The monthly brush-and-bulky week is genuinely useful — for the things it accepts. But the excluded list is long, specific, and enforced with automatic billing: no refrigerant appliances, no electronics, no construction debris, no tires, no paint. Here's every category the city refuses, why, and the legitimate route for each — with real flat prices, not "call for a quote."
One photo — flat price back in seconds
Upload a Photo & Get Quote →| The city refuses | Why | The legitimate route |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerators & freezers | Contain refrigerant — federal handling rules | Flat pickup: fridge $164 (large $246), upright freezer $149, chest $146 — EPA refrigerant recovery included |
| Air conditioners & dehumidifiers | Same coolant rules | Window AC $79, portable $114, dehumidifier $77 |
| Lawnmowers | Gasoline residue | $88 flat, drained and recycled for the metal |
| TVs, computers, electronics | State-managed e-waste stream | TV $62–$73 by size, monitor $58, desktop $62, microwave $30 — certified e-waste recycling |
| Construction & demo debris | "Contractor waste is the contractor's problem" | $162 per cubic yard, loaded from where it sits |
| Auto parts & tires | Separate recycling stream | Set of 4 tires $87, routed to a tire recycler |
| Dirt, soil, sod | Weight and equipment limits | Priced by volume from a photo |
| Paint & chemicals | Hazardous waste — nobody hauls this curbside | Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center (we can't take it either — see below) |
| Bagged household garbage | Belongs in your roll cart | Overflow bagged loads: from $132 for 10 bags |
Exclusions per Dallas Sanitation, current August 2026. And remember the program serves houses and duplexes only — apartments get none of it.
Dallas's enforcement is cleverly designed: crews usually take the non-compliant pile — and then the city bills you automatically, $60 per 5 cubic yards, with code-compliance citations available on top. There's no argument at the curb, just a line on your bill. A banned fridge that "disappeared with the bulk pile" can cost more than the $164 flat pickup that would have handled it legally, and the debris pile you snuck out is the most expensive "free" disposal in the city.
Paint, chemicals, and hazardous materials aren't a junk-removal item — from anyone. A hauler who cheerfully throws your paint cans in the truck is telling you where they'll end up. The legitimate route in Dallas is the county's Home Chemical Collection program (check dallascounty.org for current hours). What we do on a cleanout is work around it: we haul everything else, consolidate the hazmat in one spot, and point you at the county drop-off for the last box.
Everything on the excluded list is excluded because it needs a specialized downstream — refrigerant recovery, e-waste separation, tire processing, C&D sorting. The city's program is a claw truck and a landfill; it was never built for those streams. That's exactly what a full-service pickup is for: one flat price per item, and the routing — EPA recovery for the fridge, certified recycler for the TV, tire processor for the set of four — is our job, documented, instead of your Saturday.
Fridge, TV, debris, tires — photo in, price out
Upload a Photo & Get Quote →No. Dallas brush & bulky collection refuses any appliance containing coolant, gas or chemicals — refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and lawnmowers included. The refrigerant has to be recovered to EPA standards before the metal can be recycled. A flat-price pickup handles that chain for you: standard fridge $164, upright freezer $149, window AC $79, with the disconnect, carry-out and certified refrigerant handling included.
No — no electronics of any kind (TVs, computers, monitors, stereos, microwaves). The city's answer is self-hauling them to a disposal site. The alternative is a flat pickup routed to certified e-waste recycling: TVs $62–$73 by size, monitors $58, desktop computers $62, microwaves $30.
No — no building materials, brick, rock, concrete, glass panes, mirrors, roofing or anything with protruding nails. The city's position is that contractor-generated waste is the contractor's problem. When it's yours anyway (a DIY demo, a contractor who vanished), debris hauls at $120 per cubic yard, loaded from where it sits.
No auto parts or tires, ever. A set of four tires is $87 as a flat pickup, routed to a tire recycler.
Dallas usually collects non-compliant set-outs — then automatically bills you $60 per 5 cubic yards for the violation, and code enforcement can add citations on top. The banned-item pile is the most expensive 'free' pickup in the city.
Not accepted at the curb, and honest junk removal companies (us included) can't legally haul hazardous materials either. Dallas-area residents use the Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center — check dallascounty.org for current hours and rules. We'll take everything around the paint cans.