Miami-Dade Bulky Waste Pickup: How It Works, and When to Skip It
Published 2026-07-20
Miami-Dade gives eligible homes two free bulky waste pickups a year. What qualifies, what gets rejected, how long it takes, and when a hauler makes more sense.
The free option, explained honestly
We are a junk removal company telling you how to get junk removed for free, because the county program is real and sometimes it is the right call. Households with Miami-Dade curbside waste collection can request two bulky waste pickups per year, each up to 25 cubic yards, which is a serious amount of material. You schedule online or by calling 311, put the pile at the curb, and a claw truck eventually collects it. If your junk qualifies, you are not in a hurry, and you have pickups left this year, use the program.
Where the free option falls apart
- Eligibility: only homes with county residential collection qualify. Most condos, apartment buildings, businesses, and homes inside cities with their own trash service (like Hialeah or Coral Gables, which run separate programs with their own rules) are not covered.
- What it takes: household items and yard waste generated at that address. Construction and renovation debris, tires, and hazardous materials are excluded, and piles containing them get skipped.
- The wait: pickup is scheduled for a future date, and after storms or during busy periods the queue stretches. Your pile sits at the curb the whole time.
- The curb pile problem: HOAs send violation letters, scavengers scatter the pile, rain soaks it, and an unscheduled pile can draw an illegal dumping citation.
- The labor is yours: the county collects from the curb. Getting a sleeper sofa from the second floor to the swale is your problem.
When calling a hauler actually makes sense
Call a private company when time matters (closing on a house, tenant turnover, family arriving), when the material does not qualify (renovation debris, anything from a business or condo), when you have used both county pickups, or when you do not want to carry it all to the curb yourself. A crew loads everything from wherever it sits, inside the house included, sweeps up, and is gone the same day. That is the actual product: speed, labor, and no pile sitting in front of your house.
The math most people get wrong
People compare the free county pickup against a paid hauler as if the county option costs nothing. It costs your labor to stage everything at the curb, days or weeks of a pile in front of your house, and the risk of a skipped pickup if something in the pile does not qualify. For a garage worth of qualifying junk with no deadline, free wins. For a renovation, a rental turnover, an estate, or anything with a date attached, the paid option is usually cheaper than the consequences of waiting.
FAQ
How do I schedule a Miami-Dade bulky waste pickup?
Request it through the Miami-Dade County website or by calling 311. You will need the service address, and the system tells you how many of your two annual pickups remain and the earliest available date.
Can I put construction debris out for bulky pickup?
No. Construction and renovation debris is excluded from the county program, and a pile containing it gets skipped. Contractor or DIY renovation waste needs a dumpster or a private haul.
I live in a condo. Do I get bulky pickup?
Usually not. Most condos and apartment buildings are not part of county curbside collection, and building rules often prohibit curb piles entirely. Condo junk usually means booking the service elevator and carrying items out, which is exactly what our crews do.
What if I already used both free pickups this year?
The county offers additional paid options, or you can call a hauler. If it is a small load, ask us for a junk removal quote; if it is a whole-house amount, compare that quote against a dumpster rental. We will tell you honestly which is cheaper.
Get Your Free, No-Pressure Estimate
Call or text a photo of your junk to (305) 986-0692. We quote it straight, you decide.
