Our Vision: Partnering with Coconino County to sustainably manage commercial e-waste. We focus on recycling and repurposing electronics to keep them out of local landfills, moving beyond simple removal to true environmental recovery.

E-Waste: Recovery Before the Smelter

Our Waste Diversion Hub acts as a critical intervention point for commercial electronics. Before items are shipped off for energy-intensive smelting, we implement a "Recovery First" protocol. By sorting and testing e-waste locally, we identify components and devices suitable for refurbishment and reuse. This localized processing alleviates the financial burden on the city and taxpayers by reducing landfill fees and logistics costs, while ensuring valuable rare-earth metals and components stay within the circular economy rather than being lost to the furnace.

Plastics: Advanced Collection for Alternative Fuel

We are pioneering a sophisticated collection and condensing stream for hard-to-recycle plastics. By aggregating and baling high-density plastic waste, the Hub prepares these materials for transport to specialized research campuses. These facilities utilize advanced thermal conversion to transform plastic waste into alternative fuel sources. This process turns a major pollutant into a sustainable energy asset, moving Coconino County closer to a zero-waste future.

Building Materials: Reclaimed for Affordable Housing

To combat the rising cost of living at 7,000 feet, the Hub actively salvages and repurposes commercial building materials. From structural lumber to fixtures and hardware, we divert usable supplies from the landfill and make them available for local construction and renovation projects. By lowering the "bill of materials" for builders and DIYers, we directly support efforts to create more affordable housing options in the Flagstaff area, turning yesterday’s waste into tomorrow’s homes.

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What Waste Diversion Actually Means

Waste diversion is simple at heart: anything that gets reused, donated, recycled or recovered instead of buried is “diverted” from the landfill. Every couch that goes to a new home and every pile of scrap steel that goes back into the metal stream is a small win for Flagstaff and Coconino County.

It isn’t about being perfect. Some things genuinely have to be landfilled. The goal is to ask, item by item, whether there’s a better place for it first, and to make that the default instead of an afterthought.

The EPA Waste Hierarchy, in Plain English

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ranks ways of handling everyday waste from most to least preferred. The EPA’s non-hazardous materials and waste management hierarchy lays it out in four tiers:

Source reduction and reuse. Preventing waste in the first place, including donating and reusing items.
Recycling and composting. Turning materials back into raw materials and new products, including composting yard and food waste.
Energy recovery. Converting non-recyclable waste into heat, electricity or fuel.
Treatment and disposal. Reducing volume and toxicity, with landfilling as the most common final step.

We use that same order as a working waste diversion checklist on every job. Reuse comes first, recycling second, and the landfill is the last stop, not the first.

How AZ Haul Handles Waste Diversion on Real Jobs

When our crew loads a truck or picks up a dump-trailer dumpster, we’re not just tossing everything into one pile. Sorting starts at your property and continues back at our shop on East Huntington Drive.

Donation first

Furniture, housewares, tools and other items in usable shape get set aside for donation whenever it’s practical. Estate cleanouts and moves often turn up perfectly good dressers, tables and kitchen goods that someone else in Northern Arizona can use.

Scrap metal recycling

Metal is one of the easiest materials to recycle, and it shows up everywhere: bed frames, grills, shelving, old fencing, swing sets and appliance shells. We separate metal so it can go to recycling rather than the landfill. Appliances with refrigerant are handled through proper channels, since the refrigerant has to be removed safely before the metal is recycled.

Cardboard

Move-outs and office cleanouts generate a surprising amount of cardboard. Flattened, dry cardboard is easy to recycle, so we pull it out of the load instead of letting it fill up trailer space on the way to the landfill.

E-waste drop-offs

Computers, monitors, printers, cables and other electronics contain metals and components that shouldn’t be buried. As described above, we sort and test electronics locally so reusable devices and components can be identified before anything heads to a smelter. Ask us about e-waste drop-offs at our Flagstaff shop when you call.

Local Reuse and Recycling Options in Flagstaff and Coconino County

You don’t need a hauler for every item. Flagstaff and Coconino County have solid options for residents who want to handle waste diversion themselves.

Drop & Swap Reuse Shop. At the Flagstaff Hazardous Products Center, residents can drop off usable household products and take items others have left. Residential drop-off there is free for City of Flagstaff and Coconino County residents with proof of residency.
Household hazardous waste. Paint, automotive fluids, batteries, pesticides and aerosols belong at the Hazardous Products Center, not in the trash. The EPA explains why on its household hazardous waste page.
Glass. Glass isn’t accepted at county transfer stations, but Flagstaff has designated glass receptacles, and glass is accepted at the Materials Recovery Facility on East Butler Avenue and at Cinder Lake Landfill.
Rural recycling. Coconino County transfer stations accept recyclables such as cardboard, paper, metal cans, aluminum and #1 through #7 plastics free of charge. The Coconino County recycling guide lists locations and what each one takes.
Scrap metal and appliances. Cinder Lake Landfill has a scrap metal area and accepts refrigerators, freezers and AC units with specific prep rules. The city’s Where to Take Waste chart covers these and dozens of other items.

Hours, eligibility and accepted items change from time to time, so check the official page before you load the car. Our Northern AZ Trash Guide also covers bulk pickup and transfer stations across the region.

How You Can Help Before We Arrive

The biggest difference between a load that gets landfilled and one that gets sorted is often what happens before we arrive. A little prep from you makes waste diversion faster and more effective.

Sort into rough piles. Keep, donate, recycle and trash. Even a loose split helps our crew move quickly.
Separate metal. Set aside anything mostly metal so it doesn’t get buried under mixed debris.
Keep cardboard dry and flat. Wet, crushed cardboard is much harder to recycle.
Bag electronics separately. Cords, chargers and small devices are easier to route when they’re together.
Pull hazardous items early. Paint, chemicals, fuel and batteries can’t ride with general debris, so set them aside and tell us about them up front.
Tell us what’s donatable. If something works and is clean, say so. We’d rather find it a home.

Why It Matters in Northern Arizona

Landfill space is a finite resource in any community, and in a place where people care this much about the forests and the land around them, it makes sense to bury less. Good waste diversion also keeps useful materials circulating locally, whether that’s a dining table for a young family or reclaimed building materials for the next project.

AZ Haul is locally owned and veteran-owned, based in Bellemont, and we’ve been hauling for Flagstaff, Sedona, Williams and the Verde Valley since 2022. Donation and recycling first is how we approach every job, and waste diversion is built into how we sort and plan each load.

Waste Diversion FAQs

Does everything you haul get recycled or donated?

No, and we won’t pretend otherwise. We donate and recycle where it’s practical, and what’s left goes to an approved facility. Some items are simply worn out, broken or contaminated.

Can I drop off electronics at your shop?

Ask us first. Call ahead so we can tell you what we’re currently accepting and when to come by the Flagstaff shop.

Do commercial clients get diversion help too?

Yes. We work with offices, property managers and contractors, and recurring commercial service is billed monthly, net 30, with before and after photos for your records.

What if I’m not sure whether something can be reused?

Leave it with the rest and let us sort it. Our crew sees a lot of items and can usually tell quickly whether something has another life left.

Start a Pickup With Diversion in Mind

Have a cleanout, remodel or office move coming up? Call or text AZ Haul at (928) 600-2035 for a free quote, and let us know what you’d like donated or recycled. We’ll plan the job around keeping as much as possible out of the landfill.