Austin bulk trash pickup vs. junk removal
Before you pay anyone to haul something away, check whether the City of Austin will collect it. Here is how the City's service works, and when a private junk hauler makes more sense. Rules change, so the City's own page is always the final word.
How the City's bulk collection works
- It is for Austin Resource Recovery's residential customers: single-family homes and up to fourplexes in Austin. Source
- It is on demand. You book an appointment through the Austin Recycles app, online, or by calling Austin 3-1-1, and items are not picked up without one. Customers can schedule up to three bulk collections each calendar year.
- Items go at the curb by 5:30 a.m. on your appointment date, not in bags or boxes.
- The City lists furniture, appliances (doors removed), household carpet, doors, lawn mowers (gas and oil removed), nail-free lumber and passenger car tires (rims removed, up to 8) among the items it accepts.
- It is paid for through the base fee on the solid waste section of your City utility bill. Source
Not sure about an item? The City's What Do I Do With tool lets you search for it.
When a private junk hauler makes more sense
- The City won't take it. Its list of items not accepted includes household trash, mirrors, boats, trailers, construction and remodeling debris such as sheet glass and tile, construction carpet, and hazardous materials.
- You don't live in a home the City serves. Apartments and condos in buildings with five or more units are outside the residential service.
- The timing doesn't work. You need it gone on a particular day, or you have used your collections for the year.
- It's still inside. The City collects from the curb. A hauler can usually carry items out of the house, garage or yard for you.
- It's a whole cleanout. A garage, storage unit or estate cleanout is often more than a curbside pile.
If that sounds like your job, send photos and let Austin junk removal companies that cover your ZIP quote it.
Start a photo request
Ready when your junk is.
Photos in, quotes in your portal, you choose. Nothing goes to anyone until you accept a quote.
Start a photo request