How to Get Rid of an Old Toilet? 7 Options [2026]

The cheapest option is your city's bulk pickup program — it is free in most municipalities. Schedule a pickup by calling 311 or visiting your city's waste management website. Place the toilet at the curb on the scheduled day. Wait times range from 2-8 weeks depending on demand.

The second cheapest option is donating. If the toilet is in working condition (no cracks, flushes properly), Habitat for Humanity ReStore accepts toilet donations. They resell them for $25-75 to fund affordable housing. Some ReStore locations offer free pickup for large items. Call your local ReStore to check.

If you need it gone today, curbside junk removal is the fastest affordable option. Dropcurb picks up toilets from your curb or driveway for $79 — same-day service, no waiting weeks for bulk pickup.

If your plumber is not handling removal, you can disconnect a toilet yourself in about 30 minutes with basic tools.

Turn off the water supply valve (the knob on the wall behind the toilet). Flush the toilet to empty the tank. Use a sponge or wet vacuum to remove remaining water from the tank and bowl.

Disconnect the water supply line from the fill valve at the bottom of the tank using an adjustable wrench. Have a towel ready — a small amount of water will drip out.

Pop off the bolt caps at the base of the toilet and remove the two floor bolts with a wrench. If the bolts are rusted and will not turn, cut them with a hacksaw or reciprocating saw.

Rock the toilet gently side to side to break the wax seal, then lift straight up. A standard toilet weighs 60-80 pounds. Lift with your legs, not your back. Set it on old towels or a garbage bag to catch the wax ring residue.

Stuff a rag into the open drain pipe immediately to block sewer gas from entering the room. Scrape the old wax ring off the floor flange with a putty knife.

No. Toilets are too large and heavy for regular curbside trash collection. Sanitation workers will leave it on your curb with a rejection sticker.

Toilets are classified as bulky items and require bulk pickup scheduling or self-delivery to a transfer station or landfill. In some cities (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles), you can schedule bulk pickup online in minutes — the wait is the only downside.

Some homeowners break toilets into smaller pieces to fit in regular trash cans. While this technically works in some municipalities, porcelain shatters into dangerously sharp fragments. If you go this route, wrap the toilet in an old blanket or tarp before breaking it with a sledgehammer, wear safety goggles and heavy gloves, and double-bag the pieces in heavy-duty trash bags. Check your city's rules first — some specifically prohibit broken porcelain in regular trash.

Most plumbers include old toilet removal when they install a new one, but the cost varies.

Some plumbers include haul-away in the installation price ($200-500 for a standard toilet swap). Others charge $25-75 extra for disposal. Ask upfront when getting quotes — this is a common hidden charge.

Big-box retailers (Home Depot, Lowe's) include old toilet haul-away with their professional installation packages. The installer removes the old toilet and takes it with them when delivering the new one.

If your plumber does not offer haul-away, ask them to at least set the old toilet by your front door or in the garage. Then book curbside removal with Dropcurb — much easier than wrestling a 70-pound toilet through the house yourself.

Yes, if it is in working condition. Habitat for Humanity ReStore accepts toilets that are clean, uncracked, and fully functional. They resell them to homeowners doing budget renovations.

ReStores are especially interested in low-flow toilets (1.28 gallons per flush or less) since these meet current building codes and are in demand.

Other donation options:

• •Community reuse centers and building material salvage stores
• •Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace (list as "free toilet — working condition")
• •Local contractor groups on Facebook — small contractors and house flippers pick up free working toilets regularly

Toilets with cracks, chips in the bowl, or non-functional flush mechanisms cannot be donated. These must go through disposal channels (bulk pickup, landfill, or junk removal).

Porcelain (vitreous china) is technically recyclable, but very few standard recycling programs accept it. Porcelain does not melt and reform like glass — it gets crushed into aggregate instead.

Some transfer stations and construction debris recycling facilities accept porcelain fixtures. The crushed material is used as road base, drainage fill, or landscaping aggregate.

A creative alternative: Break the toilet into pieces and use the porcelain chunks as drainage material in the bottom of large planters or raised garden beds. Porcelain is inert (it does not leach chemicals) and provides excellent drainage. Some gardeners specifically seek out broken porcelain for this purpose.

If recycling matters to you, call your local transfer station and ask if they separate porcelain fixtures for recycling. Many do but do not advertise it.