A public resource guide
Every legitimate way to get rid of furniture, appliances, mattresses, and bulk waste in Albuquerque, including the rare FREE Large Item Pick-Up year-round (24-hour notice via 311), the no-glass-in-blue-cart rule with 11 yellow drop-off bins, three Convenience Centers, the HHW Collection Center, and what to do when paid hauling isn't an option.
Last updated: May 2026 · Maintained by Freemoval as a public resource
Albuquerque runs one of the most generous bulk pickup systems of any major U.S. city: free Large Item Pick-Up year-round, throughout the year, with just 24-hour advance notice via 311. No annual cap, no scheduled cycle, no fees for residential customers. The other unusual rule is NO glass in the blue recycling cart, glass goes to one of 11 yellow drop-off bins located across the city. Trash collection is delayed only on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day; all other federal holidays are normal. Three Convenience Centers offer flat-fee drop-off ($5.25 per load) for residents who prefer drop-off. This page walks through every legitimate option in order from free to paid.
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Albuquerque residents have free year-round Large Item Pick-Up with 24-hour notice (no annual cap), free weekly trash, free weekly single-stream recycling (no glass), free yellow-bin glass drop-off at 11 citywide locations, free curbside used motor oil pickup, free HHW disposal at the Safety-Kleen center on Girard NE, and donation pickup programs. The City of Albuquerque Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) provides curbside trash and recycling to residential customers within city limits.
Free Year-Round Large Item Pick-Up (24-hour notice)
Free, year-roundAlbuquerque collects appliances and other large items throughout the year FREE for residential customers. Schedule online at cabq.gov/311/abq311, call 311 (505-768-2000), or use the ABQ311 mobile app at least 24 hours in advance, Monday through Saturday. No annual cap, no scheduled cycle, just request a pickup whenever you need one.
Eligibility: SWMD residential customers within Albuquerque city limits.
Frequency: Unlimited, no annual cap. Request as needed.
Notice required: At least 24 hours in advance, Monday-Saturday.
Cost: FREE for residential customers.
How to schedule: Online at cabq.gov/311/abq311, call 311 (505-768-2000), or ABQ311 mobile app.
Set-out rules: Place items on the curb at least 5 feet from carts, mailboxes, fire hydrants, parked cars, low-hanging trees, or utility poles.
Appliance prep: Empty all appliances before placing on curb. Tape freezer/fridge doors shut for child safety.
Volume limit: No more than a standard pickup load may be collected per request.
Accepted items: Air conditioners, stoves, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, water heaters, lawn mowers, doors, sinks, toilets, mattresses, furniture, televisions.
Yellow Glass Drop-Off Bins (11 locations)
Free, 11 sitesAlbuquerque does NOT accept glass in the blue recycling cart, glass breaks inside collection trucks and contaminates other recyclables. Instead, the City provides 11 yellow glass drop-off bins located across the city. Use the Recycle Coach app or visit cabq.gov/solidwaste/recycling to find your nearest yellow bin.
Locations: 11 yellow bins across the city. Find your nearest at cabq.gov/solidwaste/recycling or in the Recycle Coach app.
What's accepted: Glass bottles and jars, all colors. Empty and rinsed.
Cost: Free for all Albuquerque residents.
Why no curbside glass?: Glass breaks inside collection trucks and contaminates other recyclables. Single-stream + glass doesn't work for Albuquerque.
Three Convenience Centers ($5.25/load drop-off)
$5.25 per loadFor residents who prefer drop-off over scheduled pickup, the City operates three Convenience Centers (Eagle Rock, Don Reservoir, Montessa Park) that accept trash and large items for a flat fee of $5.25 per load. All three accept large items as an alternative to scheduling free Large Item Pick-Up.
Locations: Eagle Rock, Don Reservoir, Montessa Park.
Cost: $5.25 per load for residents and small commercial customers.
Payment: Cash, check, Mastercard, Visa, American Express.
Vehicle limit: Vehicles must be under 2-ton rated capacity.
E-waste: TVs (flat-screen and CRT) accepted at Eagle Rock Convenience Center; disposal fees apply for e-waste.
Closed: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day.
Free Household Hazardous Waste at Safety-Kleen (Girard NE)
Free for residentsHazardous waste is prohibited from the City Landfill and from your roll-out cart. Instead, residents must bring HHW to the Safety-Kleen Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center at 2720 Girard NE. Free for Albuquerque residents.
Address: 2720 Girard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107.
What's accepted: Paint, insecticides, automotive products, solvents, household cleaners, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, motor oil, gasoline.
Cost: Free for Albuquerque residents.
Why this matters: Hazardous waste in trash carts is referred to code enforcement. The Safety-Kleen center is the proper legal disposal path.
Free Curbside Used Motor Oil Pickup
Free, weeklyUsed motor oil and oil filters can be picked up at the curb in free program containers. Call (505) 761-8138 to request the containers, then place them next to your trash cart on collection day.
How to request: Call (505) 761-8138 for free program containers.
How to set out: Place container next to your trash cart on collection day.
Cost: Free for SWMD residential customers.
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. Albuquerque partner expansion is in progress for 2026.
Eligibility: Households in active partner communities. Ask your property manager whether your building participates.
Status in Albuquerque: Onboarding partner properties throughout 2026.
Donation-pickup programs
FreeAlbuquerque-area nonprofits offer free pickup for items in usable condition.
The Salvation Army: Free pickup of clothing, furniture, household items. Schedule at satruck.org or call 1-800-SA-TRUCK.
Habitat for Humanity Greater Albuquerque ReStore: Multiple locations. Free pickup for furniture, appliances, building materials.
Goodwill Industries of New Mexico: Donation pickup for larger items in the Albuquerque metro area.
St. Vincent de Paul Albuquerque: Free pickup of furniture, clothing, household items for families in need.
SWMD service area. The City of Albuquerque Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) provides curbside trash and recycling to residential customers within city limits. Surrounding communities (Rio Rancho, Bernalillo County unincorporated, Santa Fe, Los Lunas) operate separate waste systems, many use Waste Management as their hauler. Verify your service area at cabq.gov/solidwaste.
Two-cart system, weekly collection. Every home receives one 96-gallon black trash cart and one 96-gallon blue recycling cart. Both are collected weekly on the same day. Albuquerque does NOT have a mandatory curbside organics/composting program, yard waste and food scraps go in the black trash cart unless taken to a Convenience Center. Multi-family complexes with 25 or more units are part of the City's Multi-Family Dwelling (MFD) recycling program.
Set-out rules. Place carts at the curb by 7:00 AM on collection day. Remove carts from the street within 24 hours. Place wheeled carts at least 5 feet from other carts, mailboxes, fire hydrants, parked cars, low-hanging trees, or utility poles so trucks can easily access them. Place carts in the street with wheels and handles toward the curb. Keep lids fully closed.
Single-stream recycling, no glass. Single-stream means all accepted recyclables go in the blue cart together, no sorting required. NO GLASS in the blue cart, ever. All items must be clean, empty, and placed loose, never in plastic bags. Accepted: paper, cardboard, cartons, aluminum and steel cans, plastics #1-#7. Use the free Recycle Coach app to look up any specific item.
Limited holiday delays. Trash collection is delayed by ONE DAY for THREE holidays only: New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day. If the holiday is observed on a weekend, no changes occur to residential pickup. All other holidays (MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day) are normal collection days. The Convenience Centers are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
Cart replacement policy. If your trash cart is lost, stolen, or damaged, the City offers residents a one-time replacement cart for no charge. Each additional replacement cart costs $51.10. There is no cost to replace a missing/stolen recycle cart.
Disability assistance. Special handling service is available for single-family residential customers with disabilities or medical conditions who cannot take their carts to the curb. Drivers will roll out carts and return them to their original location for eligible customers. Requires a doctor's certification, download the Residential Disability Form at cabq.gov.
Extra trash and recycling fees. Extra residential trash collection: $8.87 per service. Extra recycling collection: $9.04 per service. Excess bulk pickup: $59.31 (commercial customers also $59.31).
Find your collection day. Look up your address at cabq.gov/solidwaste, use the ABQ311 app, or call 311 (505-768-2000). Download the free Recycle Coach app for a personalized collection schedule, reminders, and recycling guidelines (available iOS and Android).
SWMD customer service. Solid Waste Management Billing Section: 505-761-8138. ABQ311: call 311 or 505-768-2000. Solid Waste Management general line: 505-761-8350. cabq.gov/solidwaste.
Address. Solid Waste Management Department, 4600 Edith Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107.
Albuquerque's 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 (subject to program-specific rules), kitchenware, lamps, and most household goods.
Items typically not accepted: 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), and exercise equipment that requires reassembly. Always call before scheduling if you're unsure, pickups that find unacceptable items will leave them behind.
For households who exceed the standard pickup load size in a single Large Item Pick-Up request, have items the city won't take (construction debris from contractors, hazardous waste, large quantities), live in larger apartment buildings without included service, or need same-day or in-home pickup, paid options are available. Note: Albuquerque's free year-round Large Item Pick-Up with no annual cap is so generous that most cleanouts can be handled completely free with multiple staggered requests.
LoadUp paid pickup
$80+For households who need same-day or in-home pickup, exceed the standard load size in a single 311 request, have items the city won't take, live in apartment buildings without included service, or want full-service hauling, LoadUp offers professional removal in Albuquerque with upfront pricing. Independent loaders in the marketplace handle pickup, loading, and licensed disposal.
What's included: Loading, hauling, and licensed disposal. No prep needed beyond pointing out what goes, crew handles in-home pickup.
Pricing: Starts around $80 for a single item; full-truck pickups range from $300 to $600 depending on volume.
When this beats waiting: Move-outs, real estate timelines, multi-load cleanouts, items the city won't accept (construction debris, hazardous waste).
Other paid services in Albuquerque: 1-800-Got-Junk, College Hunks Hauling Junk, Junk King, 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 an Albuquerque pickup with LoadUp → Round-up option appears at checkout. Optional, opt-in only.
City Excess Pickup ($59.31)
$59.31If you have large items or excess trash that exceed the standard Large Item Pick-Up load, you can arrange additional City pickup for $59.31 per service. Additional charges may apply if pickup requires extra staff time and equipment.
Cost: $59.31 per excess pickup (same rate as commercial).
How to schedule: Call 311 (505-768-2000).
Note: Additional charges if extra staff/equipment time required.
Different items have different rules in Albuquerque. Here's a quick reference for the most common things people need to dispose of.
Albuquerque residents can dispose of household hazardous waste at the Safety-Kleen Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center at 2720 Girard NE, free for residents. Drop off paint, insecticides, automotive products, solvents, household cleaners, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, motor oil (beyond the free curbside option), and gasoline. Hazardous waste is PROHIBITED in the City Landfill and from regular trash carts, placing HHW in your roll-out cart can be referred to code enforcement. Several retailers also offer ongoing free recycling: Home Depot for batteries and CFL bulbs, AutoZone for motor oil and car batteries, Best Buy for electronics, and most pharmacies for unused medications.
To report illegal dumping in Albuquerque, call 311 (505-768-2000) or use the ABQ311 mobile app. Reports can also be filed online at cabq.gov. Include the location, description of dumped material, and a photo if possible. Albuquerque takes dumping seriously, trash placed at the curb more than 7 days before scheduled pickup is referred to code enforcement for possible citation. If you're considering dumping because of cleanout volume, please use the FREE year-round Large Item Pick-Up, with no annual cap and 24-hour notice, most cleanouts can be handled free across multiple requests. For urgent timelines, paid haulers like LoadUp at $80+ are dramatically cheaper than illegal dumping fines under New Mexico law.
Is there really free junk removal in Albuquerque?
Yes, Albuquerque has one of the most generous bulk pickup systems of any major U.S. city. SWMD residential customers get free Large Item Pick-Up YEAR-ROUND with no annual cap, just request a pickup at least 24 hours in advance via 311 or the ABQ311 app, Monday through Saturday. Items collected free include appliances, mattresses, furniture, TVs, water heaters, lawn mowers, doors, sinks, toilets, and more. Plus: free curbside used motor oil pickup (call 505-761-8138 for containers), free HHW disposal at Safety-Kleen on Girard NE, free yellow-bin glass drop-off at 11 citywide locations, and free donation pickup through Salvation Army, Habitat ReStore, Goodwill, and St. Vincent de Paul. Convenience Centers ($5.25/load) offer drop-off for residents who prefer that.
Why is glass not accepted in the blue cart?
Glass breaks inside collection trucks during compaction, and the resulting glass shards contaminate other recyclables, paper especially absorbs glass dust and becomes unrecyclable. Albuquerque's single-stream system can't handle glass alongside paper and plastic without significant contamination losses. Instead, the City provides 11 yellow glass drop-off bins located across the city. The bins are easily identified (bright yellow, labeled GLASS), and you just drop empty rinsed bottles and jars in, all colors accepted. Find your nearest bin via the Recycle Coach app or at cabq.gov/solidwaste.
Why does Albuquerque have such generous bulk pickup compared to other cities?
Albuquerque's SWMD operates an unusually customer-friendly Large Item Pick-Up program: free, year-round, no annual cap, 24-hour notice. The reasoning is partly historical (the program has run this way for decades) and partly practical, New Mexico's climate keeps furniture and mattresses outside relatively safely between request and pickup, and the city's relatively low density means concentrated routes are efficient. The trade-off is that you're limited to one standard pickup-truck-bed-equivalent per request, for full-house cleanouts you'd need to schedule multiple requests across days/weeks, or pay $59.31 for a city excess pickup, or hire a private hauler. The system favors households doing routine disposal over households doing full cleanouts.
How do I qualify for Freemoval in Albuquerque?
Freemoval works through partner communities, typically affordable housing operators, public housing authorities, and select municipal partnerships. We’re actively expanding partnerships in Albuquerque through 2026. If your property is part of the program, your property manager will provide a booking code. If you operate housing or work in a city department in Albuquerque, contact us to discuss adding your community.
How do I dispose of TVs and electronics?
Two free options: (1) Schedule a Large Item Pick-Up via 311, flat-screen and CRT TVs are accepted at no charge. (2) Drop off at the Eagle Rock Convenience Center, which accepts e-waste (disposal fees apply for e-waste at the Center even though general drop-off is $5.25/load). Smaller electronics like cell phones and small appliances WITH the power cord cut off may go in the blue recycling cart. For larger e-waste like servers and office equipment, Best Buy free electronics recycling is another option.
Why is there no curbside organics or yard waste in Albuquerque?
Unlike many California, Pacific Northwest, and Northeastern cities, Albuquerque does NOT have a mandatory curbside organics or yard waste program. This is partly climate-driven (low rainfall and arid conditions mean less yard waste volume per household) and partly historical (the City has not adopted state-level mandates similar to California's SB 1383). Yard waste and food scraps go in the black trash cart, or you can drop them at a Convenience Center. If you garden seriously, backyard composting is the most common approach. The City may eventually adopt curbside organics, but as of 2026 it's not required or available.
How do I report illegal dumping in Albuquerque?
Call 311 (505-768-2000) or use the ABQ311 mobile app. Reports can also be filed online at cabq.gov. Include location, description of dumped material, and a photo if possible.
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 is actively onboarding Albuquerque partner properties through 2026. Reach out to prioritize your community.
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