A public resource guide
Akron is one of the few mid-size U.S. cities that picks up large items curbside every week as part of standard service, plus 3 Special Bulk Volume Pickups per year for big cleanouts. Glass goes to purple bins, not the curbside cart. Summit County Reworks handles HHW.
Last updated: May 2026 · Maintained by Freemoval as a public resource
Akron, Ohio runs two complementary free bulk waste pathways. Every week, large items including refrigerators and other appliances placed curbside next to trash and recycling carts are collected on your regular collection day with no appointment and no fee. The city takes appliances to a local salvage company for proper recycling. For volumes that exceed routine bulk, basement cleanouts, post-move debris, garage purges, Akron offers 3 Special Bulk Volume Pickups per household per year, scheduled in advance through 311. The system has a few quirks worth knowing: glass is not accepted in curbside recycling (purple drop-off bins handle that), and Summit County Reworks runs the HHW and electronics drop-off network for the broader county. The Recycle Right campaign with Keep Akron Beautiful has driven contamination from 39.3% in 2019 to 12.5%.
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Akron residents have multiple free options that together cover most disposal scenarios: standard weekly curbside pickup that includes large items, the Special Bulk Volume Pickup program for high-volume cleanouts, the purple-bin glass drop-off network, free e-waste at Summit County Reworks, donation-pickup programs for usable items, and Freemoval for households in partner communities. The Department of Service Public Works Bureau handles single-family and most small-multifamily curbside service.
Weekly free curbside large item collection
Free with serviceAkron is unusual in offering large item collection every week as part of standard sanitation service, with no appointment needed and no per-item fee. Place items at the curb next to your trash and recycling carts on your regular collection day.
Eligibility: All Akron residential sanitation customers. Most single-family homes and small apartment buildings (typically 4 units or fewer) are city-serviced.
What's accepted: Sofas, beds, dressers, mattresses, refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, dishwashers, air conditioners, and most large household items. Appliances are routed to a local salvage company for recycling.
Set-out time: Curbside by 6:00 AM on your collection day. Items must be on the property where the refuse originated.
What's NOT accepted: Hot ashes, hazardous waste, roofing material, concrete, plaster, dirt, sand, gravel, bricks, drywall, and construction or demolition debris from contractor work.
Refrigerator note: Akron handles refrigerant recovery through the salvage chain, so residents don’t pay a separate Freon recovery fee. This differs from many cities.
Find your day: Use the interactive collection day map at akrongis.maps.arcgis.com or call 311 (330-375-2311 from a cell or outside the city).
Special Bulk Volume Pickup (3/year)
Free with serviceFor volumes that exceed routine weekly bulk, large quantities of bags, boxes, or trash from a basement cleanout, garage purge, or move, Akron offers a separate scheduled program at no charge.
Allowance: 3 Special Bulk Volume Pickups per household per year.
Pre-schedule required: Call 311 (landline) or 330-375-2311 (cell or outside city) at least 1 working day before your collection day.
Set-out time: Place items at the curb by 4:30 PM the day before your scheduled collection. Crews cannot enter private property, items must be at the curb.
What this is for: A garage cleanout that fills a pickup truck. Multiple bags from a basement purge. A pile of household waste after a move. Save these for when you actually need them.
Don't burn an allowance on routine items: A single mattress or sofa goes out free during your weekly collection. Reserve Special Bulk Volume Pickups for big jobs.
Glass drop-off at purple bins
FreeGlass is not accepted in Akron’s curbside recycling cart because it breaks during sorting and contaminates other recyclables. The city runs a separate glass drop-off network at six locations using distinctive purple bins.
Locations include: Kenmore Community Center overflow lot (880 Kenmore Blvd), Joy Park Community Center (825 Fuller St), Firestone Metro Park Little Turtle Pond Lot (2620 Harrington Rd), and three additional locations.
How to prepare: Wash bottles and jars, remove caps and corks. Labels can stay.
What's accepted: Glass bottles and food jars in any color.
What's NOT accepted: Windows, mirrors, light bulbs, solar panels, heat-resistant glass (Pyrex), drinking glasses, computer/TV screens, ceramics, vases.
Donation-pickup programs
FreeSeveral Akron-area nonprofits offer free pickup for items in usable condition. This is the right path for furniture, working appliances, and household goods that someone else can use. Items must be clean and functional.
The Salvation Army Akron: Free pickup of usable furniture, appliances (working condition), and clothing. Schedule at satruck.org or call 1-800-SA-TRUCK.
Habitat for Humanity of Summit County ReStore: Free pickups available for qualifying items including furniture, appliances under 10 years old, and building materials. Upholstered items must be free of tears, stains, and pet damage.
Goodwill Industries of Akron: Donation drop-off at multiple Akron-area locations. Larger items may qualify for pickup, call ahead.
Haven of Rest Ministries: Akron-based nonprofit accepting household goods to support local families.
Freemoval (partner-community pickups)
FreeFreemoval is a social impact program that subsidizes free junk removal pickups in partner communities, typically affordable housing properties and select municipal partnerships. Akron partner expansion is in progress for 2026.
Eligibility: Households in active partner communities. Ask your property manager whether your building participates.
Status in Akron: Onboarding partner properties throughout 2026.
What loaders pick up: Furniture, mattresses, appliances, bulk waste, anything within standard LoadUp marketplace service capabilities.
How it’s funded: 100% covered by LoadUp customer round-ups and partner-property fees. The household pays nothing.
Weekly trash and recycling. Trash is collected weekly using city-issued carts; no other containers will be emptied. Recycling is also weekly via the curbside single-stream cart. Carts must be out by 6:00 AM on collection day. Residents can request additional trash or recycle carts for a one-time $50 fee per cart, with up to 2 additional of each.
Recycle Right campaign. Akron’s ongoing partnership with Keep Akron Beautiful runs June through August, with specially-trained personnel doing curbside cart observations and leaving “Oops” tags on contaminated recycling. Contamination dropped from 39.3% in 2019 to 12.5%, and clean recycling now generates revenue for the city. Carts with non-recyclable items will not be emptied; residents can correct the mistake and put the cart out the next week.
Holiday delays. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day, no trash or recycling collection occurs. Service runs one day late for the rest of the week. Juneteenth does not affect collection.
Outside Akron city limits. If you’re in unincorporated Summit County, Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Tallmadge, Munroe Falls, Mogadore, or surrounding municipalities, services and rules differ. Most have private contractors with similar bulk pickup options. Summit County Reworks (summitreworks.com or call Summit County) is a county-wide resource for HHW and recycling regardless of municipality.
Multi-unit buildings. Larger apartment complexes typically use private waste contractors rather than city service. If your building is 5+ units and unsure whether you have city service, your property manager will know. The free curbside large item program does not apply if your building uses private hauling.
Akron-area donation programs accept items in good usable condition: clean upholstered furniture without significant tears or stains, working appliances less than 10 years old, mattresses in good condition (program-specific rules), kitchenware, lamps, and most home goods. Habitat ReStore in particular focuses on home improvement items and accepts cabinets, doors, lighting fixtures, and building materials.
Items donation programs typically don’t accept: damaged or stained furniture, mattresses with bedbug history or significant wear, appliances that don’t work, particle-board furniture in poor condition, cribs (federal safety regulations have changed), tube-style or rear-projection TVs, and exercise equipment that requires reassembly.
If you’re unsure whether something qualifies, call the program before scheduling. Pickups that arrive and find unacceptable items usually leave them behind, which means you still need to dispose of them.
For items the city won’t take, properties not eligible for city service, or households that need same-day service, paid removal options range from self-haul to full-service hauling.
Self-haul to a transfer station
$10–$60If you have a truck or can rent one, regional transfer stations and landfills accept household waste with tipping fees by weight. This is the cheapest paid option, but you load, transport, and unload yourself.
Summit County Reworks: Recycling and HHW drop-off, plus seasonal events. Visit summitreworks.com.
Construction debris: Use a licensed C&D landfill or roll-off dumpster rental for renovation waste, the city won’t take it curbside.
Always call ahead: Hours, accepted materials, and fees change. Some facilities don’t accept mattresses or specific items.
Truck rental: Home Depot or U-Haul rentals run roughly $20–$30 per hour plus mileage if you don’t own a truck.
LoadUp paid pickup
$80+For households not eligible for free programs, LoadUp connects you with independent loaders in the Akron area. Upfront pricing, same-week scheduling, and licensed disposal handled for you.
What's included: Loading, hauling, and licensed disposal. No prep needed beyond pointing out what goes.
Pricing: Starts around $80 for a single item; full-truck pickups range from $300 to $600 depending on volume.
Other paid services in Akron: 1-800-Got-Junk and College Hunks Hauling Junk both serve Akron. Local independent operators are typically 20%–30% below national chains. Comparison-shop for larger jobs.
If you can pay for a pickup, your booking helps fund free pickups for someone else. Every paid LoadUp customer can opt in to round up at checkout, and 100% of round-ups go directly to Freemoval’s subsidized jobs.
Book a Akron pickup with LoadUp → Round-up option appears at checkout. Optional, opt-in only.
Different items have different rules. Here’s a quick reference for the most common things people need to dispose of in Akron.
Hazardous household materials cannot go in any curbside cart, not trash, not recycling, not the large item collection. Akron and Summit County jointly run several disposal channels.
Summit County Reworks. Summit County’s primary HHW and recycling program. Accepts paint, batteries, motor oil, antifreeze, fluorescent bulbs, electronics, and more. Visit summitreworks.com for current locations, hours, and accepted materials. Some events are seasonal.
Auto parts stores. AutoZone, O’Reilly, and Advance Auto stores in Akron accept used motor oil and lead-acid car batteries free of charge year-round. This is the easiest option for routine auto maintenance waste.
Best Buy electronics recycling. Best Buy stores accept most electronics free at customer service, including TVs, computers, monitors, and small appliances. Some items have size or weight limits, check the Best Buy recycling page.
Pharmacy take-back for medications. Several Akron pharmacies and the Akron Police Department operate medication drop boxes for safe disposal of prescription drugs. Do not flush or trash medications.
If you see illegal dumping or want to report a dump site, the right channel depends on where the dumping happened:
City of Akron: Call 311 (from a city landline) or 330-375-2311 (cell or outside city limits). Submit a service request at akronohio.gov. Include the location (cross streets or address), description of dumped material, and a photo if possible.
Summit County (outside city): Contact Summit County Public Health or call the Summit County Department of Sanitary Sewer Services. Summit County Reworks may also be useful for guidance.
Ohio EPA: For environmental violations involving hazardous materials or large-scale commercial dumping, contact Ohio EPA’s Northeast District Office in Twinsburg.
Illegal dumping in Akron carries fines starting at $250 and can rise into thousands for repeat or commercial-scale violations, plus cleanup-cost recovery. If you’re considering dumping because you can’t afford a haul, please use one of the free options above instead, the fines alone exceed what most paid removals cost.
Is there really free junk removal in Akron?
Yes. Akron's free curbside large item collection runs every week as part of standard sanitation service, no appointment needed. For high-volume cleanouts, residents get 3 Special Bulk Volume Pickups per year (call 311 to schedule, at least 1 working day ahead). Donation programs (Salvation Army, Habitat ReStore Summit County, Goodwill) offer free pickup for usable items. Most Akron residents qualify for at least one free option.
How does Akron's weekly large item pickup work?
Place large items at the curb next to your trash and recycling carts on your regular collection day. Items go out by 6:00 AM. No appointment, no fee. The city collects refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, dishwashers, air conditioners, and most household furniture. Appliances are routed to a local salvage company for recycling.
Do I need to remove the doors from a refrigerator before Akron pickup?
Akron does not have a public-facing rule requiring door removal, but EPA Section 608 federal law requires refrigerant recovery before disposal of refrigerator-class appliances. Akron handles refrigerant recovery through the salvage chain, so residents are not responsible for paying a Freon recovery fee. If you’re storing the appliance outside, removing or disabling the doors is recommended for child safety regardless of the rule.
Why is glass not in my recycling cart?
Glass breaks during the automated sorting process at the materials recovery facility (MRF) and contaminates other recyclables, particularly paper. Akron handles glass through a separate purple drop-off bin program at six locations including Kenmore Community Center, Joy Park, and Firestone Metro Park. Drop bottles and jars in the purple bins, no need to remove labels.
Where do I take electronics?
Summit County Reworks (summitreworks.com) operates the regional e-waste program. Best Buy also accepts most electronics free at customer service, including TVs, computers, monitors, and small appliances. Electronics cannot go in any Akron curbside cart due to Ohio EPA e-waste rules.
What's the cheapest way to get rid of a mattress in Akron?
Free, set it out at the curb on your regular collection day, no appointment needed. If the mattress is in good condition (no stains, no bedbug history), donate it to Salvation Army or check Habitat ReStore Summit County for current acceptance rules (some ReStores don’t take mattresses). Paid hauling services start around $80 if you need same-week pickup.
What if I live in a large apartment building and the curbside program doesn't apply?
Many large apartment complexes in Akron use private waste contractors rather than city service. Your property's contracted hauler may or may not include large item pickup, ask your property manager. If it doesn’t, options include donation pickup, paid hauling, or asking your landlord whether they’d consider partnering with Freemoval. We work directly with multi-family operators.
Is this page maintained?
Yes. Freemoval maintains this page as a public resource. We update it when programs change rules, fees, or contact methods. Last updated May 2026. If you find outdated information, let us know.
Freemoval works directly with property operators and municipal partners to absorb move-out hauling burdens. Reach out for a partnership conversation.
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