail rate. A 3.6% state Refuse/Solid Waste Collection Tax (RCW 82.18) applies to the disposal portion and may appear on the invoice.
More around Georgetown & SoDo
Frequently asked questions
How much does commercial junk removal cost in Georgetown and SoDo?
Whole spaces price by truck-fill: $241 for a quarter load (2/8), $338 for 3/8, $431 for a half (4/8), $513 for 5/8, $587 for 6/8, $661 for 7/8 and $732 for a full truck. Line items are flat — construction and demo debris $120 per cubic yard, a large loose pile $208, metal shelving $71, storage cabinet $74, large filing cabinet $75, desk $83, conference table $149, commercial copier $97, gas range $131, range hood $53, chest freezer $146, and a 10x20 storage unit emptied at $1174. The minimum on any job is $100, loading and disposal included. For outside context, Homeyou and Yelp Costs put the average Seattle junk-removal job at roughly $253 to $325, while 1-800-GOT-JUNK's full truck is commonly cited at $700 to $1,000 and is quoted only after an on-site estimate.
Does Seattle's $30-per-item bulky pickup work for a business?
No. Seattle Public Utilities' special-items collection is a residential program — it serves households on residential garbage service, at $30 per item, by appointment, curbside only. A warehouse, brewery, restaurant or artist studio cannot use it at any price, which is why the entire municipal option that homeowners rely on simply does not exist for commercial tenants in Georgetown and SoDo. Program details are at seattle.gov/specialitems.
Can you work after hours or around stadium events?
Yes, and in SoDo it is often the only sensible way to do it. Event traffic around the stadiums turns 1st Ave S and 4th Ave S into a parking lot and makes dock access unpredictable, so we schedule loads early, late, or on a non-event day. Tell us the dock or roll-up door and any building access window and we will plan the truck around it.
Do you take warehouse racking and pallets?
Yes. Pallet racking, mezzanine shelving, wire decking, workbenches, conveyor sections, dead inventory and broken pallets are standard Georgetown and SoDo loads. Steel racking is pulled for scrap metal recycling rather than tipped, which keeps it out of the per-ton garbage fee entirely.
Where does commercial waste go if not to the city bulky program?
To a transfer station, at commercial rates. SPU's South Recycling and Disposal Station at 8105 5th Ave S is the closest, publishing roughly $35 minimum per trip up to 420 lb and about $165 per ton — although that page is dated 4/1/2023 and a 2025 study cited a commercial rate around $234.80 per ton, so confirm the current gate rate before you load. King County's Bow Lake station in Tukwila charges $243.38 per ton with a $40.25 minimum load and a $25 unsecured-load fee. We carry that cost inside the flat quote.
Does Seattle's recycling ban apply to a business load?
Yes. Under SMC 21.36 recyclables, yard waste, food scraps and compostable paper are banned from the garbage, and businesses must source-separate cardboard, wood, metal and yard waste. A load more than roughly 10 percent contaminated gets a violation tag rather than a collection — which is exactly what happens when a shop sweeps cardboard, scrap lumber, banding and broken pallets into one pile. We separate on the truck, which is both the compliant answer and the cheaper one, since clean wood tips near $115 a ton against $243.38 for garbage.
Do you clear brewery and restaurant equipment?
Yes — Georgetown is a brewery and food-production neighborhood, and equipment turns over constantly. Gas ranges at $131, range hoods at $53, chest freezers at $146, prep tables, shelving, kegs, fermenters and dead walk-in panels all haul out, with stainless and other metal routed to scrap recycling. Tell us if anything needs disconnecting first, since we do not do gas or electrical disconnects.
Is there sales tax on junk removal in Washington?
Not the roughly 10.35 percent retail rate — it does not apply to this service. Washington instead charges a 3.6 percent state Refuse/Solid Waste Collection Tax (RCW 82.18) on the disposal portion, which may appear as a small line on the invoice.
Ready to Clear It Out in Georgetown & SoDo?
Send a photo of what is going and we will come back with one flat price — carry-out, hauling and disposal in it. Same-day is often open in Georgetown & SoDo.
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