How to Get Rid of Junk in Fresno: The 2026 Local Guide

Fresno gives residents more free ways to get rid of junk than most people realize: a free bulky item pickup every year, a neighborhood clean-up that hauls up to 10 cubic yards, free hazardous-waste drop-off and a county landfill that takes almost anything. The catch is that each one has its own rules, timing and fine print. This guide puts all of it in one place, so you can pick the cheapest option that actually fits your pile.

The City of Fresno's free one-time bulky item pickup

If you live in a home that pays for City of Fresno trash service on its utility bill, you can have one bulky item picked up for free each year. You can request it any time of year, as long as it's been more than a year since your last one.

How to request it

• Call 311 (or (559) 621-2489) or submit it in the FresGO app.
• Solid Waste calls you back within seven business days to set the date.
• Put the item out no more than 36 hours before pickup, and have it at the curb by 6:00 a.m. on the day.
• Set it 1 to 1.5 feet from the curb where your carts go, clear of parked cars, mailboxes, water meters, hydrants and sewer vents.

What it takes

Bookcases, box springs, carpet, chairs, couches, desks, dressers, entertainment centers, filing cabinets, headboards, mattresses, nightstands, recliners, shelving, tables, stoves and ovens, and drained water heaters.

What it doesn't take

Refrigerators and freezers, electronics, tires, batteries, household hazardous waste, auto parts, dirt and regular household trash. A second pickup in the same year is charged as a "Special Haul" at the City's fee schedule rate.

Good to know: it's one item per year. If you have a couch and a mattress, the second one waits a year, goes to Operation Clean Up, or goes with a hauler.

Operation Clean Up: up to 10 cubic yards, once a year

Operation Clean Up (OCU) is the City's yearly neighborhood bulk pickup, and it's the best free deal in town if you can wait for your date. Each eligible home can set out up to 10 cubic yards, which the City describes as two piles about 8 × 4 × 4 feet, or two pickup beds loaded to the top of the cab.

Who qualifies

• Homes that pay for City trash service on their utility bill.
• Gated communities only if the property manager arranges it with Solid Waste.
• Not apartments or complexes with four or more units. North of Ashlan Avenue those are served by Allied Waste ((559) 275-1551); south of Ashlan by Mid Valley Disposal ((559) 237-9425).

How it works

• Look up your neighborhood's date on the City's OCU page (fresno.gov/OCU), or call 311. Schedules are posted monthly in English and Spanish.
• Put everything out no more than 7 days before your date and by 6:00 a.m. on the day. Crews can come any time that day.
• Make two piles: one for yard material (limbs, lumber, brush, clippings) and one for everything else.
• Everything goes in the street along the curb in front of your house. Alleys aren't serviced, and you shouldn't park on the street that day.

The size rules people miss

• Branches, lumber and pipe cut to 4-foot lengths. Wood fencing no longer than 4 feet, stacked separately.
• Cabinets taken apart. Swing sets and garage doors broken down into 4-foot pieces.
• Hot tubs up to 8 × 8 feet, but only if cut into 4 × 4 sections. (That's real work; our hot tub removal guide explains what's involved.)
• Concrete, rock, brick and dirt: two wheelbarrow loads total.
• Glass and sliding doors taped with duct tape; water heaters, sinks and toilets drained.

What OCU won't take

Refrigerators and freezers, tires, paint, batteries, broken TVs and monitors, chemicals, pool acid, propane tanks, motor oil, 50-gallon drums, treated wood and railroad ties, stumps from tree removal, and debris from contractor work or major remodels (roofing, landscaping jobs). Those need a roll-off bin, a hauler or a special drop-off.

Taking it to the dump yourself

Fresno County's landfill is the American Avenue Disposal Site, 18950 W. American Ave., Kerman, CA 93630, roughly 20 miles west of downtown Fresno.

• Hours: Monday–Friday 7am–3pm, Saturday 8am–2:30pm. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
• Phone: (559) 600-4259.
• Bring a high-visibility safety vest. They're required on site, and it's the detail that sends people home.
• Fees: charged by weight with a minimum per load; rates are on the County's tipping fee schedule (updated July 1, 2026). Major credit cards are accepted with a 2.3% convenience fee.
• Construction debris limit: loads under 3 cubic yards, or mixed loads where C&D is less than 20% of the total. County staff make the final call.
• Tires: accepted from county residents, starting at $2.39 per passenger tire.

Cover and tie down your load. Uncovered loads carry an extra fee, and anything that blows out on the way is on you.

Is DIY worth it? For a single trailer of yard waste or demo scrap, often yes. For furniture and mixed household junk, add up the truck or trailer, fuel, a 40-mile round trip, the tipping fee, a half day and the lifting, then compare that with a quote.

Paint, chemicals, batteries and e-waste

None of these go in your carts, OCU or the bulky pickup. Fresno County runs a free drop-off for residents:

• Fresno County Regional Household Hazardous Waste Facility (Environmental Compliance Center), 1327 W. Dan Ronquillo Dr., Fresno 93706, at West Ave.
• Fridays and Saturdays, 9am–3pm. No appointment needed for residents.
• Limit: 15 gallons or 125 pounds per trip, about what fits in a car trunk. Call (559) 600-4259 for bigger loads.

Other options:

• Paint: many hardware and paint stores take leftover paint through PaintCare ((855) 724-6809, paintcare.org).
• Motor oil and fluids: the City's Recycling Program Hotline, (559) 621-1111, can point you to a collection center.
• Batteries: regional libraries and other authorized collection sites.
• Fluorescent tubes and CFL bulbs can't go in the landfill in California. Take them to the HHW facility.

Item by item: what to do with the hard stuff

A note on tires: California limits how many you can haul at once. Transporting more than nine tires requires a County exemption letter, so a pile of old tires behind the shed is usually a job for a licensed hauler.

Clovis and the rest of the county

Clovis runs its own Community Clean-Up Program: a free curbside bulk pickup twice a year, spring and fall, for single-family homes on City of Clovis refuse service. Eligible homes get a flyer with their date. The rules differ from Fresno's:

• Sort into three piles: green waste, metal and other debris.
• Set it out no more than two weeks before your date, by 6:00 a.m. Setting out early or late can bring a special pickup fee.
• Clovis also has a drop-off center for household hazardous items, free for residents.

Outside city limits (Sanger, Selma, Fowler, Kingsburg and unincorporated areas), bulky pickup depends on your city or your franchise hauler. Check the newsletter in your trash bill or call the hauler on it. County residents can use American Avenue and the County HHW facility. If you're in Clovis, Sanger, Selma or Fowler, our town pages list what we see most there.

Donate what still has life in it

The City encourages donating usable furniture, clothing and household goods before throwing them out. A few tips so the trip isn't wasted:

• Thrift stores and Habitat for Humanity ReStore locations take furniture in good shape, but most turn away stained upholstery, mattresses and anything broken. Call first, and ask if they offer pickup.
• Working appliances, tools and building materials are the easiest donations.
• Posting "free, you haul" on Marketplace or Nextdoor works for the good stuff. Expect a few no-shows.

Don't just leave it on the curb

Fresno treats any pile that isn't part of a scheduled pickup as illegal dumping, and it's cited. That includes putting things out more than 36 hours before a bulky pickup or more than 7 days before OCU. It also includes a "free" couch sitting at the curb for a week. If you see dumping, report it in the FresGO app or by calling 311.

The same goes for hiring the cheapest truck you can find. If an unlicensed hauler dumps your load in an alley or a canal bank, it can be traced back to you. Ask any hauler where your junk is going.

When it makes sense to hire a junk removal crew

The free programs are great when the timing and rules line up. A crew is usually the better call when:

• It's more than one item and your Operation Clean Up date is months away.
• It's on the excluded list: refrigerators, freezers, tires, TVs or a hot tub that hasn't been cut up.
• You don't have City service: renters in larger complexes, businesses and many county homes.
• There's a deadline, like a move-out, a closing, an inspection or a property turnover.
• It's heavy or hard to reach: second floors, attics, backyards, narrow side gates.
• It's a whole space: garages, estates, hoarded rooms or storage units, where sorting, donation and recycling matter as much as hauling.

How junk removal pricing works in Fresno

Most local haulers price by how much of the truck your items fill, plus extra for heavy or special-handling items like appliances, tires and concrete. Labor, loading, hauling and disposal fees are usually included. Before you book, make sure you get:

• A firm price before loading starts, not a rough range that changes at the end.
• A business that's licensed and insured, in case something gets damaged on the way out.
• A straight answer about where your items go: landfill, recycler or donation.

At Those Junk Movers, we ask for a few photos, give one firm price on site, and do all the lifting, loading and sweeping. We pull out donations and recyclable metal first. We cover Fresno, Clovis, Madera and the South Valley, and we can often come the same day.

About Those Junk Movers

Those Junk Movers was started in Fresno in May 2021 by Jiliberto Pimentel, a five-year Marine Corps veteran who grew up in Huron. The crew handles junk removal, cleanouts and hauling across Fresno and the Central Valley, and holds a 5.0 rating from 221 Google reviews.

"I texted them this morning and they were here this afternoon. Very polite, clean, professional and priced right."Jodi C., Google review

Sources

Rules and hours in this guide come from the City of Fresno Department of Public Utilities (One-Time Bulky Item Pickup and Operation Clean Up pages), Fresno County Public Works and Planning (Landfill Operations, Household Hazardous Waste and Used Tires pages), and the City of Clovis Community Clean-Up Program. Programs, fees and hours change. Call 311 (City of Fresno) or (559) 600-4259 (Fresno County) to confirm before you go. Last checked October 13, 2026.