Two refrigerators on two Auburndale patios. One has had its refrigerant recovered, and the other has not. They weigh the same, they load the same, and at the county scale they are billed on two different lines at close to double the rate.
Polk County's Published Tonnage, and What Each Line Means on a Driveway
Those are the county's published figures as of September 2026, on a schedule that includes a stated 5% annual increase for the next 5 years. The county's own page is the live answer, and it is worth checking before you plan around a number.
The spread is the argument
Separated scrap metal and a drained white good sit on the lowest material lines there. Mixed household waste and construction debris sit at close to double them. A trailer loaded carefully and one loaded quickly can hold the same objects but settle differently at the window.
What Donny Is Doing While the Trailer Fills
Metal out first
Appliance carcasses, bed frames, patio furniture, the swing set, the old water heater. Metal that is separated is metal on the scrap line. Metal thrown in with the couch is part of a mixed load and is billed as one.
Yard material kept clean or given up on
A clean yard-trash load sits on the lowest line in the table. One bag of household waste in it and the whole trailer stops being a yard-trash load. On a mixed job, Donny says at the estimate whether keeping it clean is realistic, or whether it goes in mixed and gets priced that way.
The appliance question, asked before the truck arrives
Auburndale includes appliances and white goods in its own code definitions, naming discarded refrigerators, ranges, water heaters, freezers, and other similar domestic and commercial large appliances, and then separates tires and appliances from trash and charges separately for them. Whether a sealed unit has been evacuated is a question with a real number behind it, and it is worth knowing before the trailer is loaded rather than after.
And the hot tub, which is its own problem
A hot tub is bulky rather than dense. The shell, the cabinet, and the equipment pack all behave differently, and getting it out of a backyard is usually the harder half. Cut down on site, loaded by machine, and out through the side gate. The Kubota SCL1000 mini skid steer measures 36 inches across and runs at about 4 psi ground pressure, so on most lots it reaches a fenced backyard without a panel coming out or rutting the lawn on the way through.
One Site, Two Gates
Polk County operates its landfill and transfer station on the same site, with separate entrances for residents and commercial haulers, and says the reason is to keep large commercial vehicles away from smaller personal ones. The transfer station is on the north side of the landfill off K-Ville, and its address places it within Auburndale's ZIP code.
Residents go in one gate with a car, a small truck, or a utility or enclosed trailer. Commercial haulers go in the other, with the load covered and secured. Same destination for the material, different door and a different account, and the county's own hours for the scale are weekdays and Saturday mornings rather than every day.
That last point is worth planning around. A Sunday clear-out fills the trailer; the trailer empties on Monday.
Four Answers Worth Having First
Can I take it to K-Ville Avenue myself?
What about the tires?
Will the city come and get an appliance?
Do you need the hot tub drained?
How a Heavy Auburndale Load Gets Quoted
Minimums
Standard categories start at a $300 minimum for the first four cubic yards. Concrete, block, masonry, and dirt are quoted at the heavy-material rate with a $500 minimum because they price by weight at the scale. A single mattress or carpet pickup may qualify for a $150 minimum. Beyond the minimums, it is quoted per project as a written per-project number covering labor, equipment, and disposal.
What stays out of the trailer
No asbestos, no wet paint, no chemicals, no pressurized tanks. Tires are not on Polk County's household hazardous waste list; they are a priced line with their own limits. The city takes used motor oil, antifreeze and automotive batteries from residents at Public Works on Charles Avenue and states plainly that no other hazardous waste is collected or taken for disposal by that department. Everything else in that family goes to the county's household hazardous waste facility.
Paying for it
Cash, check, card, and electronic payment accepted. No processing fee on cash or check; Donny states the card fee when he quotes. The county scale runs weekdays and Saturday mornings, which is the constraint a heavy load is scheduled against.
The Polk Services Standard, on every load
Donny walks the job with you before he leaves, rakes the work area clean before he drives off, texts you 30 minutes before arrival, and gives you both a verbal and a written quote up front. No sub-crews, no surprise pricing, and the site left ready for whatever comes next.
