Camping season in Southern California winds down in the fall, and that is usually when people open the garage and find it: three tents nobody has pitched since 2019, a stack of musty sleeping bags, a cracked foam cooler, a camp stove, and a box full of half-used green propane bottles. Part of it is legally hazardous, which is why so much of it just sits there. This guide covers what you can donate, what has to go to a hazardous waste facility, and what a junk removal crew can haul away for you in Los Angeles, Orange County, and the Inland Empire.
Good camping gear has a long second life, and it is worth sorting before anything goes in a truck. Pitch the tents in the backyard, check the zippers, poles, and rain fly, and unroll the sleeping bags to see whether they are clean and dry. Anything that passes is worth more donated than discarded.
Shelters and outreach groups sometimes ask for tents and sleeping bags, but only clean, dry, working items help. A mildewed bag passed along just moves the disposal problem to someone else.
This is the piece most people get wrong. The State of California designates propane cylinders as household hazardous waste (HHW), and it is illegal to throw them in the trash. That includes the green 1-pound camping bottles, even ones that feel empty. Even a “dead” cylinder usually holds residual gas that can rupture or ignite in a garbage truck.
The same rule applies to butane and isobutane backpacking canisters, white gas, and leftover lantern fuel. Take them in with your other HHW. For the bigger 20-pound BBQ tanks, see our BBQ grill and propane tank disposal guide. Refillable 1-pound cylinders avoid the problem going forward.
Modern camp gear is full of batteries: rechargeable lanterns, headlamps, power banks, portable fans, and solar generators. In California, all household batteries are universal waste and banned from the trash, and lithium-ion batteries are a leading cause of fires in garbage trucks and recycling facilities. Pull loose batteries, tape the terminals, and drop them at a battery collection point or HHW facility. Our lithium battery disposal guide covers the details.
Not everything can be saved. Tents with torn floors, sleeping bags that have been mildewed or chewed by rodents, and cracked coolers are trash, but they are not easy trash:
One worn-out tent fits in a trash can. A garage loft full of old canopies, cots, coolers, camp kitchens, and pop-up shade canopies does not. Camping gear usually turns up as part of a bigger job: a garage cleanout, a move, or clearing out a parent’s house where decades of family trips are stacked to the rafters. Kayaks and paddleboards often come with it; see our surfboard, kayak, and paddleboard guide.
When 911 Junk CA handles a load like this, the crew does the lifting and carrying from wherever the gear is, including attics and garage rafters. Usable items get set aside for donation, metal goes to scrap recycling, and the rest goes to a licensed disposal facility. One important note: junk removal trucks are not permitted to carry household hazardous waste, so propane cylinders, fuel canisters, and loose batteries need to go to an HHW facility first. We will point you to the closest one when we quote the job.
Junk removal is priced by how much space your items take up in the truck, not by the hour. A few bags and a cooler cost less than a full garage of gear. The fastest way to know your price is a free, no-obligation quote. Send a few photos or have us take a look on site.
Ready to reclaim the garage? 911 Junk CA hauls camping gear, outdoor equipment, and everything else that has piled up, across Los Angeles, Orange County, and the Inland Empire. Contact 911 Junk CA today for a free quote and get your space back before the holidays.
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