Heavier Than You Expect
A standard porcelain toilet weighs 60 to 100 pounds. A pedestal sink, 50 to 80 pounds. A cast iron bathtub? 300 to 500 pounds. These are not items you casually toss in the back of your car.
And the weight is only part of the problem. Porcelain is ceramic — it chips, cracks, and creates razor-sharp edges when broken. Cast iron is dense and brittle — drop a cast iron tub on your foot and you're going to the ER. Acrylic and fiberglass fixtures are lighter (a fiberglass tub runs 70 to 100 pounds) but bulky and awkward to maneuver through bathroom doorways that are typically 24 to 28 inches wide.
The toilet is usually the first to go in a bathroom remodel. It's also the one nobody wants to deal with because — well, you know why. It's been a toilet for 20 years. Even after draining and cleaning, it's not something anyone volunteers to carry.
Toilet Disposal Options
Toilets are one of the most commonly replaced plumbing fixtures, and there are several disposal paths:
- Curbside bulky pickup — Most Oregon trash haulers accept toilets as bulky items. Typically $25 to $40 per item. Schedule a pickup and set the toilet at the curb. Remove the wax ring first — nobody wants melted wax ring residue on their driveway in July.
- Transfer station — Porcelain toilets are accepted at Metro transfer stations and county facilities. Some facilities have a dedicated clean fill or ceramics area. Fees are minimal — often under $20.
- Habitat ReStore — Habitat for Humanity ReStore accepts toilets in working condition. If it flushes, doesn't crack, and isn't stained beyond cleaning, someone can use it.
- Junk removal — A junk removal crew takes the toilet along with everything else from the bathroom demo. Most convenient when you're gutting the whole room.
One thing to note: if you're replacing a toilet yourself, don't forget to shut off the water, flush to empty the tank, then sponge out the remaining water in the bowl and tank before moving it. A toilet full of water is 20+ pounds heavier and will slosh all over your hallway.
Cast Iron Bathtubs: Scrap Gold
Here's something most homeowners don't know: that ancient cast iron bathtub you're dying to get rid of has scrap metal value. Cast iron scrap prices in Oregon run $0.03 to $0.08 per pound. A 350-pound tub is worth $10 to $28 at a scrap yard. Not a fortune, but a scrap yard will take it for free — no disposal fee.
The problem is getting it out of the bathroom. A 350-pound cast iron tub doesn't fit through a standard bathroom door in one piece. The two options:
- Break it in place — Seriously. Cover it with a moving blanket (to contain shards), put on eye protection and hearing protection, and hit it with a sledgehammer. Cast iron is brittle and breaks into manageable pieces. Loud, dramatic, satisfying. But flying cast iron shards are dangerous — clear the room of anything breakable and keep bystanders out.
- Remove the door frame — Take off the bathroom door, remove the door casing and trim, and you gain 4 to 6 inches of clearance. Sometimes that's enough to angle the tub through. Sometimes it's not.
Professional crews break cast iron tubs in place routinely. It takes about 15 minutes and produces 4 to 6 manageable chunks that go out in a wheelbarrow.
Sinks: Varies by Material
Sink disposal depends entirely on what it's made of:
- Porcelain/ceramic — Same as toilets. Transfer station, curbside pickup, or donation if in good shape. Not recyclable as scrap.
- Stainless steel — Scrap metal. Clean stainless steel is worth more per pound than cast iron. Remove the drain fittings and faucet hardware (those are often brass — also valuable) and take the sink to a scrap yard.
- Cast iron (farmhouse sinks) — Heavy and valuable as scrap, just like cast iron tubs. A cast iron farmhouse sink weighs 100 to 150 pounds.
- Composite/solid surface (Corian, quartz) — Landfill-bound. No recycling path for these materials. Transfer station as C&D waste.
Vanity tops with integrated sinks add complexity. Granite and quartz vanity tops weigh 100 to 200 pounds and require two people to carry. They're C&D waste — heavy, bulky, and with no recycling option.
What Plumbing Fixture Disposal Costs
| Fixture | Weight | Best Disposal | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toilet | 60 – 100 lbs | Curbside / transfer station | $0 – $40 |
| Pedestal sink (porcelain) | 50 – 80 lbs | Transfer station / donation | $0 – $25 |
| Stainless steel sink | 15 – 40 lbs | Scrap yard | $0 (or small payout) |
| Cast iron bathtub | 300 – 500 lbs | Scrap yard (break first) | $0 (or $10 – $28 payout) |
| Fiberglass/acrylic tub | 70 – 100 lbs | Transfer station | $15 – $35 |
| Full bathroom gut (all fixtures) | 500 – 800 lbs | Professional removal | $200 – $450 |
Remodeling? Handle It All at Once
If you're gutting a bathroom, don't make four separate trips for the toilet, sink, tub, and vanity. Bundle the whole job. A junk removal crew takes everything in one visit — fixtures, tile, drywall, vanity, and all the trim. Get a quote for the full bathroom demo waste and save yourself a weekend of trips to the transfer station.
