Junk removal costs in San Francisco

Buying a new mattress in San Francisco? Then the old one may be the easiest thing in the house to get rid of. Under California's mattress recycling law, a store that delivers your new mattress has to offer to take the used one back when it drops off the new one. If it ships by carrier instead, the store has to offer to arrange that pickup within 30 days of delivery.

For almost everything else, the city's trash company runs a bulky program for San Francisco residents. Recology gives a house two curbside bulky collections a year and an apartment one. More than that and you pay for each extra trip. The list is broad: worn-out mattresses, broken furniture, damaged carpet, dead TVs and computers, even e-bikes, scooters and other gear with built-in batteries.

It's for city residents only, so a place just over the county line won't qualify, and you should be ready to list every item when you book. On pickup morning, everything goes next to the curb before 6 a.m., with a sign that says "Recology." The catch is lead time: Recology asks you to call or send the form at least two weeks before you need things gone.