How to get rid of an old water heater in Kansas City

A dead water heater has one thing going for it that almost nothing else in the junk world does: it's mostly steel, and steel is worth money. That flips the usual disposal math. Instead of you paying to get rid of it, most of the routes below are free, and one might hand you a few dollars. Where it goes is the easy part. The stairs between the basement and the truck are the hard part.

The scrap yard: free, and they might pay you

A tank water heater is a glass-lined steel cylinder with copper and brass fittings, and scrap yards want it. In the metro, Langley Recycling (a fourth-generation Kansas City, MO yard that's been buying scrap for over 90 years) and Advantage Metals Recycling both take appliances, no appointment needed for a household drop-off. The payout is small, though. A water heater scraps as light iron, which pays by the hundred pounds, so a typical tank brings a few dollars, not a windfall. The real win is that disposal costs nothing. Prices change daily, so call for the current rate if the payout matters to you.

The zero-effort version: the curb scrapper

Because the metal has value, a water heater set at the curb with a "FREE SCRAP" sign has a way of disappearing, often within hours. Metro scrappers cruise for exactly this. It's a legitimate route. You're just letting someone else make the scrap-yard run. Two caveats: check your city's rules on how long items can sit at the curb, and don't count on it over a weekend of rain, since a rusted-out tank full of water is a lot less attractive than a dry one.

City bulky-item pickup takes them too

Kansas City, MO's bulky-item program explicitly lists water heaters among the appliances it accepts. Unlike a fridge or freezer, there's no refrigerant in a water heater, so no special truck or extra declaration is needed. Schedule through 311 or the city's online bulky scheduler and follow the standard set-out rules; our bulky-item pickup guide covers the item limits and timing. Most suburbs handle appliances similarly through their contracted hauler, so check your city's rules. Just know this route recycles nothing: the tank rides to the landfill.

Replacing it? The installer should haul the old one

If the dead tank is being replaced, disposal is usually already solved: Home Depot's and Lowe's installation services both include haul-away of the old unit in the install, and most independent plumbers will take it too. The one mistake people make is not asking. Some plumbers include haul-away and some add a modest fee, and you want that answer on the quote, not on install day when the old tank is sitting in the driveway.

Whatever the route: drain it first

An empty 40-gallon tank weighs somewhere around 120–150 pounds. Full, it's over 450, and it sloshes. Before any route above, shut off the power at the breaker (electric) or turn the gas valve off (gas), let it cool, connect a garden hose to the drain valve at the bottom, open a hot tap somewhere in the house to break the vacuum, and run the hose to a floor drain. Expect rusty sediment at the end. If capping a gas line is outside your comfort zone, that part is ten minutes for a plumber. Don't guess at it.

Where we fit

We haul water heaters across the KC metro starting at $125, and the price is really about the carry: basement stairs, tight corners, a tank that hasn't moved in twenty years. It needs to be drained and disconnected before we arrive. Honestly, if your tank is already in the garage and you own a truck, the scrap yard is free and we'd tell you so. Where we earn it is the basement.