August Student Move Out
On this page, you will find
- This is where we perform extra pickups during the move out time, and this is the only area that receives it during this special time of year.
When is the move out time frame this year for extra collections in the move out area?
Notification letter that was sent to property owners and property managers in the move out area
Student Move Time Frame
In 2026, student move collections begin on Monday, August 3 and ended on Friday, August 21.
Donation Information
After you have made your moving plan and picked what you are moving with you, donate what is usable. We have a webpage showing some of the ways you can prevent good items from being wasted in the landfill on our donation and resale opportunities page.
Local Donation and Resale Opportunities
Apartment Building Donation Sites
Some large buildings may be working directly with donation organizations to set up donation stations to reclaim usable items. For example, in years past many downtown buildings worked directly with Goodwill.
If you are unsure if your building is offering this opportunity, or if you would like your building to participate, contact your property manager to see if Goodwill or another organization may be able to set up a donation site in the building during the move out.
Daily Cart Collection in the Move Out Area
For 2026, we will have crews in the move out area each work day emptying trash and recycling carts carts starting on August 3 and ending on August 21.
Fill up your carts with the appropriate material according to the guidelines and roll them to the curb by 6:30 a.m.
We will empty the carts as soon as we can so you can fill them up again, so we can empty them again.
Cart Emptying Plan: More Carts Out; More Trucks Assigned
Daily patrolling for carts will start on August 3 as staffing and time allows.
When crews complete their regular assigned routes, they go to the move out area to empty more carts with any remaining time in the shift.
As more carts are set out, more staff will be diverted from regular duties (like brush collection or street repair) to help empty them.
Filling and re-filling your carts keeps your neighborhood clean, and makes our collection faster so we can stay out of your way while you move.
Furniture, Mattresses, and Other Free Items
If you live in the student move out area, you will not be required to complete a work order for free large items from August 2, 2026 until the morning of Friday, August 21, 2026.
Large item collection crews will be roving the student move out area during this window of time.
Crews will be collecting couches, chairs, box springs, mattresses, bookshelves, tables, rugs, and other items that are routinely picked up without a fee.
What if you need a large item pickup before August 2?
You will need to make a large item work order. Curbside pickup from the Streets Division is for eligible properties only.
What if you need a large item pickup after August 21?
You will need to make a large item work order. Curbside pickup from the Streets Division is for eligible properties only.
What items require a fee?
A list of items that may require a fee can be found on the Large Item page.
If your large item is not listed, and it is also not an electronics item that must be recycled by state law, then it can be collected at the curb without a work order in the student move area during the window of time noted above.
What if you do not live in the student move out area?
The normal large item work order requirements still apply.
Microwaves, Air Conditioners, Dehumidifiers, and Other Appliances & Special Large Items Require a Work Order
Appliances and special items require a large item work order for collection during the move out.
This ensures we have the correct truck pick-up these items as fast as possible.
Items requiring a work order are mostly appliances such as microwaves, dehumidifiers, refrigerators, air conditioners, and so on. It can also include tires, lawnmowers, and other items.
Some properties will also need to pay a fee for these appliances and items.
Who pays fees for these special items?
If your recycling is picked up by the City of Madison, then you do not pay fees for these items. You will not be charged when dropping these items off at a drop-off site.
If your recycling is collected in a dumpster, or from carts that are not provided by the City of Madison, that means you do not have recycling collection from the City of Madison.
Why is it like that?
Home that receive recycling collection from the City of Madison pay the Resource Recovery Special Charge on the monthly municipal services bill.
The special charge covers the cost of the fees related to handling appliances and special large items.
If your recycling is collected by a private company, you do not pay the special charge, so you need to pay the fee for the appliance or special item. You will also need to pay the fee before you drop these items off at one of the drop-off sites.
If you are choosing to take the item to a drop-off site and you must pay a fee for the item, then you will receive a fee sticker in the mail to show that you paid for the item. You cannot drop off the item until you receive the sticker.
All properties in the move out area can create work orders for a limited time.
Due to the policy change for large item collection that went into place in January 1, 2025, large properties within the student move out area only have a limited time to get the work orders submitted.
The window of time where all properties in the move out area can create work orders in 2026 is July 26 to August 14.
Read the "What about big properties and the move out?" section to get a full explanation.
The items requiring a work order during the move out are ones listed that have a fee associated with them. The list of items can be found on the large item page
TVs, Computers, Printers, and Other Electronics
These items must be taken to a drop-off site for appropriate recycling.
In 2025, there are no fees for these items when you take them to a City drop-off site.
Do not set electronics to the curb.
Do not put them into the trash or recycling carts.
What about big properties and the move out?
Starting on January 1, 2025, properties of more than 8 units were excluded from the large item work order system.
Even with the new rule, the Streets Division will continue perform the move out clean out like we always have prior to that policy change.
The move out is a special situation with thousands of Madison residents all moving at the same time.
Work Orders and the Move Out
During the move out, the work order system will be activated for everyone within the move out area from July 26, 2026 until August 14, 2026.
This includes properties that were excluded from the work order system on January 1, 2025 when the large item policy changed.
After August 14, 2026 work order availability will change back to just for properties that have fewer than 8 units.
Our hope is that we're making a system where people who need to make a work order for us during the move out can schedule one for the Sundays during the move out.
Why do this if crews will be roaming downtown collecting everything that is set out to the curb?
Certain large items require special handling (dehumidifiers, air conditioners, fridges, tires, microwaves etc.)
We need people to schedule those collections so we get the right truck there to pick these items up.
Scheduling that on the work order helps.
Why turn off access on Friday, August 14 if the move-out collections run until Friday, August 21? That doesn't make sense.
When you schedule a large item collection, you choose to set items out on a Sunday for crews to collect during the work week that follows.
Work orders are created to set items out on a Sunday, and then crews come by during the work week following that set out date.
The last Sunday available during the move out period is August 16.
So it makes sense that the final day to take work orders during the move out this is August 14.
What if I have large items on August 15, 2026 (or later) after my move and I can't schedule the work order?
Again, crews will keep roaming downtown through August 17, 2026 to August 21, 2026 to collect what is out.
They will be collecting furniture, carpeting, and the usual move out stuff.
If you have an item that requires a fee (microwave, air conditioner, tires, etc.) you may want to take this item to a drop-off site.
If you move in well after the traditional August move out time, and have big stuff to pick up and you can't use the work order system, choose one of these options:
- use the drop-off sites,
- utilize the waste hauler provided by your new home (dumpster providers all provide large item pickup), or
- work with a private junk hauling service
- donate or resell your usable, but unwanted, items
Cart Usage
- Do not take the collection carts with you to the next apartment. Carts or dumpsters will be at your next home.
- Please keep your trash and recycling carts separated from each other. Remember to leave space between carts so we can collect them without knocking over other carts.
Don't mix up carts. Place trash carts near other trash carts. And place recycling carts near other recycling ones.
Trash
- Put all of your trash in the tan trash cart or in trash bags.
- Do not put recycling in your tan trash cart.
- Do not put trash into cardboard boxes.
- If you have more trash than will fit into your cart, use trash bags. Don't pile loose heaps of your garbage on the ground.
Recycling
- Put your clean, dry, and empty recyclables in the green recycling cart.
- If you are bagging recyclables, you must use bags you can see through. Any other kind of bags means your recyclables will be thrown out as trash.
- Flatten your boxes before you recycle them.
How to Stack Your Large Items
- Do not pile bagged trash or recyclables on your large items
- Stack your materials neatly
- Put your furniture, wood, rugs, mattress, etc. in one area. And then in separate spot place your your appliances (microwaves, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, etc.), metal items and other special items like tires. Don't jumble all this stuff together.
Property Owner and Manger Information
In 2025, individuals that own non-owner occupied property in the student move received a letter providing notification about how the Streets Division will handle certain items set to the curb that should not be.
The 2025 letter can be read here:
The mailing included a map of the the student move area, a flyer explaining the drop-off site hours and locations for this year, and a flyer explaining large item rules.
Be sure your tenants know their responsibilities on how to safely handle these items.
Illegal Dumping
If items are dumped illegally on your property, it is a crime. Report this to the Madison Police Department. After you get your case number from MPD, contact the Streets Division to learn the next steps.
How We Determined Who Received the Letters
In looking at the property data, if the where the owner lives did not match the physical address of the property then it was flagged as being non-owner occupied, and therefore most likely a rental property. Also, we sent letters to two-unit properties or others that have an official property use code that seems likely to be apartment rentals, and therefore most in need of this information.
With that said, there may have been some mistakes and we apologize for that.
If you received the letter in error, this information is useful to know even if it is not necessarily applicable to your situation.
Why were there errors? Let's use a pretend address of "123 First St." If the property data has the owner information as "123 1st St" and the physical address of the property as "123 First St" then our system would flag this as being not owner occupied since the text isn't an exact match. So, a letter would be generated. There's many opportunities for this kind of data entry mismatch. We tried to proofread the addresses before the letters were sent, but invariably, a few probably slipped through.