Orlando & Orange County Bulk / Large-Item Pickup: Rules & How to Find Your Day

✓ Last verified Oct 24, 2026 against official sources · see sources

Step 1: Check whether your address is in the City of Orlando or unincorporated Orange County

Many homes with an "Orlando, FL" mailing address actually sit in unincorporated Orange County—and the two systems pick up large items on different days with different rules (especially for refrigerators and tires).

• Not sure if you're inside city limits? Check the city's Do I Live in City Limits? map first.
• Live in Winter Park, Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Maitland, or Belle Isle? Each of those cities runs its own solid-waste program; neither schedule below applies.

City of Orlando: Large-Item & Bulk Pickup Rules

If your home has City of Orlando solid-waste service, the city picks up up to two large items for free on your weekly yard waste day, with no need to call ahead, as long as crews can load them into the truck by hand.

What the City picks up for free (up to 2 items)

Per the city's Get Large Items Picked Up page:

• Furniture: sofas, chairs, dressers, TV consoles, or similar items.
• Appliances: standard household refrigerators, dishwashers, or clothes washers and dryers. (Safety rule: you must remove all doors from refrigerators and freezers before placing them at the curb so children cannot get trapped inside.)
• Other hand-loadable household items: toilets, sinks, or other items that can be loaded onto the truck by hand.

Where and when to set items out

• Find your day on the Trash, Recycling & Yard Waste Pick-Up Schedule page (you can also sign up for courtesy reminders there).
• Set items out prior to 6 a.m. on your yard waste day (per City Code Chapter 28, yard trash may be placed out no earlier than 5 p.m. the day before and no later than 6 a.m. on collection day).
• Place items at the edge of your property before the curb—not in the street.
• Keep clear of the street, sidewalk, mailboxes, trees, poles, fire hydrants, storm drains, water meters, and overhead utility lines.

Yard waste vs. large items ("Think 4")

On the same yard waste day, the city collects up to 4 cubic yards of yard waste (about one standard pickup truck bed): - Branches must be no more than 4 inches in diameter, 4 feet long, and tied in bundles under 40 lbs. - Bagged yard waste must be under 40 lbs per bag. - Yard waste does not include dirt, rock, gravel, landscape ties, fences, or pressure-treated wood.

When you have more than 2 items—or items too heavy to lift by hand

1. Claw truck pickup (cost varies): If items are too big or heavy to load by hand, they need a claw truck. The city says the cost depends on the type and amount of items; call 407.246.2314 to schedule.
2. Dumpster-in-a-Bag pickup ($100 flat fee): If you buy a retail "dumpster-in-a-bag," fill it between the curb and sidewalk with furniture, old appliances, or construction materials (no food waste, no yard waste, no hazardous waste/paint, and do not exceed the bag's weight rating). Request pickup online or call 407.246.2314. The city picks it up within 3–5 working days and adds $100 per bag to your OUC bill within 1–2 billing cycles.
3. City roll-off dumpster (20-yard or 30-yard): For remodels or whole-home cleanouts inside city limits, you can request a 20-yard or 30-yard roll-off dumpster from the city (charged by weight per ton; the city contacts you with availability and pricing).

Unincorporated Orange County: Large-Item Rules

If you live in unincorporated Orange County (green-lid garbage cart and blue-lid recycling cart), large items are collected once a week on the same day as your regular garbage.

Important 2025/2026 schedule change: Starting December 29, 2025, Orange County separated collection days so garbage and large items are picked up on one day, and recycling and yard waste are picked up on a different day. If you haven't checked since 2025, look up your current schedule at ocfl.net/CollectionSchedule (enter your house number and street name without N/S/E/W directions or suffixes like Rd., St., Ave., or Dr.).

What unincorporated Orange County takes as a large item

• Accepted (up to 3 cubic yards per household per week, ~3 stoves): furniture, mattresses, non-freon appliances, TVs (including rear-projection TVs that can't be recycled as e-waste), artificial Christmas trees that don't fit in the cart, and up to 4 passenger car tires.
• NOT collected as large items:
• Freon-containing devices such as refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners (ask the delivery company for haul-away when buying a new one, or take them to the Orange County Landfill for a $10 minimum charge).
• Items small enough to fit inside the green-lid garbage cart.
• Automobile parts (other than up to 4 passenger tires) and household hazardous waste (wet paint, propane tanks, pool chemicals, oil, rechargeable batteries).

Set-out timing & placement rules

• Place large items neatly within 3 feet of the curb no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before and no later than 6 a.m. on your scheduled garbage collection day. Crews have until 8 p.m. to finish routes.
• Do not mix large items with yard waste, garbage, or recyclables.
• Keep everything at least 3 feet away from carts, mailboxes, parked cars, utility boxes, water meters, and low-hanging tree limbs.
• Missed pickup? Call the Solid Waste Hotline at 407-836-6601 or email Solid.Waste@ocfl.net. If you report a missed collection before 11 a.m., it is usually collected the same day (reports after 11 a.m. are collected the next business day).

What we couldn't verify

• Exact claw-truck price table for the City of Orlando: the city states that cost varies by the type and amount of items and is quoted when you call 407.246.2314.
• Exact roll-off dumpster rental rates from the City of Orlando: the city quotes 20-yard and 30-yard dumpsters by phone/email after you submit a request.
• Apartment and condo complexes: both programs above apply to single-family/curbside roll-cart customers. Dumpster-serviced apartment complexes set their own bulk-item rules with their private hauler or property manager.