Junk removal costs in Denver

Denver runs large item pickup on a nine-week cycle, so the calendar does a lot of the planning for you. It lands on your regular trash day. Look up your address in the Trash and Recycling app, find the Large Item entry, and sign up for reminders. Between those dates, a couch on the curb counts as illegal dumping.

What counts: furniture, rugs, exercise equipment, big toys, bikes without motors, and mattresses or box springs that are bagged and wrapped. What doesn't: electronics, paint, batteries, tires, and building materials like concrete, brick, fencing and pallets.

Appliances run on their own track. If the city picks up your trash, you can book an appliance collection by appointment through 311. Stoves, water heaters, furnaces, dishwashers, washers and dryers qualify, along with fridges, freezers and air conditioners. The city does those pickups itself, so the metal gets recycled and the Freon is handled safely.

On large item day, Solid Waste Management takes up to five large items and 10 extra bags from each address. Have everything out by 6 a.m., where the crew can see it, and at least 2 feet from your carts, cars and poles. Bags can't be bigger than 32 gallons or heavier than 50 pounds, and nothing goes out in a cardboard box.