A public resource guide
Free appointment-based bulky pickup since July 2020 (schedule at honolulu.gov/opala or call 808-768-3200), three-cart curbside system funded by property taxes, convenience centers and transfer stations across Oʻahu, and the G.R.O.W. food waste expansion starting April 1, 2026.
Last updated: May 2026 · Maintained by Freemoval as a public resource
Honolulu, Hawaii is unique in the U.S.: it’s the only Hawaii county providing free residential refuse collection, funded through property taxes rather than fees. The city operates a three-cart system (gray for weekly trash, blue for bi-weekly recyclables, green for bi-weekly green waste) and serves about 200,000 residential pickups per week across O‘ahu. Bulky item pickup has been appointment-only since July 1, 2020, scheduled online at honolulu.gov/opala or by calling (808) 768-3200. A new G.R.O.W. food waste program begins April 1, 2026 for selected areas. This guide covers every disposal option for City and County of Honolulu residents.
Start here
What brings you to this page today?
On this page
Honolulu residents have multiple free disposal pathways. The appointment-based bulky pickup is the primary path for furniture and large items. The three-cart curbside system handles routine waste. Convenience centers across O‘ahu accept drop-offs of items the curbside system doesn’t.
Bulky item pickup (appointment)
Free, by appointmentHonolulu’s appointment-based bulky pickup covers furniture, mattresses, appliances, and other large items at no charge. Required since July 1, 2020 for all areas of O‘ahu.
How to schedule: Make an appointment online at honolulu.gov/opala or call (808) 768-3200.
Set-out: Items at curb after 6:00 PM the night before, by 6:00 AM on appointment day.
Accepted: Household furniture (sofas, tables, chairs, dressers), mattresses and box springs, appliances, bicycles and large metal household items, carpet (rolled and bundled under 6 ft and 60 lbs), bundled lumber.
Important: Only items registered on your appointment will be collected. Don’t add unregistered items.
Three-cart curbside collection
Free, property-tax fundedHonolulu’s automated three-cart system serves about 160,000 single-family homes. Trash is collected weekly; recyclables and green waste alternate every other week.
Gray cart (trash): Weekly. Up to 75 lbs per container, securely bagged.
Blue cart (mixed recyclables): Every other week, alternating with green. Plastic #1 and #2 only, glass bottles, cardboard (flattened), white/colored office paper, aluminum and tin cans. No bagged items, no envelopes/junk mail.
Green cart (green waste): Every other week. Yard trimmings, palm fronds, and (starting April 1, 2026 in selected areas) food waste under the new G.R.O.W. program.
Schedule: Look up your collection days at opala.hnl.info by address. Routes follow Mon/Thu, Tue/Fri, or Wed/Sat patterns.
Set-out: Carts at curb by 6:00 AM, no earlier than 6:00 PM the previous evening.
Convenience centers and transfer stations
Free for residentsO‘ahu has multiple convenience centers and transfer stations accepting drop-offs of items the curbside system doesn’t handle, including bulky items, e-waste, and HHW. Free for residents at most facilities.
What they accept: Bulky items (alternative to scheduled pickup), green waste, mixed recyclables, electronics, scrap metal, appliances.
Materials are sorted on-site: Combustible household trash goes to H-POWER for energy; green waste to mulching/composting; metals to recycling; appliances for refrigerant removal; mixed loads to Waimānalo Gulch landfill.
Find a facility: Visit honolulu.gov/env for current locations and hours.
Donation pickup
Free for usable itemsO‘ahu has an active nonprofit network for usable furniture and household goods. The right path for items in good working condition that someone else can use.
Salvation Army Hawaii: Free pickup for furniture and large items. Schedule at satruck.org or call 1-800-SA-TRUCK.
Habitat for Humanity Honolulu ReStore: Free pickup for furniture, appliances, and building materials in good condition.
Goodwill Industries of Hawaii: Multiple O‘ahu drop-off locations.
Aloha Harvest and IHS (Institute for Human Services): Local organizations accepting household goods for families in need.
Freemoval (partner-community pickups)
FreeFreemoval is a social impact program that subsidizes free junk removal pickups in partner communities, typically affordable housing properties. Honolulu partner expansion is in progress.
Eligibility: Households in active partner communities. Ask your property manager whether your building participates.
Status in Honolulu: Onboarding partner properties throughout 2026.
Since July 1, 2020, Honolulu’s bulky item pickup has been appointment-only across all of O‘ahu. The change was designed to reduce truck driving distances, lower fuel use, and ensure items at the curb match what crews are dispatched to collect.
How to schedule: Online at honolulu.gov/opala using the “Make a Bulky Appointment” tool, or call (808) 768-3200. Enter your address; the system finds your service area and offers appointment dates.
Set-out window: Items at curb after 6:00 PM the evening before your appointment, by 6:00 AM the morning of. Crews collect throughout the day, so items must be out before crews arrive.
Accepted items:
· Household furniture: sofas, tables, chairs, dressers, mattresses, box springs
· Appliances: refrigerators, freezers (doors secured per safety rules), washers, dryers
· Bicycles and large metal household items
· Carpet or rugs, rolled and bundled (under 6 ft, under 60 lbs)
· Lumber or fencing when bundled and secured (under 6 ft, under 60 lbs)
Items NOT accepted as bulky: Construction debris, soil, rocks, concrete, hazardous materials, electronics (e-waste — see HHW section), liquids, radioactive material.
Critical rule: Only items listed on your appointment will be collected. If you put out items you didn’t register, they will be left behind. Don’t mix unregistered items with registered ones.
Christmas trees: Bulky appointments cannot be made for natural Christmas trees. Drop trees off at convenience centers (except Wahiawā), Kapa‘a Transfer Station, or Hawaiian Earth Recycling, Wahiawā.
Honolulu’s automated three-cart system is provided to about 160,000 single-family homes. Plans are underway to expand semi-automated service to about 20,000 homes currently on manual refuse-only routes (in narrow streets where automated trucks can’t fit).
Schedule lookup: Use opala.hnl.info with your address. Collection patterns: Monday/Thursday, Tuesday/Friday, or Wednesday/Saturday.
Set-out window: Carts at curb by 6:00 AM on collection day, no earlier than 6:00 PM the previous evening. Don’t leave containers at curb on non-collection days; carts must be kept on your property.
Cart placement: 5 feet of clearance from obstructions, handles facing away from the street.
Important rules:
· Refuse should not exceed 75 lbs per container. Personal containers no larger than 35 gallons.
· Securely bag all refuse, especially loose lightweight material that could scatter, and organics (food and pet waste).
· Pour motor oil into oil-absorbent boxes before placing in the trash. No liquids.
· No concrete, construction debris, soil, or rocks in any cart.
· Don’t mix recyclables, green waste, or trash. The three carts are for sorting.
Holiday schedule: Honolulu observes only two holidays for refuse collection: Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. If your gray cart day falls on either, leave the cart at curb until serviced (collection makes up over the next several days). Recycling and green waste pickups falling on these holidays will NOT be made up — hold blue and green carts until the next scheduled date.
Additional cart requests: Additional gray carts are issued only to properties with consistently high non-recyclable trash volumes, after a monitoring period. The application window is open February 1 through September 30 each year (October–January closed for holiday operations). Contact (808) 768-3200 or collection@honolulu.gov.
O‘ahu has a network of convenience centers and transfer stations across the island where residents can drop off materials the curbside system doesn’t handle. These are particularly useful for bulky items between appointments, e-waste, scrap metal, and overflow materials.
What they accept: Bulky items, green waste, mixed recyclables, electronics, scrap metal, appliances. Materials are sorted on-site for separate processing chains.
How materials are processed:
· Combustible household trash goes to H-POWER for waste-to-energy
· Green waste goes to mulching and composting sites
· Metals are sold to a metals recycler
· Appliances go to a recycling company for refrigerant removal
· Noncombustible mixed loads go to Waimānalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill
Find a convenience center near you at honolulu.gov/env. Note that bins are constantly being removed and replaced; there may be brief periods when a specific material’s bin is full and the gate is closed.
Electronics (e-waste): Hawaii state law requires electronics manufacturers to develop and finance take-back programs. Visit honolulu.gov/env e-waste page for current options. Best Buy also accepts most consumer electronics free at customer service. Electronics are not accepted at curbside or in bulky appointments.
HHW (paint, chemicals, batteries): Honolulu holds periodic HHW collection events. Check honolulu.gov/env for current event dates. Auto parts stores accept motor oil and lead-acid batteries year-round.
Radioactive material warning: If someone in your household has received radioactive medical treatment, waste like tissue paper or diapers may be contaminated through contact. Don’t place these in regular trash — contact your neighborhood collection yard. City personnel will test items. A single contaminated tissue can trigger safety sensors at disposal facilities and require isolation of an entire truckload.
Starting April 1, 2026, Honolulu’s Green Recycling Organic Waste (G.R.O.W.) program will begin accepting food waste in the green cart for selected areas. This is a significant expansion of the green cart’s scope from yard waste only to mixed organics.
Selected areas first: The program rolls out in selected neighborhoods. If your area is included, you’ll receive notification from the city. Check honolulu.gov/env for current rollout maps.
What G.R.O.W. accepts (in selected areas): Food scraps including meat and dairy, fruits and vegetables, food-soiled paper, plus existing green waste (yard trimmings, palm fronds).
Program goals: G.R.O.W. is part of Honolulu’s broader strategy to reduce landfill waste and produce compost. Watch for further expansion announcements through 2026 and beyond.
O‘ahu 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 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 the program before scheduling.
For items that don’t qualify for free programs, residents needing same-week service before an appointment slot opens, or large cleanouts, paid options are available.
Self-haul to convenience center
Standard facility feesIf you have a vehicle and can self-haul, convenience centers and transfer stations across O‘ahu accept residential loads at standard facility fees. Uncovered load surcharges may apply.
Useful for: Items needing immediate disposal, materials excluded from bulky appointments, large quantities.
Note: Most items at convenience centers are free for residents; tipping fees primarily apply to vehicle-haul loads or specific material types.
LoadUp paid pickup
$80+For Honolulu households needing same-week or in-home pickup, items the city won’t accept, or service before the next available bulky appointment, LoadUp connects you with independent loaders in the Honolulu area for upfront-priced pickup.
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: 1-800-Got-Junk and College Hunks Hauling Junk serve the Honolulu area.
If you can pay for a pickup, your booking helps fund free pickups for someone else. 100% of round-ups fund subsidized pickups at standard market rates.
Book a Honolulu pickup with LoadUp → Round-up option at checkout. Optional, opt-in only.
Illegal dumping in O‘ahu has particular environmental risks given the island’s sensitive watersheds, streams, and coastal ecosystems. Trash in streams can cause flood damage during hurricane season.
Report illegal dumping to the Department of Environmental Services at (808) 768-3200 or via honolulu.gov/env. Report curbside ordinance violations (carts left out continuously, items out days before collection) to Refuse Inspectors at (808) 768-5220.
For Hawaii state environmental violations, contact the Hawaii Department of Health, Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch. Active dumping in progress: call Honolulu Police non-emergency.
Photos with timestamps and license plate numbers significantly improve enforcement outcomes. See our complete illegal dumping guide for state penalty information and reporting best practices.
How do I get bulky items picked up in Honolulu?
Bulky pickup has been appointment-only since July 1, 2020. Schedule online at honolulu.gov/opala or call (808) 768-3200. Items must be at curb after 6 PM the night before and by 6 AM on appointment day. Only items registered on your appointment will be collected. Accepted: furniture, mattresses, appliances, bicycles, carpet (rolled, under 6 ft and 60 lbs), bundled lumber.
Why is curbside trash collection free in Honolulu?
Honolulu is the only Hawaii county that funds residential refuse collection through property taxes rather than separate fees. About 200,000 pickups happen weekly across Oʻahu. The three-cart system (gray weekly, blue and green alternating bi-weekly) serves about 160,000 single-family homes via automated trucks; another 20,000 homes on narrow streets are on manual or semi-automated routes."),
What is G.R.O.W. and when does it start?
G.R.O.W. (Green Recycling Organic Waste) is Honolulu's new food waste program. Starting April 1, 2026, the green cart will accept food waste in selected areas, expanding from yard waste only. The rollout begins in selected neighborhoods; if your area is included, you'll receive notification. Check honolulu.gov/env for current rollout maps. The program is part of Honolulu's broader strategy to reduce landfill waste and produce compost."),
What happens if I put unregistered items out for bulky pickup?
Crews will only collect items listed on your appointment. Unregistered items will be left behind, and you may receive a Notice of Violation if items remain at the curb. This is strict by design: the appointment system optimizes truck routes and ensures crews are dispatched with the right equipment. If you discover additional items after scheduling, modify your appointment online or call (808) 768-3200 before your pickup date."),
Why do my recyclables need to be loose, not bagged?
Bagged recyclables can't be sorted at the materials recovery facility, so they're treated as contamination. Place all blue cart items loose; do not bag, tie, or bundle materials. Plastic bags are recyclable at retail drop-off locations (some grocery stores) but not in the blue cart."),
How do I report illegal dumping in Honolulu?
Call Environmental Services at (808) 768-3200 or report at honolulu.gov/env. Report curbside ordinance violations to Refuse Inspectors at (808) 768-5220. For Hawaii state environmental violations, contact the Hawaii Department of Health Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch. Active dumping in progress: call Honolulu Police non-emergency. Photos with license plate numbers significantly improve enforcement.
Is this page maintained?
Yes. Last updated May 2026. If you find outdated information, let us know.