Junk Removal in Elizabethtown, PA
Etown's curb takes one oversized item a week. When the pile is bigger than that, call William.
Junk removal in Elizabethtown, PA is mostly a stairs-and-doorways job. Close to half the borough's homes were built before 1960, and older houses keep their clutter in basements, attics and back bedrooms rather than out in a two-car garage.[1]
The Junk Lord is a York County business, locally owned and run by its owner. Etown sits about 9.5 miles from our base as the crow flies. William answers the phone, prices the job and comes to the door with the crew. You point at what goes; we carry it out, load the truck and sweep up the spot it came from.[2]
- From our base
- ~9.5 miles
- Residents
- 11,925
- Homes built before 1960
- 47.1%
- Renter households
- 41.8%
Straight-line miles from 4343 Druck Valley Rd; Elizabethtown Borough figures from the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 American Community Survey.[2][1]
Older houses, plenty of renters, and what that does to a cleanout
The census counts 4,679 housing units in the borough. About 24 percent were built before 1940 and 47 percent before 1960, with a median build year of 1964. Translation: narrow basement stairs, low ceilings and turns that a dresser was never meant to make on the way out.[1]
Roughly 42 percent of Elizabethtown households rent, and about a quarter of the homes are in buildings with five or more units. Leases end, tenants move, and somebody is left with a mattress and a sectional at the top of a stairwell.[1]
About one resident in six is 65 or older. Downsizing out of a house that's been lived in for decades is usually when every room has to be emptied at once.[1]
How Elizabethtown's curbside program handles big stuff
Under the borough's Act 101 program, its contracted hauler collects trash and recycling once a week. The weekly trash limit is two containers or bags, each up to 32 gallons and 30 pounds; anything past that needs an extra trash tag.[3]
Each residential unit can also set out one oversized item a week. It has to be liftable by two people, generally 75 pounds or less, with furniture capped at 6 feet and carpet or scrap metal at 48 inches. That covers a dining chair or a rolled-up rug. It doesn't cover a basement.[3]
- Accepted as an oversized item: rolled and tied carpet, mattresses of any size, furniture with mirrors and glass taped, boxed or taped toilets and sinks, and push mowers drained of gas and oil.[3]
- Not accepted as an oversized item: sleeper sofas, recliner sofas and power reclining chairs, TVs and other electronics, boxes of trash, extra bags, and construction material or debris.[3]
- White goods (washers, dryers, refrigerators, water heaters, furnaces and the like) and vehicle tires go out only on two collection weeks a year, each item with a sticker from the Borough Office. Dates are set each year by the borough and fall on your regular trash day.[3][4]
- Yard waste goes out every other week in a stickered container of up to 32 gallons or a Kraft leaf bag. As of September 17, 2026, the borough says its free Kraft bags are all handed out and it won't be getting more.[5]
- Paint, chemicals and small propane tanks (20 pounds or less) from a Lancaster County home can go to LCSWMA's household hazardous waste facility at 1299 Harrisburg Pike in Lancaster, free for county residents on weekdays. We don't haul hazardous waste, so that's where those belong.[6]
What we haul and tear down in Elizabethtown
Whole-house cleanouts in Elizabethtown
Emptying a whole house in Etown runs straight into the curb limits above: one oversized item a week, nothing much over 75 pounds, and no sleeper sofas or recliners at all. A full house can hold dozens of each. That's the gap a cleanout fills.[3]
We start with a room-by-room walkthrough, and anything you flag stays put. Reusable furniture and housewares go to donation drop-offs; the rest goes in the truck, as many loads as it takes. Most full houses take one full day, though a large estate can run two. We finish broom-clean, which matters if a realtor is about to list the place or a landlord needs the unit back between tenants. If you're settling a parent's estate from out of town, we'll coordinate with the realtor, the estate attorney or the family member holding the keys.
Elizabethtown questions, answered
More of Lancaster County
Got a pile in Elizabethtown? Text William a photo.
Free quotes. Upfront price before we touch anything.
Sources
- [1] U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates: Elizabethtown borough, Lancaster County, PA (accessed 2026-10-04)
- [2] U.S. Census Bureau — 2024 Gazetteer Files: Pennsylvania places (accessed 2026-10-04)
- [3] etownonline.com — Trash & Recycling | Elizabethtown, PA (accessed 2026-10-04)
- [4] etownonline.com — 2026 Special Collection Dates for Elizabethtown Borough (accessed 2026-10-04)
- [5] etownonline.com — Yard Waste and Christmas Tree Collection | Elizabethtown, PA (accessed 2026-10-04)
- [6] Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority — Household Hazardous Waste Facility (accessed 2026-10-04)
- [7] Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection — CDRA Frequently Asked Questions, PDF (accessed 2026-10-04)
- [8] Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority — Our Story (accessed 2026-10-04)
- [9] Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority — Lancaster Waste-To-Energy Facility (accessed 2026-10-04)
- [10] Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority — Frey Farm Landfill (accessed 2026-10-04)