Bulk trash pickup in Indianapolis is free, runs once a month on your regular trash day, and is capped at two items per household. The city will not take freon appliances, TVs, tires, hazardous waste, or construction debris. Private options fill those gaps, from Indy Pickup 1111’s flat $11 scrap and appliance pickup to full-service junk removal averaging $241 a job.
Last updated: August 2026
Here is the uncomfortable stat behind this guide: Indianapolis recycles roughly 7% of its trash, against a national average around 35%. Of the 50 largest US cities, only Detroit and New Orleans recycled less (Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, 2020). That is not because people here do not care. It is because the system is genuinely confusing. Trash service changed hands in January 2026, curbside recycling is still a paid subscription, heavy trash has a two-item cap, and half the stuff in your garage is banned from the cart entirely.
We run Indy Pickup 1111, the Home of the $11 Pick Up. We haul scrap metal and appliances across the Indianapolis metro for a flat $11 a stop, and after thousands of stops — backed by 2,173 Google reviews at 4.9 stars — we hear the same questions every week. What does the city actually take? Why did they leave my fridge at the curb? Who takes the rest? This guide answers all of it: every disposal option in Marion County, what each one costs, and an honest call on when to use which — including when not to call us.
How Does Bulk Trash Pickup Work in Indianapolis?
The city calls it heavy trash, and the rules fit in one paragraph. Indianapolis heavy trash pickup costs nothing extra — it is covered by the solid waste user fee already on your property tax bill — happens once a month on one of your regular trash days, and is limited to two bulky items per household. There is nothing to schedule: set the items at the curb next to your cart on your district’s heavy trash day. Find that day by entering your address at indy.gov/activity/trash-pickup.
Two changes worth knowing in 2026:
- New hauler. On January 1, 2026, LRS (Lakeshore Recycling Systems) took over residential collection in seven of the city’s eleven solid waste districts — the areas previously served by Republic Services and WM (City of Indianapolis, 2025). City Department of Public Works crews still run the other four. Same rules either way, but if your pickup day shifted this year, that is why.
- New carts. Households moving to LRS were issued new city-branded carts, owned by the city rather than the hauler (City of Indianapolis, 2025). The rule that matters has not changed: the city cart is 96 gallons, and anything that fits inside it with the lid closed is regular trash (Indy.gov). Heavy trash is for what does not fit.
One boundary note: Speedway, Beech Grove, Lawrence, and Southport are excluded cities under Unigov — they sit inside Marion County but are separate municipalities, and trash service there is either self-provided or contracted separately (Encyclopedia of Indianapolis). Confirm the rules with your own city or town hall before hauling anything to the curb.
What Will the City of Indianapolis Pick Up for Free?
Per the city’s Trash 101 guidance, heavy trash covers bulky household items that will not fit in the cart:
- Household furniture — couches, desks, dressers, tables, chairs
- Mattresses and box springs, laid flat on the ground (heads up: a mattress plus box spring is two items, which is your entire month)
- Appliances without freon — stoves, water heaters, washers, dryers
- Lawn mowers, with the gas and oil drained
- Swing sets and disassembled bicycles
- Bundled limbs, 3 feet in diameter and 3 feet long — one bundle counts as one of your two items
Read that list again, though, because the two-item cap does a lot of quiet damage. Cleaning out a garage produces ten items, not two. And the list of what the city refuses outright is longer than the list of what it takes.
What the City Won’t Pick Up (And What to Do Instead)
This is where most Indianapolis residents get burned. You drag something to the curb, the truck passes, and the item sits there for a week while you figure out plan B. Here are the five big exclusions and the actual fix for each.
Refrigerators, Freezers, and Anything With Freon
The city will not take freon appliances in normal heavy trash. You have to call the Mayor’s Action Center at (317) 327-4622 and arrange a separate freon pickup, and the city tells you to allow ten business days for collection (Indy.gov). That is the no-extra-cost route, and it works if you can live with a fridge on your curb for two weeks.
The fast route: Indy Pickup 1111 picks up refrigerators, freezers, and AC units from outside or the garage for $36 total ($11 base plus a $25 freon surcharge), often same-day in our core area. Our guide to getting rid of old appliances in Indianapolis ranks every option in detail.
TVs and Electronics
Not just excluded — illegal. Since January 1, 2011, Indiana law has prohibited households from putting TVs, monitors, computers, and other covered electronics in the trash (Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Indiana Code 13-20.5). Your options: drop small electronics at a city ToxDrop site (TVs 27 inches or smaller, up to 5 computer systems per visit), take them to a recycler like RecycleForce, or book a pickup. We haul TVs for $26 to $81 depending on size and type — the full breakdown is in our TV disposal guide for Indianapolis.
Tires
No tires at the curb — they are state-regulated waste. We take them for $21 for the first tire ($11 base plus $10 per tire).
Paint, Chemicals, and Hazardous Waste
The cart and heavy trash are both off-limits. Free option: the city’s ToxDrop program, covered below. If you want it gone with the rest of a pickup load, we handle hazmat like paint and chemicals for $36 ($11 base plus a $25 surcharge).
Construction Debris
Drywall, concrete, brick, shingles, lumber — the city refuses all of it. For a renovation’s worth, a dumpster rental or a quoted cleanout job is the realistic play. And if the bulky thing in your driveway is an entire vehicle, that is a different service too: our sister brand Cash Car Heroes pays cash for junk cars with free towing.
Stuck with something the city refused? If it’s metal or an appliance, we take it for $11 flat from outside or the garage — no month-long wait, no truck-size pricing. Book your $11 pickup →
Curbside Recycling in Indianapolis: What It Costs in 2026
Indianapolis is the largest US city without universal curbside recycling (Mirror Indy, 2025). If you want a recycling bin in 2026, you subscribe: under the city’s contract, LRS cannot charge subscribers more than $9.00 a month for bi-weekly pickup, billed at $27.00 quarterly (Indy.gov). Sign up by calling LRS at (317) 245-4444. Under the old opt-in program at roughly $100 a year, only about 10% of residents took part (Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, 2020). Universal recycling for every household is now promised for 2028, three years behind the original target.
That subscription covers cans, bottles, and cardboard. It does not solve the appliance problem, and appliances are where recycling actually pays off. Materials in discarded appliances get recycled at a 59.8% rate nationally — one of the best numbers in the whole waste stream (EPA, 2018 data). According to Kevin Dempsey, President and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, “steel is the most recycled material on the planet. Steel products are 100 percent recyclable at the end of their useful lives and all steel produced in the U.S. contains recycled content” (AISI, 2021).
That is the advantage of a scrap pickup over a junk hauler: everything metal that Indy Pickup 1111 collects is processed for recycling through our own salvage yard, not tipped at a landfill. The $11 appliance and scrap metal pickup model exists because that metal has real commodity value.
Private Pickup Services Compared: $11 Pickup, Junk Removal, Dumpster Rental
When the city option fails you — wrong item, more than two things, or a month-long wait you cannot eat — there are three kinds of private help, at three very different price levels:
- Scrap metal and appliance pickup (Indy Pickup 1111). Flat $11 per stop for anything mostly metal, left outside or in the garage. Specialty items carry small published surcharges: freon appliances $36 total, TVs $26 to $81, mattresses $26 to $36, couches $31. Same-day and next-day service across the metro, Greenwood to Carmel, Avon to New Palestine. See what qualifies for the $11 pickup.
- Full-service junk removal. Crews that take anything, priced by truck volume. The national average job runs $241, with a typical range of $133 to $372 (HomeAdvisor, 2026). Locally, most haulers charge a $99 to $150 minimum just to show up, and 1-800-GOT-JUNK quotes on site rather than publishing a price list. Our junk removal cost guide for Indianapolis breaks down every local company.
- Dumpster rental. A roll-off container averages $386, typically $294 to $480 for a rental period (HomeAdvisor, 2025). The right call for renovation debris — and overkill for a dead washer.
| What You Need Removed | City Heavy Trash | Indy Pickup 1111 | Junk Removal Co. | Dumpster Rental |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washer, dryer, or stove | Free (2-item cap, monthly) | $11 | $99–$300 (min applies) | Overkill |
| Refrigerator or freezer | Separate freon pickup, ~10 business days | $36 | $99–$300 (min applies) | Not allowed in most |
| TV | Refused — illegal in trash | $26–$81 by size | $99–$150 minimum applies | Not allowed |
| Couch or mattress | Free (uses your 2 items) | $26–$36 | $133–$372 typical job | Overkill |
| Garage full of metal & appliances | 2 items/month — weeks of waiting | $11 per stop | $241 average job | $294–$480 typical |
| Renovation debris | Refused | Quoted cleanout jobs | Priced by volume | Best fit |
| Timeline | Up to a month | Often same/next day | 1–3 days typical | Delivered on schedule |
The pattern is simple. The city is free but slow, capped, and picky. Junk removal takes everything but charges 10x to 50x more than we do for metal items. Dumpsters win for construction debris. For the head-to-head math on the middle column, see our $11 pickup vs. junk removal comparison.
When the City Option Wins (An Honest Answer)
We would rather tell you the truth than book a stop you did not need. Use the city’s free heavy trash when all three of these are true: the item is on their accepted list, you have two items or fewer, and you can wait up to a month. One couch, no hurry? Set it out on heavy trash day and keep your money. A working appliance? Donate it — a charity pickup beats every paid option, ours included.
Call Indy Pickup 1111 when the math flips: the item is metal or an appliance, you have more than two things, the city refused it, or “sometime next month” does not work. At $11 a stop — prepaid at booking, with contactless pickup so you do not even need to be home — the process takes about two minutes to book. Check whether you are in the same-day service area, which runs Greenwood to Carmel and Avon to New Palestine.
Seasonal Programs: ToxDrop, Leaf Collection, and Drop-Off Sites
The city runs several free programs that most residents have never used. Worth knowing before you pay anyone, us included:
- ToxDrop (household hazardous waste). Two regular sites: Traders Point Collection Facility, 7550 N. Lafayette Rd. (first Saturday of the month) and Perry Township Government Center, 4925 S. Shelby St. (second and fourth Saturday — fourth-Saturday service started in August 2026). Both run 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and are closed on third and fifth Saturdays and major holidays. They accept paint, motor oil, batteries, pesticides, pool chemicals, propane tanks under 20 lbs, and electronics including TVs 27 inches or smaller (Indy.gov). Limits per visit: 20 gallons of liquid or 75 pounds of solid waste, in see-through containers, plus up to five computer systems. The 2026 city budget added $300,000 for roughly a dozen more events a year and a planned east-side site (Mirror Indy, 2025).
- Leaf collection and yard waste removal. Indianapolis runs a leaf season each fall at no extra charge — the 2025 season took up to 40 bags per household per week on your regular trash day, in plastic bags, from November 10 to December 5 (Mirror Indy, 2025). Dates for fall 2026 had not been posted when we published this; check indy.gov in October. Outside leaf season, bagged leaves have to fit inside your cart with the lid closed — bags left beside it will not be collected. Bundled limbs are heavy trash, not regular trash, so a bundle uses one of your two monthly items.
- Citizens’ Transfer Station. Self-haul extra household trash, heavy trash, or bagged leaves to 2324 S. Belmont Ave. on Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. — $2 per carload and $5 per SUV or pickup truckload, cash only, up to two trips a day (Indy.gov).
Bookmark this page. Disposal rules change — hauler contracts, leaf dates, ToxDrop events — and we update this guide as they do. For anything metal or appliance in the meantime, it’s $11 flat. Get your quote or book now →
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Indianapolis have free bulk trash pickup?
Yes. Every Indianapolis household with city trash service gets heavy trash pickup at no extra charge once a month on a regular trash day, limited to two bulky items. It is covered by the solid waste user fee you already pay. No scheduling is needed — set items at the curb next to your cart. Find your district’s heavy trash day by entering your address at indy.gov/activity/trash-pickup.
How many items can I put out for heavy trash in Indianapolis?
Two per household per month. A mattress and box spring set counts as both items. Anything beyond two gets left at the curb, and you wait until next month — or use a private service. Indy Pickup 1111 takes unlimited metal items and appliances in a single $11 stop, which is usually the cheaper fix for a garage cleanout.
What won’t the city of Indianapolis pick up in heavy trash?
Five big categories: freon appliances like refrigerators and freezers (those need a separately scheduled city pickup), TVs and electronics (illegal in Indiana trash since 2011), tires, hazardous waste like paint and chemicals, and construction debris. Each has a fix — ToxDrop for hazmat, recyclers for electronics, and $11 scrap pickup for anything metal.
Can I put a TV in the trash in Indianapolis?
No. Indiana law has banned TVs, monitors, computers, and other covered electronics from household trash since January 1, 2011 (Indiana Code 13-20.5). Take small TVs (27 inches or under) to a free ToxDrop site, drop larger ones with an electronics recycler, or book a pickup — Indy Pickup 1111 hauls TVs for $26 to $81 depending on size and type.
How do I get rid of a refrigerator in Indianapolis?
Two realistic options. Free: call the Mayor’s Action Center at (317) 327-4622 to schedule a city freon pickup, and allow about 10 business days. Fast: book Indy Pickup 1111 — $36 total ($11 base plus $25 freon surcharge) for a refrigerator set outside or in the garage, with same-day service often available in the Indianapolis metro.
How much does junk removal cost in Indianapolis?
Full-service junk removal averages $241 per job nationally, with a typical range of $133 to $372 (HomeAdvisor, 2026), and Indianapolis companies generally start at $99 to $150 minimums. Dumpster rentals typically run $294 to $480. For metal items and appliances specifically, Indy Pickup 1111 charges a flat $11 per stop — a different price class entirely.
What is the cheapest way to get rid of appliances and scrap metal in Indianapolis?
For one or two non-freon appliances you can wait on, city heavy trash is free. For anything more — multiple items, a fridge, or this-week timing — the $11 pickup is the cheapest reliable option in the metro: flat $11 per stop for unlimited metal and appliances, backed by 2,173 Google reviews at 4.9 stars. Donation is best for items that still work.
The city’s programs are better than most residents realize, and they are about to improve again when universal recycling lands in 2028. Use them. And for the gap they leave — the metal, the appliances, the two-item overflow — that is what the Home of the $11 Pick Up is for. Call or text (317) 350-1111, or book online in about two minutes.
For anything metal or appliance, skip the city wait. $11 pickup, often same day, anywhere from Greenwood to Carmel and Avon to New Palestine. Book your $11 pickup →