How to dispose of large items in Los Angeles, and where each one goes

Large items are not bin items

Oversized items such as furniture and mattresses do not fit the bin, and residents can schedule a free curbside bulky item pickup for them instead.¹

The three bins at the curb are for the daily and weekly flow of trash, recycling and food scraps. The large things, the ones a household looks at once and decides have to go, run on their own routes.

What the black bin is, and where it goes

The black bin is the household's trash bin, and materials placed in it are taken to the landfill.²

Its refused list runs to two kinds. Household hazardous waste, including batteries, paint, light bulbs, electronics and chemicals, must be taken to a S.A.F.E. Center and does not go in the black bin.¹ Oversized items such as furniture and mattresses belong to the free bulky pickup, not the bin. What that leaves for the black bin is the ordinary trash of the household, the kind that fits inside and does not fall into either exception.

The blue bin and the green bin, and what they keep out

Recyclables go in the blue bin, empty, clean and dry: paper and cardboard, plastics 1, 2 and 5, glass bottles and jars of any color, and metal (aluminum cans, tin cans and clean foil).³

Kept out of the blue bin: food and liquids, "tanglers" such as garden hoses, holiday lights and wires, household hazardous waste such as batteries, light bulbs and chemicals (which go to a S.A.F.E. Center), and oversized items that do not fit the bin, which can go on a free curbside bulky item collection.³ The bin takes recyclables that fit; oversized versions go on the bulky route.

Yard trimmings and food scraps go in the green bin: flowers, grass clippings, tree and bush trimmings and clean untreated wood, with plastic bags and pet waste belonging in the black bin.⁴ The green bin takes what a yard sheds, not a garage of furniture.

The curbside routes for furniture, mattresses and appliances

For the common bulky items in a house, the City says it will gladly take furniture (couches, tables, chairs), mattresses and box springs, toilets and sinks, carpet rolled and tied, large wood pieces or doors, and electronic waste.⁵

For appliances that are mostly metal, a separate pickup runs. Large metal and household appliances come at no extra cost: refrigerators and freezers, washers and dryers, dishwashers, air conditioners, and water heaters and standard heaters.⁶ The page says to call about an item that is not listed but is mostly metal. The bulky item pickup guide covers the City's service in more detail.

Mattresses have two separate routes. The City's bulky pickup lists mattresses and box springs. CalRecycle says California's Mattress Stewardship Program ensures used mattresses, box springs and futons are reused, recycled or properly disposed, that CalRecycle oversees it, and that it is run by the Mattress Recycling Council,⁷ and the Council's own Bye Bye Mattress page for California⁸ lists participating drop-off locations where an old mattress can be dropped off at no additional cost.

Household hazardous waste goes to a S.A.F.E. Center

Paint, chemicals, batteries, fluorescent lights, pool chemicals: none of these are bin items either. Los Angeles residents can dispose of household hazardous waste free of charge at permanent S.A.F.E. Centers and one-day Mobile Collection Events, up to 15 gallons or 125 pounds per visit, with the address where the waste originated requested at drop off.⁹

The City runs several centers across the city, and holds Mobile Collection Events in neighborhoods without a nearby S.A.F.E. Center.

Electronics have free routes of their own

Residents can recycle electronic waste (TVs, computers, cell phones, cables, printers) free of charge in the following ways: a free curbside pickup of large electronic waste items through MyLA311 or the Customer Care Center, S.A.F.E. Centers, and occasional Mobile Collection Events in neighborhoods without a nearby S.A.F.E. Center.⁹

Before a device leaves the house, remove personal or sensitive information from computers, cell phones, tablets or other electronic devices before recycling them, because deleting files may not permanently erase data.⁹

The City's sorting app, for the item you are unsure about

For an item nobody can place, the City points residents to the SORT LA app. The SORT LA app lets residents look up thousands of items in seconds, and its digital assistant Professor Green answers questions about what goes in each bin, S.A.F.E. Centers, upcoming LASAN events, bin maintenance and more.³

A plastic tub whose recycling number is unclear is the kind of item a resident looks up in the app.

For a cleanout that mixes routes, the free options guide covers each route in more detail, and what moves the price is on its own page. The service pages at furniture removal, mattress pickup and appliance removal describe what the hauler side of that choice is.