Bulk Trash?
Does Nashville Pick Up
Bulk Trash?
The honest answer is no — Metro Nashville has no free curbside bulk-item pickup. Set a couch out front and it just sits there. There are two genuinely free routes (both with real catches) and one paid route that actually comes to your door. Here's exactly how each works in 2026, and how to tell which one you need.
The short answer
Unlike New York, Chicago, or a lot of big cities, Metro Nashville's Department of Waste Services does not run a free curbside bulk pickup. You can't schedule the city to come haul off a mattress, a sofa, or an old fridge, and leaving one at the curb only earns you a complaint (or, in an apartment complex, a charge). What the city does offer is a weekly garbage-and-recycling route, a quarterly brush collection for yard limbs, and four self-haul drop-off sites. Everything else — the furniture, the appliances, the multi-item cleanout — is on you to move or on a private hauler to carry out.
What Metro Nashville actually picks up
| Service | What it covers | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Curbside garbage | Household trash in your cart | Weekly, by route |
| Curbside recycling | Cart recycling | On your recycling schedule |
| Brush collection | Yard limbs ≤4 in diameter, ≤12 ft long | 4×/year, 12-route rotation |
| Convenience centers | 1 bulk item + 1 cu yd extra, self-haul | Tue–Sat, 8:30–4:30 |
| Curbside bulk items | Furniture, mattresses, appliances | Not offered |
Questions on your route or the program? Call 311 or 615-862-5000. Brush pickup is scheduled through Metro's rotation, and a limited scheduled pickup can sometimes be arranged through Correctional Services at 615-880-3897 — but it's built around yard debris, not household furniture, so confirm before you count on it.
Free route #1 — the four convenience centers
Metro operates four convenience centers where any Davidson County resident can drop off bulk items themselves. The best-known are Anderson Lane at 939A Anderson Ln in Madison and Omohundro at 1019 Omohundro Pl. The deal is fair: your first bulk item plus one cubic yard of extra trash is free, with fees kicking in beyond that. The catches are the ones that matter for most people:
- Hours are tight — Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. only, and closed on Metro holidays. No Sundays, no Mondays, no evenings.
- You haul it — a couch, a mattress, or a fridge doesn't fit in a car, so you're renting or borrowing a truck and finding a second set of hands.
- One free item — clearing a whole garage or an estate means multiple trips or paying the overage.
If you've got one manageable item, a truck, and a free weekday morning, this is genuinely the cheapest way to go. For most bulk trash, though, the logistics are the whole problem.
Free route #2 — quarterly brush collection
Metro runs a brush and yard-waste collection four times a year on a 12-route rotation. It's real and it's free, but it's narrow: it takes tree and shrub limbs up to about 4 inches in diameter and 12 feet long, stacked at the curb the right way, and it comes around on the schedule for your route — not on demand. It's the right tool after you trim the yard or a storm drops branches. It is not a way to get rid of a sofa, a water heater, or a pile of renovation debris, and it won't come the week you actually need it.
When you need a hauler instead
The city's two free routes cover a slim slice of what people actually want gone. The moment your job is any of these, a full-service hauler is the only option that works:
- It's furniture or appliances — couches, mattresses, dressers, fridges, washers; none of it is curbside-collected, and a fridge needs its refrigerant recovered before disposal anyway.
- It's more than one item — a garage, an apartment, an estate, a construction cleanout; the convenience center's one-free-item cap doesn't fit a real cleanout.
- You need it gone now — same-day, before a closing, a move-out, or a guest check-in; brush rotation and Tuesday–Saturday hours can't do that.
- It's inside the home — up from a crawlspace, down from an attic, out of a third-floor walk-up or a Gulch high-rise; self-haul assumes you've already carried it out.
Free vs paid, side by side
| Option | Cost | Speed | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convenience center (self-haul) | Free (1st bulk item) | Tue–Sat 8:30–4:30 | You need a truck and muscle; one free item only |
| Quarterly brush collection | Free | 4×/year by route | Yard limbs only — no furniture or appliances |
| Traditional full-service hauler | $150–$600+ | 2–3 days | On-site estimate, wide arrival window, add-on fees |
| JunkRabbit | Flat from $75 | Same day | None — photo quote, carried out of the home, disposal included |
What a flat-price haul costs in Nashville
When self-haul doesn't pencil out, our price is flat and photo-quoted before anyone drives, with the carry-out and disposal already in it and no Tennessee service tax on top. For context, Nashville full-service haulers run about $150–$350 for a single item by HomeGuide's local estimate, and local crew Stand Up Guys prices a half-truck around $300 and a full truck around $600, usually after an on-site look. Our numbers are set from your photo.
| Job | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Sofa / couch | $126 |
| Twin mattress | $82 |
| Queen mattress | $103 |
| Refrigerator | $164 |
| Washer or dryer | $128–$133 |
| Truck-fill (quarter) | $241 |
| Truck-fill (half) | $431 |
| Truck-fill (full) | $732 |
$75 minimum. Disposal included, we carry it out of the home, no Tennessee service tax. Cheap regional disposal in Middle Tennessee (roughly $30–$50 a ton) is part of why we can price this fairly rather than padding for dump fees.
What happens to your bulk trash
Anything usable goes to donation first — Goodwill of Middle Tennessee and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore keep furniture and appliances in circulation instead of heading to Middle Point Landfill. Refrigerant appliances have their freon recovered as the EPA requires; metal, wood, and electronics are routed to recyclers where a facility takes them; and only the true remainder is landfilled. It's the same responsible routing a convenience-center drop-off aims for, minus the truck rental and the Saturday morning.
What Nashville residents say
"I kept googling how to get the city to pick up my old sectional and finally realized they just don't. Sent a photo, flat price, gone same-day. Way easier than renting a truck for the Anderson Lane run."
"Cleared a whole garage in Donelson — way past one free item at the convenience center. One truck-fill, flat price, no tax line, and they carried it all out. Would've taken me five trips."
"Old fridge and a washer out of the basement before closing. The city doesn't touch appliances, so this was the move. Freon handled, flat price, done that afternoon."
Bulk trash questions, answered
Does Nashville pick up bulk trash for free?
No — there's no free curbside bulk pickup. Your free options are self-haul to a convenience center (first item free) or quarterly brush collection (yard limbs only).
Where are the convenience centers?
Four Metro sites, including Anderson Lane (939A Anderson Ln, Madison) and Omohundro (1019 Omohundro Pl). One bulk item plus a cubic yard free, Tue–Sat 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Call 311 or 615-862-5000.
How do I get rid of a couch or mattress?
Self-haul it (you'll need a truck) or hire a hauler. We carry it out same-day for a flat photo price — sofa $126, mattress from $111 — disposal included.
What does the city pick up at the curb?
Weekly garbage and recycling, plus quarterly brush (limbs ≤4 in diameter, ≤12 ft). No furniture, mattresses, appliances, or debris.
Is a hauler worth it over the free route?
If it's furniture, multiple items, inside the home, or needed today — yes. Flat from $75, truck-fills quarter $241 / half $431 / full $732, no Tennessee service tax.
Get it hauled instead
Ready to Get It Gone?
Send a photo and get one flat price back in seconds — carry-out, hauling and disposal are all in it.
Upload Photos & Get Your QuotePrefer texting? 💬 Text (615) 729-6789 — send a photo, get the price.