Almost every tub runs on its own 240-volt circuit with a dedicated disconnect near the equipment. Before anyone touches a wire, that circuit gets de-energized at the main electrical panel, not just switched off at the spa's control panel. This is the one step we never skip or rush.
A full tub holds hundreds of gallons, and water alone runs over eight pounds a gallon, so a mid-size spa can carry well over a ton of water on top of its own weight. Everything gets drained before the shell is touched, using the drain valve or a pump line run to an appropriate spot in the yard.
Jet lines, pump connections, heater, and any lighting fixtures get disconnected from the shell. If the tub is coming out in one piece, this is also where we free it from any decking or framing it was built into.
Plenty of tubs were set in the yard before a fence, gate, or deck went up around them, and they were never coming back out the way they went in. When that's the case, the shell gets cut into sections, typically in the 50 to 100 pound range, so it can be carried out through a standard gate instead of torn through a fence.
A hot tub isn't one material, it's several. The acrylic or fiberglass shell, the foam insulation packed around the plumbing, the wood or synthetic cabinet, and the metal in the pump, heater, and wiring all get separated rather than thrown in as one mixed load.
The metal components, pump, heater, wiring, carry real scrap value and get recycled separately. The acrylic shell and foam insulation go to standard disposal. None of that changes what the job costs you, it's just the right way to handle it.
Acrylic or fiberglass, molded over a wood or synthetic frame.
Foam packed around the plumbing and underside of the shell.
The outer skirting, usually synthetic paneling or wood.
Pump, heater, control pack, and the wiring that connects them.