Glendale's bulky item pickup is run by the City for smaller residential buildings and by private haulers for everyone else. The two details that decide whether your couch gets picked up are the three-business-day booking window and the City's item list, which is strict. This guide walks through both, plus where Glendale residents take the things the list leaves out.
Who uses the City service
Glendale is its own city, incorporated in 1906 and a charter city since 1921, separate from Los Angeles.[1] Every property in Glendale is required to have trash, recycling and organics service.[2]
Who provides that service depends on the size of the building:[3]
| Property | Who handles bulky pickup |
|---|---|
| Single-family home | City of Glendale |
| Building with 1 to 4 units | City of Glendale |
| Building with 5 or more units | The property's hauler |
| Business | The property's hauler |
Not every Glendale-area address is in the city. The Sanitation Districts list La Crescenta and Montrose as unincorporated communities,[4] so check who actually empties your carts before you book.
How to request a pickup
Submit a Bulky Item Request at least three business days before your scheduled pickup, using the City's online form or the Recycle Coach app.[3] The City's printed list turns that into a simple calendar:[5]
| For a pickup on | Ask by |
|---|---|
| Monday | The Wednesday before |
| Tuesday | The Thursday before |
| Wednesday | The Sunday before |
| Thursday | Monday |
| Friday | Tuesday |
For questions about bulky pickup, trash or recycling, call Glendale Integrated Waste Management at (818) 548-3916.[6] That office also handles "special pick-up" of extra trash that won't fit in your cart, which is a separate, paid service from bulky pickup.[6]
Setting items out
Put items at the curb after 6:00 p.m. the evening before collection, and move them fully off private property, or they won't be collected.[3]
Leaving bulky items on the curb, the street or the premises without arranging for disposal is illegal dumping in Glendale, and it can be fined.[7]
What's on the City list
Glendale works from a written list, and if an item isn't on it, it isn't accepted.[5] Accepted items include:
- furniture;
- appliances: AC units, dishwashers, washers, dryers, stoves, small freezers and refrigerators (door removed or taped shut);
- TVs and computers;
- toilets and sinks, but not cast-iron sinks;
- bicycles and exercise equipment;
- mattresses and box springs, wrapped.[5]
The City describes pickup of major appliances as free, naming refrigerators, stoves, water heaters, dishwashers, trash compactors, AC units and microwaves.[3]
Three prep rules trip people up:
- Mattresses and box springs are taken only if they're in mattress bags or safely wrapped.[8]
- Anything with glass, like a mirror or a cabinet door, has to be wrapped or it stays behind.[3]
- Carpet must be rolled and taped or tied, no more than 5 feet long and under 2 feet across.[5]
AC units get special treatment. The City picks them up as bulky items from single-family homes, and neither the hazardous waste facility nor the Recycling Center takes the units themselves, though the hazardous waste facility does accept Freon in bottles up to 5 gallons.[2]
What's not accepted, and where it goes
The bulky pickup list excludes cardboard, hazardous waste, bags of trash or recycling, construction materials, lumber, and large amounts of construction glass such as old windows.[5] BBQ and patio-heater propane tanks aren't accepted either.[3]
| Item | Where Glendale residents can take it |
|---|---|
| Paint, thinners, pool and garden chemicals, propane tanks | Glendale HHW facility, 780 Flower St.[9] |
| Car and household batteries, fluorescent and LED lamps | Glendale HHW facility[9] |
| TVs, monitors, computers, phones, small electronics | Glendale Recycling Center, 540 W. Chevy Chase Dr.[3] |
| Used motor oil (up to 10 gallons) | Free pickup at home on the second Thursday of the month; book at (818) 548-3227[10] |
| Sharps and non-controlled medicines | Glendale HHW facility; sharps in a puncture-proof container[9] |
Glendale's hazardous waste facility
The Fire Department's facility at 780 Flower St. opens every Wednesday and on the second Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and closes on holidays and in extreme weather.[9] It's open to Glendale and La Cañada residents with proof of residency, and to La Crescenta and Montrose residents who have a Glendale Water & Power bill.[9] Each visit is limited to 15 gallons of liquids or 125 pounds of solids, container size included, and staff unload your car.[9] The HHW Program's number is (818) 548-4810.[3]
It does not take tires, EV batteries, solar panels, controlled substances, ammunition, smoke detectors or e-waste.[9] If the Wednesday schedule doesn't work, any LA County resident can use a S.A.F.E. Center for free; the Los Angeles–Glendale center at 4600 Colorado Blvd. is open Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.[11]
The Glendale Recycling Center
Electronics go to the City's Recycling Center at 540 W. Chevy Chase Dr., open Monday to Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., closed Sunday.[3] It takes computers and office equipment, TVs and monitors, phones, audio and video gear, small household appliances, and batteries and cords.[3]
Not everything there is free. On the City's older fee table, TVs, computers, phones, tablets, radios and household batteries were free, while printers, fax machines, DVD and VCR players, speakers, lamps, vacuums, toasters, microwaves and other circuit-board items carried a fee.[12] That table dates from mid-2025, so ask about current fees when you arrive. The center doesn't take mattresses, tires, paint, light bulbs, wood, chemicals, medical waste or trash.[12]
Apartments and condos with 5 or more units
If your building has five or more units, the City doesn't handle your bulky pickup. Glendale has four private haulers, each assigned a service zone: Athens Services, NASA Services, Southland Environmental Services and Waste Management.[13]
These properties can get up to four free bulky pickup appointments per calendar year, with extra appointments available for a fee. Each appointment is limited to four bulky items or ten bundles of green waste.[13] On a busy move-out weekend, four items goes fast, so talk to your property manager about the building's allowance before you plan around it.
Scholl Canyon, Glendale's landfill
Scholl Canyon Landfill sits in Glendale just north of the 134 and is run by the LA County Sanitation Districts.[4] A Glendale ordinance limits it to waste generated in Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Marino, Sierra Madre and a few unincorporated areas including La Crescenta and Montrose; Burbank and the City of LA aren't on the list.[4]
The Sanitation Districts page lists weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.,[4] while the County's services locator shows weekdays only,[14] so call (818) 243-9779 before a Saturday run.[4] The scales take cash, debit cards, and MasterCard, American Express or Discover, but not checks.[4] Because it's unlined, Scholl Canyon refuses burnt debris, and undeclared burnt loads draw a $500 fine.[15] The dumps and landfills guide compares it with the other sites nearby.
Donate first
Glendale has several donation drop-offs. Goodwill Southern California has a store at 240 N. Brand Blvd.[16] and a donation center at 2064 Verdugo Rd. in Montrose,[17] and The Salvation Army lists a thrift store at 333 N. Central Ave.[18] Goodwill takes furniture in good, clean, sellable condition but not mattresses.[19]
Glendale bulky pickup prep
- Confirm the City, not a private hauler, collects your building's trash.[3]
- Check each item against the City list.[5]
- Submit the request by the cutoff for your pickup day.[5]
- Bag or wrap mattresses and box springs.[8]
- Wrap mirrors, glass doors and anything else with glass.[3]
- Remove or tape the refrigerator door.[5]
- Roll carpet into pieces no longer than 5 feet.[5]
- Wait until after 6 p.m. the night before to set it out, fully off your property.[3]
When calling a hauler makes sense
The City pickup is free and works well if your items are on the list, you can plan three business days out, and you can carry everything to the curb. A private crew is worth a look when:
- the items aren't on the City list, or the pile mixes accepted things with cardboard and bagged trash;
- you're in a 5+ unit building and the four-item limit won't cover it;
- the job means clearing a whole unit, a garage or a family member's apartment, not setting out one couch;
- everything has to be carried down stairs or out of a tight hillside lot.
Legacy Junk Removal works in Glendale too. This review is from a customer whose mother lived there:
Contacted Legacy Junk Removal to clean out my elderly mother's apartment (hoarder situation) in Glendale, CA. They arrived on time and was finished within 2 1/2 hours. They did an extraordinary and thorough job! Highly recommend!
Send photos of the room or the pile, and we'll text a price back.