The system in one paragraph
Every Dallas residence and duplex on city sanitation gets one brush-and-bulky collection week per month, assigned by district (find yours on the city's collection calendar). You put up to 10 cubic yards of qualifying material just behind the curb in front of your home, between Thursday and Sunday before your week, and automated arm-and-claw trucks collect it during the week. That's the whole deal — free within the rules, with real teeth when you break them.
The rules that catch people
- The 10-cubic-yard limit. Ten cubic yards is a pile roughly 15 ft long, 6 ft deep, 3 ft high — generous for yard work, tight for a garage cleanout, gone in one furniture purge. Exceed it and the city usually takes it anyway, then bills you automatically: $60 per 5 cubic yards, in 5-yard increments, with citations possible on top.
- The once-a-year exception. You can request one 20-cubic-yard oversize collection per calendar year through Dallas 311 — but the request must go in before your collection week starts (by 11:59 p.m. Sunday), and it can't be cancelled once submitted.
- Timing is enforced. Set-out is Thursday–Sunday before your week, no earlier. An early pile is a code-compliance issue, not a head start.
- Placement matters. Behind the curb in front of your home — not the alley, not the street, not the sidewalk, not within 5 feet of your roll cart, a mailbox, a hydrant or a parked car, and not under low limbs or power lines where the claw can't reach. Crews skip what the truck can't safely grab.
What the city takes — and the list it doesn't
| ✅ Accepted | 🚫 Not accepted |
|---|---|
| Household furniture, carpet, mattresses | Refrigerators, freezers, ACs, dehumidifiers — anything with coolant or chemicals |
| Toilets, bicycles, toys | Electronics — TVs, computers, microwaves, stereos |
| Stoves, washers, dryers, water heaters | Construction & demolition debris — brick, concrete, glass panes, mirrors, roofing |
| Tree limbs (≤8" diameter, ≤10 ft), bagged clippings | Paints and chemicals; auto parts and tires; dirt, soil, sod |
| Bagged household garbage (that belongs in your roll cart) |
Also excluded: every apartment, condo community and commercial property — the program serves residences and duplexes only. Rules per Dallas Sanitation's brush & bulky page (current as of August 2026 — always check your district's calendar).
When the city program is the right answer
Honestly: often. If you live in a house or duplex, your pile is furniture and limbs rather than fridges and debris, it fits in 10 yards, you can physically get it to the curb, and — the big one — your timeline can wait for your district's week, the city program is free and you should use it. We'd rather tell you that than haul something you didn't need to pay for.
The five gaps where it fails — and what filling each costs
- The calendar gap. Your buyer closes Friday, your tenant moves Saturday, and your collection week is the 3rd of next month. A flat-priced pickup runs on your date — most single items are $100–$186, and a full price list is here.
- The excluded items. The city won't touch a refrigerator ($164 with us, refrigerant handled to EPA standards), a TV ($68 for a medium, routed to certified e-waste recycling), a window AC ($59), or a lawnmower ($65). Those aren't curb items in Dallas at any price.
- The debris pile. Renovation and demolition waste is banned from the curb entirely. We haul construction debris at $120 per cubic yard, loaded from where the contractor left it.
- The volume problem. A real garage or estate clear blows past 10 yards fast, and the city's overage math ($60 per 5 yards after you've dragged it all to the curb yourself) stops being free in a hurry. Our truck-fill rates — $241 quarter, $431 half, $732 full, loading included — price the same job with nobody carrying anything but us.
- The apartment problem. No city pickup exists for you at all — and furniture left at the compactor corral gets photographed and billed back. A flat-priced pickup from the unit is the deposit-safe route.
The honest comparison
| Dallas brush & bulky | JunkRabbit | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free within limits; $60/5 yd over | Flat, photo-quoted; $100 minimum |
| Timing | Your district's week, monthly | Your date — same-day when windows allow |
| Labor | You carry everything to the curb | We load from garage, backyard, or third floor |
| Fridges / TVs / debris | Never | Yes — priced flat, routed correctly |
| Apartments | Not served | Served, deposit-safe |
| Where it goes | Landfill | Donation first, recycling, then landfill |
Bottom line
Use the free week when it fits — it's a genuinely good program for houses with patient timelines and compliant piles. Call us for everything it excludes: the wrong items, the wrong housing type, the wrong week, or the pile you'd rather not carry. One photo gets you the flat price either way, and if the honest answer is "wait for your city week," we'll tell you.
Frequently asked questions
How often does Dallas pick up bulk trash?
Once a month. Every Dallas residence and duplex with city sanitation service has an assigned brush-and-bulky collection week each month, by district. You set materials out between Thursday and Sunday before your week, behind the curb in front of your home, and crews collect during the week with automated arm-and-claw trucks.
How much bulk trash can I set out in Dallas?
Up to 10 cubic yards per month — roughly a pile 6 ft deep by 15 ft long by 3 ft high. Once per calendar year you can request a 20-cubic-yard oversize collection through Dallas 311, submitted before your collection week begins. Go over the limit and the city still usually collects it — then automatically bills you $60 per 5 cubic yards, in 5-yard increments, with possible citations on top.
What will Dallas bulk trash NOT take?
No appliances containing coolant, gas or chemicals (refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, lawnmowers), no electronics (TVs, computers, microwaves), no construction or demolition debris (bricks, concrete, glass panes, mirrors, roofing), no paints or chemicals, no auto parts or tires, no dirt or sod, and no bagged household garbage. It also isn't available to apartments or commercial properties at all.
What if I miss my Dallas bulk trash week?
You wait for next month's week — setting out early is a code violation that can draw enforcement. If the pile can't wait (a move-out, a sale closing, a landlord deadline), a paid pickup is the legitimate alternative: flat photo-quoted pricing, scheduled on your date, loaded from wherever it sits rather than dragged to the curb.
Does Dallas bulk pickup serve apartments?
No — brush and bulky collection covers residences and duplexes with city sanitation service. Apartment and condo communities are on private hauling, so their residents' big items are the property's problem, usually via bill-backs on whoever left them. A flat-priced pickup from the unit is the deposit-safe route.
Is Dallas bulk trash pickup free?
Within the rules, yes — it's covered by your sanitation service. The costs appear at the edges: $60 per 5 cubic yards if you exceed the 10-yard limit, enforcement citations for early or non-compliant set-outs, and your own labor getting everything to the curb. For the items the program excludes entirely (fridges, TVs, debris), disposal is on you either way.