Where to take junk yourself in Kansas City (2026 guide)

In the Kansas City metro you can haul junk yourself to Courtney Ridge Landfill in Sugar Creek, the Johnson County Landfill in Shawnee, Lee's Summit's public disposal area on SE Hamblen Road, or a transfer station. Independence and Lenexa residents also get drop-off days, and paint and chemicals go free to the household hazardous waste sites.

If you have a pickup or a trailer and a free morning, most household junk can be hauled yourself. The catch is that every facility in the metro has its own hours, its own payment rule and its own list of things it will turn away at the gate, and several do not publish their prices at all. This is the list we keep in the truck, checked against each facility's own page in September 2026 and again in October 2026. Confirm before you drive; drop-off days move and price sheets change.

Before you go: the four things that send people home

• Payment. Courtney Ridge takes debit or credit cards only, no cash or checks. The Independence Drop-Off Depot is the opposite: cash or a local check only. Bring both.
• Proof of residency. Resident drop-off days and free household-hazardous-waste sites check a driver's license or utility bill at the gate.
• Refrigerant. Fridges, freezers, window units and dehumidifiers need the refrigerant professionally removed, or the facility charges a fee or refuses them. Ask before you load one.
• Tarps. Independence requires loads to be tarped, and it is a ticketable offense on most metro highways to run an uncovered load anyway.

Landfills and transfer stations open to the public

Courtney Ridge Recycling & Disposal Facility (Sugar Creek, MO)

On MO-291 in Sugar Creek, operated by Republic Services, (816) 257-7999. Hours: Monday to Friday, 5:00 AM to 3:30 PM for hand unloads and until 4:00 PM for dump vehicles; Saturday hours are not posted, so call. Cards only. Takes household trash and bulky items. Missouri landfills can't take appliances or tires, so those need a scrap yard or a hauler. Call ahead about mattresses and yard waste. Gate fees are not published online. They are posted at the scale house. Sugar Creek residents get four free permits a year with a paid utility receipt; the permits also need current city utilities and a load from the Sugar Creek address.

Johnson County Landfill (Shawnee, KS)

17955 Holliday Drive, Shawnee, operated by Waste Management, 913-631-3300. Monday to Friday 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Saturday 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM, closed Sunday. Credit or debit card. Takes household waste, construction and demolition debris, tires, yard waste and mattresses; no hazardous waste, and appliances containing freon carry a fee. Rates are not published online, so call for the minimum charge. Shawnee residents get one free load a year with the city's voucher (car, truck or trailer up to 5 by 10 feet, proof of residency required); the voucher comes in the city's February "All Things Hometown" newsletter.

Lee's Summit Resource Recovery Park

The city's public disposal area is run by Summit Transfer at 2011 SE Hamblen Road (816-287-2221). Call for current hours, what they take and prices; they aren't posted on the city's site. Call to confirm whether they take loads from non-residents. The same campus hosts a permanent household hazardous waste facility.

Transfer stations that may take a residential load

Mark II Transfer Station at 6709 E US-40 handles construction and demolition debris. It doesn't post public hours or residential rates, so call before you go. The Olathe Transfer Station at 1681 S Valley Road (913-971-5175) posts Monday to Friday 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Saturday 7:00 AM to noon, but doesn't say plainly whether walk-in residential loads are welcome or what they cost, so call first there too.

Resident drop-off days: cheaper, but you have to live there

Independence Drop-Off Depot

875 S Vista Avenue, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The 2026 season ended October 10. It runs the second Saturday of each month, April through October; check independencemo.gov in the spring. Independence residents only, residential loads only, driver's license or utility bill at the gate, and the load must be tarped. Cash or local check. Posted fees per vehicle: car $30, pickup, van or SUV $40, trailer up to 8 feet $50, trailer over 8 feet $60, appliances $20 each, tires $5 each for fewer than five. If both the vehicle and a trailer carry items, you pay for both. Batteries and lawn mowers are free. It takes refuse, furniture, mattresses, carpet, appliances, brush (limbs, bushes, stumps), tires, bricks, shingles and fencing. It refuses bagged leaves, grass and other yard waste, plus TVs, monitors, paint, cleaners, drain openers, pool chemicals, pesticides, fertilizer, antifreeze, gas tanks, propane and sealed drums.

Lenexa Dumpster Days

Lenexa holds Dumpster Days two weekends a year (in 2026, April 11-12 and October 3-4) at 7700 Cottonwood Street, for Lenexa residents with a license or utility bill. 2027 dates aren't posted yet; check lenexa.com. Car $20, SUV $25, small trailer $30, pickup $40, tandem trailer $50, box truck $50 to $75. Furniture and mattresses go in with no per-item fee. Tires $5, monitors $20, TVs $35, appliances with freon $75. Pay by cash, check (with your driver's license number), or Visa, MasterCard or Discover. No household trash, hazardous waste, propane or fluorescent tubes.

Two more worth knowing: Shawnee residents get the landfill voucher above, and Raytown, which has no city trash service, sells four Clean-Up Coupons per household per year at City Hall (10000 E 59th Street) for $5 each, worth $25 toward a bulky pickup with GFL (no hazardous waste or appliances).

The special streams that are free

Household hazardous waste goes to the Kansas City Environmental Campus at 4707 Deramus Avenue: Thursday and Friday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Saturday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, no appointment (call first if you have more than 600 pounds), free with proof of residency for Kansas City and more than 30 participating cities and counties, including Independence, Blue Springs, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Sugar Creek, Grain Valley, Liberty and Gladstone. It takes paint, motor oil, batteries, fluorescent tubes, cleaners and lawn chemicals, and refuses tires, appliances and electronics. Johnson County residents use the county facility at 11231 Mastin Street in Overland Park, appointment only, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM (closed noon to 1); book at hhwscheduler.jocogov.org or 913-715-6900. Our household hazardous waste guide has the full accept and refuse lists.

Leaves and brush go to the three Missouri Organic yards the city contracts: 7700 E US-40, 11660 N Main Street and 10301 Raytown Road, Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Free for Kansas City residents on Saturdays with a city ID or utility bill; otherwise $2 a bag, $10 a cubic yard for brush and $7 a cubic yard for lawn debris. No stumps with dirt, brush over 10 feet, timbers, building materials, plastic bags or rock. Free Saturdays pause after December 12, 2026 and resume March 13, 2027. More in the yard waste guide.

Tires: the city's waste tire drop-off at 4707 Deramus runs the first and third Saturdays from March through November, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at $1.50 cash per rimless car tire and more for rims, large tires or muddy ones. Check the city page for the current schedule. The tire disposal guide covers the rest of the metro.

When hauling it yourself stops making sense

Self-haul wins when the load is one kind of thing, you own the truck, and the facility is open when you are. It loses when the pile is mixed. A typical garage cleanout has a mattress, a TV, a can of paint, a broken recliner and a dead fridge in it. That is five different rules, three facilities and at least two trips, and the depot will refuse two of the items at the gate. That is the job we exist for: one truck, one trip, the sorting and the disposal fees included in a written quote. See how our pricing works, and use the free routes above for everything that fits them.