Short answer: for most household junk you have two options, and one is usually free. A large share of U.S. cities will pick up bulk items (furniture, mattresses) from the curb for free or a small fee on a set schedule, so the first move is always to check your city's program. You pay a private hauler when the city won't take the item (appliances, construction debris), when you can't wait for the next pickup day, or when your city has no bulk program at all.
Option 1: your city's bulk-trash pickup (often free)
Cities vary enormously, which is exactly why you check yours first:
- Los Angeles collects bulky items curbside as "an unlimited curbside service at no additional charge."
- Houston runs heavy-trash collection "every other month" for eligible curbside addresses.
- New York City gives residents free curbside removal of up to 6 large items per collection.
- Others charge: Seattle is paid on-demand (about $31/item), and Atlanta gives 12 free calls a year, then $336.38 per truckload (city code). A few cities, like Chicago and San Diego, run no citywide bulk program at all, so there it's on you.
Look up your city's exact rule on the issues index or with the city lookup. If your city collects it and you can wait for the date, that's your cheapest path by far.
Option 2: a private junk-removal hauler
You hire a hauler (1-800-GOT-JUNK, LoadUp, College Hunks, Junk King, or a local operator) when the city won't take the item, you need it gone now, or there's no city program. Pricing is by volume, and it varies by market, but as a rough guide: a single item often runs about $60 to $150 (a mattress around $35 to $75, a couch around $65 to $150 at national haulers), and a full truckload commonly lands around $400 to $700+. Always get the price confirmed before they haul, volume-based quotes move fast.
What your city almost never takes (and where it has to go)
- Refrigerators, freezers, and AC units, the refrigerant must be professionally recovered before disposal under the federal Clean Air Act, so these need an appliance-recycler or a hauler who handles them.
- Construction & demolition debris, the EPA treats this as separate from household trash; it's the property owner's/contractor's job to haul it (dumpster or C&D hauler).
- Electronics, tires, mattresses, and hazardous items (paint, batteries, chemicals), many states ban these from the landfill and route them to take-back or recycling programs. Throwing them in the trash can be illegal.
How to decide
(1) Check your city's bulk-pickup rule and what it excludes. (2) If the city takes it and you can wait, use the free/low-cost city pickup. (3) If it's excluded, you're in a no-program city, or you need it gone fast, price a private hauler, and confirm the quote first. For the disposal rules on specific items (appliances, e-waste, mattresses, paint) and whether it's even legal to trash them, ask the who-pays concierge.
General information, not a price quote. City programs, fees, and disposal bans vary by location and change, confirm your city's current rule (each linked page cites the official source and the date we checked it) and get any hauler's price in writing before work begins.