The system in one table
| Your situation | City bulky pickup | The process |
|---|---|---|
| House / 2-flat / 3-flat / 4-flat with black carts | ✅ Covered | Modest items beside the cart on collection day; bigger loads & appliances via a 311 bulky-item request (roughly a week) |
| Building of 5+ units | 🚫 Not served | Private hauling — ask management about building arrangements, or book a pickup |
| Appliances (any eligible building) | ✅ With rules | 311 request + doors off fridges/freezers before set-out (child-entrapment law) |
| TVs, computers, electronics | 🚫 Never | Illinois bans them from landfills — e-waste drop-offs, or flat pickup to certified recyclers |
| Construction debris, paint, tires | 🚫 Never | Contractor haul, HHW programs, or flat debris pricing ($120/cu yd) |
Ward practices genuinely vary on quantities and timing — the 311 request is both the mechanism and your paper trail. When in doubt, thirty seconds with CHI311 or your ward office settles it.
Where the free program is the right answer
Honestly: often, if you qualify. A two-flat resident with a dead armchair and no deadline should file the 311 request and keep their money — that's what the program is for. The same three limits from every city program apply: your labor (everything goes to the alley yourself, down the back stairs), the calendar (about a week's lead on requests, which a lease deadline doesn't respect), and the exclusions (electronics, debris, and every building over four units).
The gaps, priced flat
| The gap | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Big-building sofa (no city option exists) | $126 |
| Mattress — twin / queen / king | $82 / $103 / $114 |
| Fridge — carried out, doors on, EPA-handled | $164 |
| TV to certified e-waste recycling | from $62 |
| Lease-deadline room clear — quarter truck | $241 |
| Whole-unit clear — half / full truck | $431 / $732 |
$100 minimum. Carried from inside — back stairs, freight elevators and building COIs included. Donation-grade pieces routed to donation with receipts available.
Frequently asked questions
Does Chicago pick up bulk trash for free?
For eligible buildings, yes — Chicago collects bulky household items through Streets & Sanitation for residences that get city garbage service (buildings of four units or fewer with the black carts). Modest set-outs ride the regular collection beside your cart; bigger loads and appliances go through a 311 bulky-item request, typically fulfilled within about a week. The half of the city living in larger buildings gets none of this — those buildings are on private hauling.
How do I request a bulky item pickup through Chicago 311?
Submit a bulky-item service request via the CHI311 app, 311.chicago.gov, or by calling 311 — describe the items and where they'll sit (usually the alley by your cart). Appliances have their own request type, and fridge/freezer doors must come off before set-out (child-entrapment law). Ward practices vary on quantities and timing, so the request itself is your paper trail that the set-out is legitimate.
What won't Chicago bulky pickup take?
Electronics are the big one — Illinois law bans TVs, computers and monitors from landfills, so they're excluded from collection entirely (the state route is e-waste drop-off sites; ours is a flat pickup to certified recyclers, TVs from $62). Construction and demolition debris is contractor waste, not city collection. And chemicals, paint and tires have their own household-hazardous-waste routes. Plus the structural exclusion: every building over four units.
What should big-building residents do with bulky items in Chicago?
Your options are your building's arrangements (some high-rises schedule private bulk pickups — ask your management), retailer haul-away at delivery, or a flat-priced pickup from your unit: sofa $126, queen mattress $103, fridge $164 with EPA refrigerant handling, whole-room clears from $241 — freight elevator and building COI handled where needed.