Recology gives every SF household two free bulky-item pickups a year — genuinely useful, and you should use them. But they come with a 10-item cap, an appointment wait, and a list of things Recology won't touch. Here's exactly when the free pickup is the right move, and when a flat-rate paid haul (from $95, same-day) saves you the headache.
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Upload a Photo & Get Your Price →If you have a couple of large items, no deadline, and haven't used your two pickups — book Recology, it's free. If you have more than 10 items, a full cleanout, construction debris, a same-day deadline, or you just don't want to wrestle a couch down a Victorian staircase and a hill — a flat-rate paid haul is the better call. Most San Franciscans end up using both across a year: Recology for the occasional single item, a paid crew when it's a real load.
Recology holds the exclusive residential franchise in San Francisco, and part of that deal is a bulky-item program for residents. The essentials:
For the right job — a single old dresser, a broken chair, a mattress you're replacing — it's a genuinely good deal, and worth using before you pay anyone.
Two things make Recology's program fall short in San Francisco more than in most cities. First, the 10-item cap and two-a-year limit don't cover a move-out or a real cleanout — a one-bedroom easily blows past 10 items. Second, you still have to get everything down to the curb yourself, and SF's staircases and hills make that the hard part — Recology carries from the sidewalk, not from your third-floor flat. Add the appointment wait (no same-day), the ban on debris, and the fact that the public transfer station carries a roughly $60 minimum per load if you try to self-haul, and it's clear why San Franciscans reach for a paid crew the moment a job gets real.
| Recology bulky pickup | JunkRabbit | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free (2×/year) | Flat, from $95 · couch $170 |
| Speed | By appointment, days out | Same-day available |
| Item limit | 10 items, 2 pickups/year | None — one item to a full truck |
| Who carries it out | You, to the curb | The crew, from your unit — stairs & hill included |
| Debris / cleanouts | No | Yes |
Paid pricing scales by the truckload for bigger jobs: a quarter-truck is $295, a half $525, a full 16-cubic-yard truck $895 — $95 minimum, quoted flat from a photo. See the full SF cost guide.
Use Recology when it's one or two large items, you have time to wait for the appointment, you can get them to the curb, and you haven't burned your two pickups yet. It's free — take advantage of it.
Use a paid haul when you're moving out, clearing a whole flat, over the 10-item cap, on a deadline, dealing with renovation debris, or facing a staircase you'd rather not fight. The flat price ($95 minimum, up front from a photo) buys you speed and the carry-out — which, on an SF hill, is most of the work.
Two per calendar year, up to 10 items each, by appointment — for households serviced by Recology in San Francisco.
Recology's two pickups are free, so for a couple of items with no deadline it's cheapest. A paid haul (flat, from $95) wins when you're over the limit, on a deadline, have debris, or don't want to carry it down yourself.
No — the bulky program is for a limited number of household items, not construction debris, hazardous materials, or a whole apartment at once. Those need a private hauler.