A public resource guide
Every legitimate way to get rid of furniture, appliances, mattresses, and bulk waste in Louisville, including the appointment-based Large Item Pickup system (4 items per week), the Urban Services District boundary rule, the Haz Bin for hazardous waste, the Waste Reduction Center for free Freon appliance drop-off, and what to do when paid hauling isn't an option.
Last updated: May 2026 · Maintained by Freemoval as a public resource
Louisville Metro replaced its old “junk set-out weekend” system with an appointment-based Large Item Pickup program, up to 4 items per week, year-round, scheduled online or by phone. The change has kept Louisville's streets dramatically cleaner. The system is generous, but eligibility is strict: only households inside the Urban Services District (the former city of Louisville boundary) qualify. Outside USD, residents contract directly with private haulers like Republic, WM, or Rumpke. Louisville also has the Haz Bin for free hazardous waste disposal and the Waste Reduction Center for up to 4 free Freon appliances per visit, one of the few cities offering this at no cost. This page walks through every legitimate option in order from free to paid.
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Louisville Metro Urban Services District residents have free appointment-based Large Item Pickup (4 items per week), free weekly trash, free biweekly recycling, free seasonal yard waste, free Freon appliance drop-off at the Waste Reduction Center (up to 4 per visit), free hazardous waste disposal at Haz Bin, free electronics recycling at the Waste Reduction Center, and donation pickup programs. Louisville Metro Public Works Solid Waste Management Services serves residential buildings with 8 or fewer units, condominiums, and qualifying small businesses within the Urban Services District (USD).
Large Item Pickup by Appointment (4 items/week)
Free, by appointmentLouisville Metro residents inside the Urban Services District can schedule up to 4 large items per week for curbside pickup. The system replaced the old quarterly “junk set-out weekend” model in 2023. Schedule online or via the 311 app. After submission you'll receive a PENDING email with an appointment date (typically within 5 days), then a CONFIRMATION email two days before pickup with the date and approved items.
Eligibility: Households and property owners within the Urban Services District (USD, the former city of Louisville boundary). Residential buildings with 8 or fewer units, condominiums, qualifying small businesses.
Limit: 4 large items per week. No annual cap.
How to schedule: Online at louisvilleky.gov/solid-waste, the Recycle Coach app, or via the 311 app/phone.
Confirmation flow: PENDING email with appointment date (within ~5 days). CONFIRMATION email 2 days before pickup with approved items list.
A large item is: Something too large to fit inside your garbage cart. Examples: couch, table, mattress, toilet, etc.
A large item is NOT: A large pile of small items and debris. Bags and boxes of small items will not be collected. Place those in regular weekly garbage instead.
NOT accepted: Construction and demolition debris, electronics, household hazardous waste, Freon appliances. Each has separate channels.
All items: Must come from the household where they are set out.
Free Freon Appliances at Waste Reduction Center
Free, 4 per visitLouisville offers FREE drop-off of up to 4 Freon-containing appliances (refrigerators, freezers, AC units, dehumidifiers) per visit at the Waste Reduction Center. This is genuinely unusual, most cities charge $30-$80 per Freon appliance. The Waste Reduction Center handles certified refrigerant recovery on site.
What's accepted: Refrigerators, freezers, AC units, dehumidifiers (Freon-containing appliances).
Limit: Up to 4 Freon appliances per visit. Free.
Location: Waste Reduction Center, 636 Meriwether Avenue.
Why this matters: Most cities charge $30-$80 per Freon appliance. Louisville offering 4 free per visit is a meaningful savings for households doing kitchen/laundry remodels.
Haz Bin (free hazardous waste)
Free for residentsHaz Bin is Louisville Metro's permanent household hazardous waste disposal facility. Residents can drop off paint, chemicals, batteries, motor oil, automotive fluids, pesticides, and other HHW at no charge. One of the cleanest legal paths for items that can't go in regular trash.
What's accepted: Paint, chemicals, batteries, motor oil, automotive fluids, pesticides, household cleaners, fluorescent bulbs, propane tanks.
Cost: Free for Louisville Metro residents.
Why this matters: Most cities charge for HHW disposal. Louisville's Haz Bin is free for residents.
Free Electronics Recycling at Waste Reduction Center
Free for residentsLouisville Metro residents can drop off TVs, computers, microwaves, and other electronics free at the Waste Reduction Center. Kentucky has e-waste landfill restrictions, so this is the proper legal disposal path.
What's accepted: TVs, computers, microwaves, monitors, printers, peripherals, small electronics.
Cost: Free for Louisville Metro residents.
Where: Waste Reduction Center, 636 Meriwether Avenue.
Outside-USD residents: 3 free bulky drop-offs
Free, 3 itemsFor residents outside Louisville Metro's service area (outside USD), the Waste Reduction Center accepts up to 3 bulky items free of charge. This is the option for Jefferson County residents who pay private haulers (Rumpke, WM, Republic) and don't qualify for the Large Item Pickup appointment system.
Eligibility: Residents outside Louisville Metro's Urban Services District (private hauler service areas).
Limit: Up to 3 bulky items per visit, free.
Location: Waste Reduction Center, 636 Meriwether Avenue.
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. Louisville partner expansion is in progress for 2026.
Eligibility: Households in active partner communities. Ask your property manager whether your building participates.
Status in Louisville: Onboarding partner properties throughout 2026.
Donation-pickup programs
FreeLouisville-area nonprofits offer free pickup for items in usable condition. The city explicitly recommends donation as the first option before scheduling Large Item Pickup.
Habitat for Humanity ReStore Louisville: Multiple locations. Free pickup for furniture, appliances, building materials.
St. Vincent de Paul: Louisville chapter offers free pickup of furniture, clothing, household items.
Goodwill Industries of Kentucky: Donation pickup for larger items in the Louisville metro area.
Nextdoor (free option): List items for free on Nextdoor, neighbors will pick up directly.
Urban Services District boundary. Louisville Metro Public Works Solid Waste Management Services serves residential buildings with 8 or fewer units, condominiums, and qualifying small businesses within the Urban Services District (USD, the former city of Louisville boundary). Outside USD, residents contract directly with private haulers (Republic, WM, Rumpke) and have separate rules. To verify USD status: address lookup at louisvilleky.gov/solid-waste.
Three-cart system. Every USD household receives three collection services on designated weekdays: weekly garbage (95-gallon cart), biweekly recycling (95-gallon cart), and weekly or seasonal biweekly yard waste (paper bags or approved reusable containers, never plastic bags).
Service area limit. Garbage and recycling carts are 95-gallon City-provided roll-out carts. Trash max 200 lbs per pickup. Yard waste uses paper bags or approved reusable containers, branches bundled under 2" diameter and under 4 feet.
Single-stream recycling. Paper, cardboard, cans, glass, plastic bottles and tubs all go together in the blue 95-gallon cart. Items must be loose, clean, dry, and empty, never bagged. Recycling is collected every other week (A/B alternating).
Yard waste rules. March through December: yard waste collected weekly on your designated yard waste day. Use paper bags or approved reusable containers (20-40 gallon capacity, with handles, weighing no more than 60 pounds). NO plastic bags. Branches must be bundled under 2" diameter and under 4 feet length. Yard waste collected curbside is composted. Winter pause: drop-off available at Waste Reduction Center.
Set-out window. Place carts curbside or at the alley no earlier than 4:00 PM the night before. By 6:00 AM on collection day at the latest. Cart serial numbers are tied to your address, carts must stay at that address if you move.
Oaks Day. Louisville observes Oaks Day (the Friday before the Kentucky Derby) as a local special occasion. The Haz Bin and Waste Reduction Center both close at 1:00 PM on Oaks Day. Regular curbside garbage, recycling, and yard waste collection is not typically affected. Always check louisvilleky.gov for any alerts in early May.
Construction debris is prohibited. Construction and demolition debris are prohibited by ordinance in Louisville garbage and Large Item Pickup collection. Collection crews will mark the material and leave a notice at the residence. Options: haul to Waste Reduction Center on Meriwether Avenue (variable fees by vehicle/trailer size) or hire a hauling company. For larger volumes, dumpster rental.
Recycle Coach app. Free personalized calendar with automatic holiday alerts. Download from the app store. The app shows your final junk set-out weekend (during the phase-in transition) and alerts when your address has migrated to the appointment system.
Find your day. Address lookup at louisvilleky.gov/solid-waste confirms whether you're in the Urban Services District and shows your exact garbage, recycling, and yard waste days. Or call Metro311 at (502) 574-5000.
Louisville Metro Public Works Solid Waste Management Services. Metro311 at (502) 574-5000. louisvilleky.gov/government/public-works.
Louisville'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 outside the Urban Services District, those who exceed 4 large items per week, who need same-day service, who have construction debris (prohibited in Large Item Pickup), or who live in 9+ unit buildings, paid options are available. Note: outside-USD residents may already pay private haulers (Republic, WM, Rumpke) who include some bulk service in their contract, check your existing service before paying for separate pickup.
LoadUp paid pickup
$80+For households outside Urban Services District (no city Large Item Pickup eligibility), exceeding 4 items per week during cleanouts, with construction debris (prohibited in city pickup), or needing same-day service, LoadUp offers professional removal in Louisville 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-item cleanouts, items the city won't accept (construction debris, large piles), apartment buildings without account-holder coordination.
Other paid services in Louisville: Junk King, College Hunks Hauling Junk, 1-800-Got-Junk, 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 Louisville pickup with LoadUp → Round-up option appears at checkout. Optional, opt-in only.
Different items have different rules in Louisville. Here's a quick reference for the most common things people need to dispose of.
Louisville residents have free hazardous waste disposal at Haz Bin, Louisville Metro's permanent HHW facility. Drop off paint, chemicals, batteries, motor oil, automotive fluids, pesticides, household cleaners, fluorescent bulbs, and propane tanks at no charge. 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. Motor oil and antifreeze can also be dropped off at Louisville's staffed Recycling Drop-Off locations citywide.
To report illegal dumping in Louisville, call Metro311 at (502) 574-5000 or use the Metro311 reporting system online or via app. Reports can also be filed under "Trash Complaints and Violations" → "Waste Violation". Include the location, description of dumped material, and a photo if possible. Louisville actively investigates dumping reports through code enforcement. If you're considering dumping because of cleanout volume, please use the appointment-based Large Item Pickup, 4 items per week with no annual cap means most cleanouts can be handled free over multiple weeks if you can plan ahead. For urgent timelines, paid haulers like LoadUp at $80+ are dramatically cheaper than illegal dumping fines.
Is there really free junk removal in Louisville?
Yes, if you live within the Urban Services District (USD), Louisville Metro offers free Large Item Pickup by appointment, up to 4 items per week year-round, with no annual cap. The system replaced the old quarterly “junk weekend” model in 2023 and has dramatically improved street cleanliness. On top of that, the Waste Reduction Center offers up to 4 free Freon appliances per visit (rare nationally), free electronics recycling, and the Haz Bin offers free hazardous waste disposal. Donation pickup through Habitat ReStore, St. Vincent de Paul, Goodwill, and Nextdoor is also free for usable items. Outside USD, residents pay private haulers (Republic, WM, Rumpke) but can drop up to 3 bulky items free at the Waste Reduction Center.
How do I know if I'm in the Urban Services District?
Use the address lookup at louisvilleky.gov/solid-waste, enter your address and the tool will confirm whether you're in the USD and show your exact garbage, recycling, and yard waste days if so. The USD is roughly the former city of Louisville boundary (before the city/county merger). Households outside USD use private haulers (Republic, WM, Rumpke) and don't qualify for the Large Item Pickup appointment system. Outside-USD residents can still use the Waste Reduction Center and Haz Bin as a free alternative.
Why are bags and boxes of small items rejected in Large Item Pickup?
Large Item Pickup is designed for things too large to fit in your garbage cart, couches, tables, mattresses, toilets. Small items in bags or boxes tend to scatter during loading, leaving litter all around the curb. They're also collected inefficiently in this system. Place small items in your weekly garbage collection bin instead. If small items are usable, donate, give away on Nextdoor (which the city explicitly recommends as a free option), or sell. The 4-item-per-week limit also applies to actual large items, not piles of small things masquerading as large items.
How do I qualify for Freemoval in Louisville?
Freemoval works through partner communities, typically affordable housing operators, public housing authorities, and select municipal partnerships. We’re actively expanding partnerships in Louisville 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 Louisville, contact us to discuss adding your community.
How does the Large Item Pickup appointment system work?
Schedule online at louisvilleky.gov/solid-waste, the Recycle Coach app, or via the 311 app/phone. After submission you'll receive a PENDING email letting you know your request was received and showing a pending appointment date (typically within 5 days). Two days before pickup, you'll receive a CONFIRMATION email with the date and the approved items list. Place items at the curb the night before your scheduled pickup, not earlier. Up to 4 items per week, year-round, no annual cap. All items must come from the household where they are set out (you can't accept neighbor items).
Why is Louisville's Freon appliance disposal so unusual?
Most cities charge $30-$80 per Freon-containing appliance (refrigerators, freezers, AC units, dehumidifiers) because federal EPA rules require certified refrigerant recovery before disposal. Louisville's Waste Reduction Center accepts up to 4 Freon appliances per visit FREE for Metro residents, a meaningful savings during kitchen or laundry remodels. The center handles certified refrigerant recovery on site. This is one of the most generous Freon disposal programs of any major U.S. city. Note: this is drop-off only at the Waste Reduction Center on Meriwether Avenue. For curbside pickup of Freon appliances, you'll need a paid hauler.
How do I report illegal dumping in Louisville?
Call Metro311 at (502) 574-5000 or use the Metro311 reporting system online or via app. File under "Trash Complaints and Violations" then "Waste Violation". 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.
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