Guide · 5 min read · updated 2026-09-18

Free curbside bulky-item pickup, city by city: how much, how often, and what they refuse

How many free bulky pickups each city gives, the pile-size limit, what gets refused, and the set-out rules that can earn a citation, from each program's own page.

Not legal advice. We haul junk; we are not lawyers. This page states what the code sections say and links each one in the sources below. Laws change and your notice, lease or governing documents control your situation. For a deadline that matters, read the section itself or talk to a California attorney.

The short answer

Most cities we serve include one to three free curbside bulky-item pickups a year with your garbage bill. You book them ahead, the pile has a size cap, and the pile goes out no earlier than the program allows. A couch, a mattress and a dresser almost always fit. Concrete, dirt, construction debris and hazardous waste almost never do.

Before you pay anyone, including us, check whether your free pickups are still unused this year. The table below is what each program's own page says, read on the date at the top of this page. Programs change their limits and fees, so confirm with the number listed before you pile anything at the curb.

San Joaquin County cities

Figures are quoted from the city or its hauler. Where a program does not publish a limit, we say so rather than guess.

Sacramento County and Modesto

Same caveat: this is the program's own wording, and fees are left out where the posted rate year has already ended.

What almost every program refuses

The lists differ in detail, but these come up again and again:

• Concrete, dirt, rock, brick and asphalt. Every program above that publishes an exclusion list turns these away.
• Construction and remodel debris. Sacramento, Ripon, Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights and Modesto name it outright.
• Household hazardous waste: paint, oil, batteries, chemicals, propane.
• Loose or unbagged small stuff. Stockton and Lathrop require small items bagged or boxed; Stockton caps a bag at 40 lb, Lathrop at 50.
• Treated wood, in Sacramento, unincorporated Sacramento County and Citrus Heights.
• Tires are either refused or capped, usually at four without rims (five in Stockton and Folsom).

Refrigerators, TVs and other e-waste vary the most: some programs take them with the pile, some need a separate appointment, and Ripon and Folsom refuse e-waste outright. The HHW and e-waste answers are in what we will not take and where it goes and TVs and electronics.

Set-out timing: where people get cited

The pile going out too early is the most common way a free pickup turns into a code case. What the programs say:

• Stockton: out the evening before. Putting it out early "will result in Code Enforcement action for blocking the right-of-way and a possible fee for removal of the pile." Piles over 10 cubic yards are not picked up and are referred to Code Enforcement.
• Elk Grove: not more than 24 hours before the appointment. Earlier "may result in a citation for illegal dumping," and that includes anything strangers add to your pile.
• City of Sacramento: by 6 a.m., no earlier than 24 hours before. "Early set-outs may result in a fine." On the street, not the curb, alley or driveway, six feet from parked cars.
• Folsom: piles out more than 24 hours early "are subject to code violation."
• Rancho Cordova: items out more than 24 hours before collection may be treated as illegal dumping under the city code (franchise agreement §10.12.2).
• Modesto: the city code (§5-5.156) allows no more than 12 hours before, five feet from any fixed object or parked car, and applies penalties of $1,000, $1,500 and $2,000 for a first, second and third violation in 12 months.

The pattern is simple: book first, pile second, and do not leave it out past the window. Our illegal dumping guide covers what the state law adds.

When the free pickup is not enough

The free programs are built for a few pieces of furniture. They stop working when:

• The pile is bigger than the cap. A full garage or a whole house is many times a 3- to 5-yard pile.
• It is the wrong material. Remodel debris, concrete, dirt and yard waste are refused almost everywhere.
• You have used this year's pickups, or the next open appointment is past your move-out, closing or code-enforcement date.
• It has to come out of the house. Curbside means you carry it to the street.

Then the choices are hauling it yourself to a public gate (every gate and rate is in the 2026 disposal guide), renting a trailer, or hiring it out. Our prices are on the rate card.

Related guides

Sources

Every fee above is read from the operator's own published sheet and shown with its effective date. Rates change; call the gate before you load a truck around a number.

• City of Stockton, Clean Sweep — read 2026-09-18
• City of Lathrop, residential waste services — read 2026-09-18
• City of Manteca, 2026 Recycle Guide — read 2026-09-18
• City of Ripon, Large Unwanted Item Pick-Up Program — read 2026-09-18
• Gilton Solid Waste, collection services (Escalon, Modesto) — read 2026-09-18
• City of Lodi, special collection events — read 2026-09-18
• City of Sacramento, Household Junk Pickup — read 2026-09-18
• Sacramento County, bulky waste pickup — read 2026-09-18
• City of Elk Grove, bulky waste pickup — read 2026-09-18
• City of Folsom, bulky item pickup — read 2026-09-18
• City of Rancho Cordova, residential solid waste services — read 2026-09-18
• City of Citrus Heights, Neighborhood Cleanup — read 2026-09-18
• City of Galt, residential services — read 2026-09-18
• City of Modesto, bulky item collection — read 2026-09-18