No Large Item Collection for Properties with More than 8 Units

If you feel we may have made a mistake in excluding your particular property from the work order system, have your property manager / condo association reach out to us and we will reassess. 

Have your condo board / property manager send us an email at streets@cityofmadison.com with the property address and just a brief explanation why you think we made a mistake and we'll give your property another look.

IMPORTANT: Do not use the web feedback form at the bottom of the page to request this. 

The web feedback section on every page is only for anonymous feedback about the quality of a page, like if you spot a typo or a broken link, or want to give kudos to something you like.  It's not for making service requests. 

You have options.

Remember to first consider reusing, donating, or reselling your items. 

If they can be donated, do that first before send them to the landfill. Many donation organizations offer free home pickup.

Here are more options:

1. Talk to your property management. 

   If your property uses metal dumpsters, that private company will collect large items. 

   That company will have specific rules, and perhaps charges, for this service. 

   How this may work at your specific property will vary. 

   Some properties may encourage you to just contact the dumpster company to set up your collection independently. Others may have a different system in place with the maintenance staff. 

   You need to talk with your property management to find out how it works where you live.

2. If you are a City of Madison resident, you can use a drop-off site. 

   While some people may not have a vehicle large enough to haul furniture or other items to a drop-off site, you may be able to rent a vehicle from UHaul or a similar moving van or truck company, or even a hardware store (like Menards or Home Depot, for example). 

   You can also work with friends, neighbors, relatives, coworkers, or even other local car rental opportunities to get your large item to a drop-off site. 

3. As a Dane County resident, you can also take material to the Dane County Landfill. 

   You can take larger loads to the Dane County Landfill than you can the Streets Division drop-off sites, and during the winter months the Dane County Landfill offers Saturday hours that the city drop-off sites cannot provide.

4. Hire a reputable private junk hauler. 

   We cannot recommend one over the other, but be sure they are a registered waste hauler in Madison and that they will be disposing of the items appropriately.

If you are in a property that is larger than 8 units, and you still receive collection of trash and recycling from the Streets Division, large item service is not guaranteed.

Every situation is different.

While all properties that receive recycling collection from the Streets Division pay the Resource Recovery Special Charge (RRSC) on the monthly Municipal Services bill, the RRSC does not cover the costs of large item pickup. 

Again, if you feel your property was denied large item pickup, your property management or condo association can contact us via email to request a review. 

The Streets Division has been unable to grow staff and equipment to keep pace with the growth of the city.

From 2019 to 2023, the city added approximately 10,000 homes in properties  greater than 9 units. An additional 2,000 homes were added from properties that have 8 units and less.  

Neither of those numbers include the attachment of the Town of Madison, or smaller similar additions. 

We've added at minimum 12,000 new homes eligible for large item collection in just the last 4 years with more transformative growth coming.

The growth is happening at a time when budgets cannot add staff or equipment to continue providing the service at the level and frequency that residents expect. 

With these challenges in mind, new policy for large item collection was passed to restrict who can receive large item collection. 

Streets Division trash and recycling collection is currently restricted to properties of fewer than 8 units by a 2010 resolution.

Most properties over 8 units already have a relationship with private trash and recycling collection companies.

These private companies all have the capacity to provide large item collection to their customers.

The Streets Division's August move out operations downtown will not change.

The August student move out is a special event that requires a special response. 

Well over 30,000 Madison residents move out of their homes on roughly the same day in neighborhoods clustered on the isthmus and near the University of Wisconsin campus.  This is roughly equivalent to the entire City of Sun Prairie all moving out of their homes at the exact same time. 

We remain committed to working hard to keeping the city clean and welcoming during this annual event. 

We recognize that this policy was a big change.  And it will take a while before everyone learns about it.

If you have questions about why a property is or isn't excluded from the work order system, please reach out to us.