Beyond Basic Garbage Pickup: NYC Options for Bulk Disposal

It’s easy to manage household garbage, but what do you do when you’ve got large items you can’t put out for regular collection? Mattresses, old furniture, unwanted appliances and renovation debris all present a challenge for disposal, especially in densely populated urban areas. When it won’t fit into a bin, let alone a garbage bag, you need special collection.

Garbage Pickup, NYC Sanitation and Bulk Items

DSNY offers a variety of programs for garbage pickup, NYC sanitation and bulk items, but these free services do require a fairly substantial time and labor investment on your part.

Mattresses must be bagged in specialty bags you purchase yourself, then set out after 4PM the evening before collection without blocking pedestrian traffic, extending into the street or another property. Unless you’re dealing with a smaller mattress, you’ll also need to make a special appointment.

Old appliances? Anything containing coolant, like a refrigerator or an air conditioner, comes with a laundry list of rules and hoops to jump through in the interest of legal compliance. Older models containing a phased-out coolant must be put out for coolant removal and then recycling, with the doors removed and a variety of other safety requirements met in advance.

Older appliances are understandably complicated due to the hazardous coolant, but newer models should be a walk in the park, right? Not so fast. If a coolant-containing appliance is newer and bears a flammable warning label, DSNY won’t pick it up at all. You’ll have to contact the manufacturer or arrange for private disposal.

What if you’re trying to get rid of construction or renovation debris like lumber, carpeting or rugs? You can collect them into tied bundles no larger than 2×4 feet, but only if you’ve completed all the work yourself. If you’ve hired any professional assistance at all with a renovation project, you’ll have to secure private pickup for the resulting debris.

Keep in mind, too, that all the DSNY special waste management programs require you to do the heavy lifting, from inside your space all the way to the curb. There are limits to how many bundles, bulk items and special disposal requests you can make, and you’ll have minimal control over scheduling.

Making NYC Bulk Disposal More Efficient

There’s definitely truth to the adage about time equaling money. The more time you spend focusing on disposal, the less time you have to manage your project or ensure it is completed ahead of a deadline.

At Jiffy Junk, we know the value of your time and work to make waste management the easiest, least stressful aspect of any large project. Because we also place a high value on the environment, we work diligently to minimize the landfill impact of every job. We’ll prioritize donation and recycling at every opportunity, even hauling your donatable items to the charitable drop-off locations of your choice.

Don’t waste time trying to navigate the red tape of DSNY special disposal. Our trained and experienced technicians are standing by, waiting to provide full-service, white-glove disposal for jobs of any size throughout all five boroughs, Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Call today: 844-543-3966.