Old Carpet Disposal Guide · Temecula · Murrieta · Menifee
How Do You Get Rid of Old Carpet in Temecula?
You get rid of old carpet in Temecula one of six ways: a free CR&R bulky pickup, your flooring installer, a carpet recycling drop-off, a landfill run, a dumpster, or a hauler. One room can often go out free. A whole house usually can't, and wet or smoke-damaged carpet can't be recycled at all. Here's how to pick, from somebody who hauls it for a living.
Family-owned in Temecula since 2021 · Licensed & insured · 5,000+ loads since 2021
Wild West Junk Removal · 41713 Niblick Rd, Temecula, CA 92591 · (951) 837-8072 · Mon to Sat: 7AM-7PM · Sun: Closed · Family-owned and operated by Weston Molitor since 2021
Your Options
What Are Your Options for Old Carpet?
There are six ways to get rid of old carpet around Temecula, and two of them cost nothing if your carpet and your address qualify. Which one fits comes down to how much carpet you've got and what condition it's in.
Carpet is an awkward thing to throw away. It's light enough that weight barely registers at a scale and bulky enough to fill a truck bed faster than anything else in a remodel. One 12-by-14 bedroom comes out as a roll about the size of a water heater, plus a second roll of pad and a bundle of tack strip full of nails. Do that for four bedrooms and a hallway and you've got a pile that won't fit in a sedan or a trash cart.
| Route | What it costs you | Works best for | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free CR&R bulky pickup | Free, two a year | One room, City of Temecula residents | Book ahead, ask about carpet, and you still cut and carry it to the curb |
| Your flooring installer | Often in the bid | Anyone buying new flooring | Some quote it separately, some leave it in your garage |
| CARE recycling drop-off | Free to a per-load fee | Clean, dry carpet and a truck | No water, smoke or fire damage, no rugs under 165 sq ft |
| County landfill | Gate fee per load | People with a truck and a free morning | A long drive from Temecula, two trips for most houses |
| Dumpster rental | Rental plus tonnage | Carpet as one part of a bigger remodel | You do the loading, and it sits in the driveway |
| A hauler like us | $195 to $595 by volume | Whole houses, stairs, deadlines, wet carpet | It costs money, so ask where the load goes |
Free Pickup
Will the Free Bulky Pickup Take Carpet?
It can, but call CR&R before you count on it. City of Temecula residents get two free bulky-item pickups a year through CR&R at (800) 755-8112, booked ahead by phone between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
That's straight from the City of Temecula trash and recycling FAQ. What the FAQ doesn't spell out is how much carpet one pickup will take, so ask when you book. Tell them it's carpet, how many rolls, and whether there's pad. The allowance was written for a couch and a mattress, not four bedrooms of flooring.
Live in Murrieta, Menifee or one of the unincorporated pockets like French Valley or Winchester? Your bulky pickup comes from a different hauler under different terms. Call the number on your trash bill and ask the same questions.
How Should You Cut Carpet for a Curb Pickup?
Cut it into strips about four feet wide, roll each one tight, and tie it with twine or tape. Roll the pad separately. Loose flapping sections and a pile of shredded pad are the two things most likely to get left at the curb. If one room of carpet is all you've got and you still have a free pickup this year, use it. That's the cheapest option there is.
Installer
Will Your Flooring Installer Haul the Old Carpet?
Often, yes, if you ask before you sign. A lot of flooring installers will pull and haul the old carpet as part of the job, but some price it as an add-on and some pull it and leave the rolls in your garage.
Ask three things before you sign the flooring contract: is tear-out included, is haul-away included, and does the haul-away include the pad and tack strip. Get the answer in the written bid, not in a phone call.
If the installer pulls it and leaves it, you're back to the other five routes with a pile of rolls in the garage. We pick that up as a haul-only job on the same carpet removal cost Temecula ladder, starting at $195.
Recycling
Can Old Carpet Be Recycled in California?
Yes, if it's clean and dry. CARE, the manufacturers' group that runs California's carpet program, supports drop-off sites around the state, but it won't take area rugs under 165 square feet or carpet that's been damaged by water, smoke or fire.
Those rules are on the CARE California drop-off map, which is also where you find the nearest site. Some sites take carpet free and some charge by the load. Some want an appointment or proof of residency, so call before you drive.
Which Carpet Gets Turned Away at a Recycling Site?
Carpet damaged by water, smoke or fire, and any rug smaller than 11 by 15 feet. That rules out a lot of the carpet people are actually trying to get rid of, because slab leaks, washer hoses and flooded rooms are some of the biggest reasons carpet comes out in the first place.
If your carpet got wet, plan on disposal, and read can wet carpet be saved before you pull anything. Bring the pad separately from the carpet, rolled or folded, and keep tack strip out of both.
Landfill
Can You Take Carpet to the Landfill Yourself?
Yes, carpet and pad are ordinary trash at a landfill, so you can drive them to a Riverside County landfill and pay at the gate. The catch is the drive.
The county landfills closest to Temecula aren't close. El Sobrante is on Dawson Canyon Road past Lake Elsinore toward Corona, and Lamb Canyon is up by Beaumont. Rates and hours change every fiscal year, so check the county's current rate sheet before you load, not after.
How Do You Haul Carpet Without Losing It on the Road?
Tie it down and cover it. A loose roll coming out of a truck bed on Winchester Road is a hazard and a ticket, and the county charges extra at the gate for an uncovered load. Budget two trips for anything more than two rooms, because carpet swallows bed space in a way that surprises people the first time. Bring gloves. Tack strip is a stick of wood full of nails, and it's how most people get hurt pulling their own carpet.
Dumpster
When Does a Dumpster Make Sense for Carpet?
Only when carpet is one part of a bigger remodel that's going to make debris for several days. For carpet alone, a dumpster is usually the wrong call.
A dumpster is a staging tool, not a removal service. You pay for the container, the drop, the pickup and the tonnage, and in exchange you get a few days of a box you can throw things into. That's worth it when a kitchen is coming apart over a week. It's not worth it when the whole job is "the carpet comes out Saturday," because you're paying rental days to do work you'd be doing anyway.
The other thing is the driveway. A container sits where your cars sit, in full view of the street, and plenty of HOAs in this valley want notice first. We run both, so we wrote up dumpster rental vs junk removal with the honest math, and you can see our dumpster rental in Temecula terms too.
Hiring a Crew
What Should You Ask Before Hiring a Carpet Hauler?
Ask where the load goes, whether the price is firm before work starts, and whether the pad, tack strip and the sweep are included. A good hauler answers all of that before showing up.
Where Does the Load Actually Go?
A real answer names a place: a recycler, a transfer station, a landfill. "We dispose of it properly" with no destination is a warning sign. A cheap outfit that dumps your carpet on a fire road leaves a trail back to your address.
Are You Licensed and Insured?
Ask to see proof before anyone carries a roll. Carpet removal means people carrying heavy rolls through your doorways and down your stairs. An uninsured crew turns your homeowner's policy into the backstop for their injuries and your drywall.
Is the Price Written Down Before Work Starts?
It should be, every time. Volume pricing is fine. Volume pricing that gets figured out after everything is loaded isn't. Get the number before any tools come out.
Does It Include the Pad, Tack Strip and Sweep?
Carpet, pad and tack strip are three different materials, and some quotes only cover the first one. Make sure all three are in, plus sweeping the floor for your installer.
Here's how we do it. Text photos to (951) 837-8072 and you get a load size and a firm price before we roll out, from $195 for a quarter load to $595 for a full 12-yard trailer. Pulling, loading and disposal are inside that number. The details are on our carpet removal Temecula page.
What Do Customers Say About Small Loads?
★★★★★
Weston, and his brother were amazing!!! They were on time, very professional, and got my quarter load loaded up in 20 minutes. They are very fair with the pricing, and made me feel super comfortable! Weston also is very quick to respond be it call or text. I will use them again if need be! Thanks Wild West Junk Removal you guys are life savers🙏🏽😇
★★★★★
Easiest home clean-up EVER! Reliable, reasonably priced and so helpful. If you need stuff removed, whether the load is big or small, call Wild West Junk Removal, and just get it done!! ✅
Prep
How Should You Prep Carpet for Any Route?
Prep carpet the same way whatever route it's taking: check the build date, empty the room, get air moving, then cut, roll and tie it with the tack strip bundled separately.
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Was the House Built Before 1980?
If it was, and the carpet is glued to a concrete slab instead of stretched over tack strip, stop. The black adhesive underneath can contain asbestos and needs a lab test before anyone scrapes it. This is the one step you can't skip or do later.
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Is the Room Empty?
Furniture out and closet floors cleared. Carpet almost always runs into the closets, and a closet full of shoes turns a five-minute tack strip pull into a twenty-minute one.
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Is the Air Moving?
Open the windows and turn off the heat or AC so it doesn't pull dust through the return vents. Old carpet holds years of dust and dander, and it all comes up the moment you cut it.
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Is It Cut, Rolled and Tied?
Score the back into strips about four feet wide, roll each one tight, and tie it. Rolled and tied is what every route wants. Loose sections and shredded pad are what get refused or cost you a second trip.
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Where Is the Tack Strip Going?
Pull it with a pry bar, stack it all one direction with the nails facing in, and bundle it. Never roll tack strip up inside the carpet, where the next person to grab the roll finds it with a hand.
Done right, every roll is about four feet wide, tied twice, and light enough for one person to carry. The tack strip sits in its own bundle with the nails facing in, and the pad is rolled or folded on its own so a recycling site will take it.
The Law
What Does California Law Say About Old Carpet?
California has charged a stewardship assessment on new carpet since July 2011 to pay for recycling it, and leaving old carpet anywhere other than a legal pickup or facility is illegal dumping.
The program started with AB 2398 in 2010. The manufacturers' group CARE runs it and CalRecycle oversees it. That assessment is already in the price you paid for the carpet you're pulling up, so the drop-off network is something you've paid for whether you use it or not.
In September 2024 the governor signed AB 863, which overhauls the carpet recycling program with more auditing and higher fines. According to Floor Trends, it also requires sorting at approved collection sites by 2028 and a 5% carpet-to-carpet recycled content target by 2028. For a homeowner, the practical rule doesn't change: clean and dry can be recycled, wet and burned can't.
Rolled carpet left on a vacant lot, behind a shopping center or at the end of a dirt road is illegal dumping. If you hire someone, ask where it goes. The answer protects you as much as the carpet.
FAQ
What Else Do People Ask About Getting Rid of Carpet?
Not a room's worth. A roll of carpet won't fit in a cart, and cutting it into cart-sized pieces turns an hour of work into a weekend. Book a bulky pickup or use one of the other routes on this page.
For a recycling drop-off, yes. Carpet and pad go in separately, and the pad gets rolled or folded on its own. For a landfill run or a hauler, no, but rolling them separately still makes them easier to carry.
No. Carpet and pad are regular solid waste. The hazardous part of a flooring job is usually what's sitting next to it: adhesive cans, solvents and floor finishes, which go to a household hazardous waste drop-off, not the trash.
Not used wall-to-wall carpet. It has no scrap value. A clean, good-looking area rug can be worth donating, and a large leftover remnant of new carpet sometimes finds a taker. The rest is a disposal cost.
A rug under 11 by 15 feet can't go to a CARE drop-off, so it goes out with a bulky pickup, a landfill run, or a hauler. If it's clean, ask a thrift store first.
Only if it's a scheduled bulky pickup. Carpet set out without a booking just sits there and soaks up the next rain. Book the pickup first, then put it out the way CR&R tells you to.
Yes. Carpet, drywall, cabinets and old vinyl can all go out together, and one load is cheaper than three. That's covered on our construction debris removal in Temecula page.
Next Step
Would You Rather Not Spend a Saturday on It?
Text a photo of each room. You'll get a firm price back for pulling and hauling it, and most days we can come the same day.
Mon to Sat: 7AM-7PM · Sun: Closed
Sources & References
- temeculaca.govCity of Temecula: Residential Trash and Recycling FAQTwo free bulky-item pickups a year for city residents through CR&R, (800) 755-8112.
- carpetrecovery.orgCARE: California Carpet Drop-off SitesThe drop-off map, the 165-square-foot rug rule, and the water, smoke and fire exclusion.
- calrecycle.ca.govCalRecycle: Carpet Materials ManagementCalifornia’s carpet stewardship program and its oversight.
- a04.asmdc.orgAB 863 signed: carpet recycling program overhaulThe 2024 law that changes California’s carpet program.
- floortrendsmag.comFloor Trends: what AB 863 requiresSorting at approved collection sites and recycled-content targets by 2028.
- wildwestjunkremoval.comCarpet Removal in TemeculaOur tear-out and haul-away service, priced by volume from $195.
- wildwestjunkremoval.comWhere Your Junk Actually GoesThe charities and recyclers we use.
Written by Weston Molitor, owner of Wild West Junk Removal. Last reviewed and updated October 16, 2026.
Bulky pickup terms, landfill rates and drop-off fees are set by the City of Temecula, CR&R, Riverside County and CARE and change over time; confirm them before you go. Wild West prices as of October 2026: $195 quarter load, $350 half, $495 three-quarter, $595 full 12-yard trailer. See every rate and surcharge on our junk removal prices in Temecula page.