Junk removal costs in St. Louis

St. Louis runs on alley dumpsters, and the rule that trips people up is simple: big stuff never goes in the dumpster. Bulk comes once a month instead. Look up your address to find your bulk week, then by 6 a.m. on that Monday, set out up to three items. With alley collection, that means the alley behind your house, kept away from the refuse containers. Crews can't pick up from private property. Take the fridge doors off. Other furniture doesn't need to come apart.

Remodeling debris is a different story. The city says not to load old lumber, plaster or roofing into the dumpsters. Hire a commercial hauler or take it to the North or South Transfer Station yourself. Each household gets up to 12 loads a year there, on weekdays only, with proof that you live in the city. A rental truck is fine. A commercial truck isn't.

Railroad ties from an old garden bed are the one thing the city won't take at all, because the wood is soaked in creosote.

Bulk week also doubles as the city's BOAT-E pickup, for batteries, oil, appliances, tires and electronics. It's against the law here to throw out car batteries, motor oil, appliances or tires with the trash, so the city collects them for recycling during bulk week instead. Computers and printers can go out then too.