Junk removal costs in Madison

Madison's large item pickup starts with choosing a Sunday. You fill out a Streets Division work order online, list what's going out, and pick the Sunday you'll set it at the curb. Crews come sometime in the work week after that. Put things out early and nobody comes sooner; put them out late and you may miss the pickup.

Large means anything too big for your carts: couches, mattresses, tables, pianos, tires, microwaves, air conditioners, even fence posts. Each piece has to be under 8 feet long. Keep it 4 feet from trees, cars, poles, mailboxes and hydrants, out of the street and off the sidewalk. Then split the pile in two, metal and appliances on one side, furniture and lumber on the other. Different crews collect each, because the metal gets recycled and the rest goes to a landfill.

Some homes fall outside all this. Since January 1, 2025, buildings with more than 8 units get no large item collection. The Streets Division doesn't haul private dumpsters either, WM Bagsters included; you schedule those with WM. And fall leaf collection, winter storms and holidays can push a pickup back.

August 2026 ran differently in one part of town. In the student move-out area, from August 3 until 6:30 a.m. on August 21, crews roamed the streets and picked up mattresses, couches, desks, bookshelves, bed frames and other common items with no work order at all.