5 things Providence bulk pickup won't take

The short answer

Providence's free bulky-item pickup, run by Waste Management, takes furniture and large appliances from buildings of six or fewer units, scheduled 24 hours before trash day. It will not take mattresses, electronics, anything from a building of seven or more units, anything still inside your home, or household chemicals. For the first four, a flat-price pickup covers it: queen mattress $103, 42 to 65 inch TV $68, sofa $126.

First, what it does take

It is worth being fair to the program. For furniture and large appliances, it is free and it works. The city lists refrigerators, stoves, washer-dryers, water heaters and air conditioners among the appliances it takes, and furniture such as sofas, chairs, tables and dressers is the core of it.

The rules are simple. Schedule with Waste Management online or by phone at least 24 hours before your regular trash day. Set items out no earlier than the night before. Your building must have six or fewer units.

If your sofa is on the first floor of a two-family in Mount Pleasant and you can carry it out on a dry Wednesday night, use the city. Everything below is about the cases where you cannot.

1. Mattresses

Mattresses are the one item the city names as an exception to the no-fee rule. They are not part of the free bulky pickup.

Your options are the DPW drop-off on Allens Avenue on Saturdays from 7:00 to 12:45, two per visit with a Providence ID; the RIRRC Central Landfill in Johnston; or Waste Management's paid curbside pickup, which requires the mattress to be bagged.

The drop-off is free, but it asks for a vehicle that can carry a queen, a Saturday morning, and proof you live in the city. Rhode Island's Bye Bye Mattress program, funded by a recycling fee collected at retail, is what makes no-cost drop-off possible statewide, so the mattress does get recycled if you get it there.

A flat-price pickup takes it from the bedroom with no bag: twin $82, full $94, queen $103, king $114, box spring $92, set $143. See how to get rid of a mattress in Providence.

2. TVs, monitors and computers

Rhode Island bans e-waste from the trash, and the city's bulky program is not the route for it. TVs of every kind, CRT, LCD and plasma, plus monitors and laptops, are covered by the ban.

Providence offers a free Waste Management e-waste pickup by appointment, and RIRRC holds e-waste collection events. Both start at the curb or your car trunk.

A flat-price pickup is $62 for a TV under 42 inches, $68 for 42 to 65 inches, $73 for 65 inches and up, $58 for a monitor and $77 for a box of electronics. A single TV bills at the $100 minimum, so a TV and its stand, $68 + $96 = $164, is a more typical order.

3. Anything from a building of seven or more units

This is the gap that surprises people most. Buildings with seven or more units do not get city trash service at all, so there is no bulky pickup to schedule. That covers many Downtown apartment buildings, larger complexes and converted mill buildings in Olneyville, the West End and along the rivers.

In those buildings, disposal is the owner's responsibility. Tenants moving out need to check what the building provides, and property managers need a private hauler for every turnover.

Managed buildings usually ask for a certificate of insurance before a crew can work on site. JunkRabbit emails a COI within one hour of booking, and property managers can set up an account covering several properties.

4. Anything still inside

The city truck collects from the curb. It does not climb your stairs. In a city where the typical home is a triple-decker with one apartment per floor and narrow rear stairs, that is a serious limit.

If your dresser is on the third floor, your sofa is in a finished basement, or your old washer is in a shared cellar, getting it to the curb is entirely on you. For many people, that means borrowing a helper, a dolly and an afternoon.

A flat-price pickup includes the carry-out from any floor, with no stairs fee. A dresser and a sofa from a third-floor apartment on Federal Hill are $126 + $126 = $252, the same as from the ground floor.

5. Household chemicals

The bulky program is for furniture and large appliances, not for the shelf of old solvents, pool chemicals and pesticides in the basement. Those belong at RIRRC's Eco-Depot household hazardous waste collection events. Check the Eco-Depot schedule before you go.

Paint is different. JunkRabbit accepts paint: a one-gallon can is $30 and a five-gallon bucket $52. Other hazardous waste is not standard and is handled case by case, so ask before booking.

For more on the curb rules themselves, see can you leave furniture on the curb in Providence.

Splitting one move-out between the city and a pickup

Most Providence move-outs hit two or three of these gaps at once, so the cheapest plan is often a split. Picture a second-floor unit in a South Providence three-family. The building is under seven units, so the city will take the furniture you can get to the curb. It will not take the mattress, the TV or the bucket of old paint.

Here is how that plays out. Carry the kitchen table and two chairs down yourself and book them with Waste Management for the night before trash day. Leave the rest for a flat-price pickup: queen mattress, box spring, 42 to 65 inch TV and a five-gallon bucket of paint, $103 + $92 + $68 + $52 = $315.

If you would rather not carry anything, add the table and chairs to the same visit: a 2 to 4 seat dining table and two dining chairs are $103 + $45 + $45 = $193, for a full total of $315 + $193 = $508. At that point, compare against a truck-fill tier. A quarter truck, about 4 cubic yards, is $241, and a 3/8 truck, about 6 cubic yards, is $338. A photo quote shows which one is lower before you book.

The split also solves timing. Bulky pickup runs on your trash day, while a private pickup can be same day when you book by 4 PM, in a 2-hour window you choose, any day of the week.

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