Burbank still picks up most bulky items for free, but not all of them. Since July 1, 2025, a set of items carries a Special Handling Fee of $12.14 each, billed to your Burbank Water & Power account.[1] If you're clearing out a garage or replacing appliances, that fee adds up quickly, so it helps to know which items trigger it and where else they can go.
Which items carry the fee
The fee applies per item to appliances and a few similar things:[1]
- Refrigerators, freezers, stoves, dishwashers, washers and dryers
- Water heaters and water softeners
- AC units, compressors and drinking fountains
- Mattresses and box springs
- Gas lawnmowers, gas chainsaws and gas leaf blowers
- Tires, up to 4
So a household that sets out an old fridge, a washer, a dryer and a queen mattress with its box spring is looking at five fees on the next BWP bill.
Only the account holder can book fee items. Because the charge goes on the BWP bill, only the BWP account holder can schedule them.[1] That's a real snag for renters whose landlord holds the utility account, or for adult kids handling a parent's house.
What's still free
These have no special handling fee at bulky pickup:[1]
- Couches, chairs, tables, dressers and bed frames
- Cribs, rugs and large plastic toys
- Metal furniture and furnaces
- TVs
- Emptied propane or oxygen tanks with the valve removed
- Up to two pallets in good condition
Furniture, in other words, is still covered. The fee is aimed at the heavy, harder-to-process stuff.
How to book, and the timing rules
You have two ways to schedule:
- Online, through the Our Burbank 311 portal or app, at least two business days before your normal trash day. A photo of each item is required.[1]
- By phone at (818) 238-3800, Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at least one business day before trash day.[1]
Set items out no earlier than the night before, at least 5 feet from fixed objects, and take the doors off any refrigerator.[1] If the crew can't take something on trash day because of its size or weight, it's tagged and picked up the following Friday.[1]
What Burbank won't take at all
Paying the fee doesn't open the door to everything. Bulky pickup won't take construction materials like bricks, concrete, tile, dirt, fencing, roofing, drywall, carpet and countertops, or auto parts.[1] It also skips hazardous waste, paint, yard waste, extra bags or boxes of trash, fire-damaged items, smoke detectors, ammunition and dead animals.[1]
Note that carpet is on Burbank's no list. That's different from the City of LA, where rolled and tied carpet is an accepted bulky item.[2]
Business items don't qualify for City bulky pickup either. For those, the City itself tells people to donate, rent a temporary dumpster or call a junk removal service.[1]
Ways around the fee
A few fee items have free or cheaper routes in Burbank:
| Item | Alternative | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Mattress and box spring | Burbank Recycle Center drop-off | Free for residents, Monday through Saturday, 1 mattress and 1 box spring per household[1] |
| New mattress coming | Retailer take-back | A retailer delivering a new mattress for free must offer to take the old one[3] |
| Old appliances | Scrap metal yards in nearby Sun Valley | SA Recycling's Sun Valley yards take large appliances[4] and require a government photo ID to sell scrap[4] |
| Tires | A tire recycler | Tires are banned from the trash in California,[5] and CalRecycle has a tire recycler search and a hotline at (866) 896-0600[6] |
For the mattress drop-off, keep in mind that wet, heavily soiled or bedbug-infested mattresses don't qualify for free Bye Bye Mattress drop-off.[3] For refrigerators and freezers, California requires refrigerant and other special materials to be removed by a certified appliance recycler, or refrigerant by an EPA-certified technician, before the appliance is crushed or disposed of.[7],[8]
Where the collected items end up
Burbank says most bulky collections go to the landfill. Electronics, metal appliances, mattresses and box springs are the exceptions that get recycled, and the City asks residents to donate or sell usable items first.[1] If a couch or dresser still has life in it, Goodwill Southern California has a store at 3226 W. Magnolia Blvd.[9]
Electronics and batteries go to the Drop Zone
TVs are free at bulky pickup, but smaller e-waste, batteries and bulbs go to the Burbank Recycle Center's Drop Zone at 500 S. Flower St., (818) 238-3900, which serves residents and small businesses and may ask for proof of residency.[3] The City's two official pages list different hours for it, so call before you go.[3] The Drop Zone caps e-waste at 100 pounds per household per year.[3]
When a hauler makes more sense than the fee
For one mattress set out on trash day, the City's system works fine. The math changes when you have several fee items and furniture that's still inside, when the person who holds the BWP account isn't available to book, or when the pile includes things the City won't take. Here's one Burbank customer's experience:
These guys were so quick and efficient! Had a storage unit filled with huge items, we had it scheduled and finished within an hour. These guys are the real deal and at an affordable price! Storage unit was in Burbank and Brian and Carlos were there ASAP, took them 15 minutes! Super friendly and overall totally worth it!
Legacy works in Burbank. We carry items out of the house, garage or unit ourselves. Same-day service most days when you reach us by early afternoon; next-morning slots are common. Send photos of what's going and we'll text back a price, so you can compare it against the fees and the trips before you decide. The full rundown of the City program is in our Burbank bulky item pickup guide, and there's more about us in junk removal in Burbank.