These rules come from the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) and NYC 311 pages read on 30 Aug 2026. City rules can change. Check the city pages and look up your address before you set anything on the curb.
Sources: DSNY Furniture, Mattresses, and Rugs; DSNY Large Items; DSNY Collection Laws for Residents; NYC311 Mattress or Box Spring Disposal; NYC311 Bulk Item Disposal; NYC311 Donate Goods; DSNY Find My Collection Schedule.
City pickup is free at the curb for New York City residents and residential buildings. There is no appointment. The Department of Sanitation says pick-up appointments are no longer offered and cannot be scheduled. There are no public dumps. Special waste drop-off sites do not take bulk items or mattresses. Your collection day comes from the official address lookup, not from a guessed borough day.
A large item is something too large to fit inside a bin or bag. New York City residents can get free curbside removal of large items. Residential buildings can get free curbside removal of bulk items. You may set out up to 6 items at the curb per collection day. If you have more than that, the 311 bulk page says to place them out over several collection days.
Look up the collection day for your address on DSNY Find My Collection Schedule. This page does not name a day by borough. Run your own address in that tool; this page does not guess your building’s day.
Call 311 or 212-NEW-YORK (212-639-9675) if you need the city by phone.
The city pages used for this guide do not name a building-size cutoff that would make a residence ineligible for mattress or bulk pickup. They do not name a 4-unit, 9-unit, or NYCHA-only mattress rule. That cutoff is not on those pages.
The Department of Sanitation furniture page says to set out mattresses and box springs on your trash-only day, not your recycling day.
The 311 mattress article says to dispose of a mattress, box spring, or futon with your trash, and to place it curbside the evening before your bulk trash collection day. That 311 article includes futons. The Department of Sanitation furniture page does not mention futons.
The 311 mattress and 311 bulk articles say to set items out between 6 p.m. and midnight the evening before collection. The 311 collection-schedule article says bulk items can go out any time between 6 p.m. and midnight, and that all waste must be set out no later than midnight the night before collection day. The Department of Sanitation furniture page does not give a clock time. The collection-schedule tool says to set material out the evening before your collection day, and it does not give a start hour. This page does not say when the truck arrives on collection day.
Buildings with 9 or more residential units and janitorial staff can enroll in an alternate set-out window of 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. on the collection day only. The application window is January 1 through January 31. The 311 article lists the approved window as April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027. Setting out at any other time, including the evening before, may be fined. Those pages talk about setting out waste and material. They do not name a mattress exception.
City pages do not use one identical bag-color rule. Both rules are below. This page does not pick one.
The Department of Sanitation furniture page says bedding items like mattresses and box springs must be sealed in plastic bags to prevent the spread of bed bugs. The 311 bulk page says any mattress or box spring put out for bulk collection must be sealed in a plastic bag. Uncovered or partially covered mattresses or box springs will not be collected. The city does not provide the bags. You can get them at department stores, home improvement stores, and moving supply centers. Bag thickness, brand, and product name are not on the city pages. Whether a bagged mattress and its box spring count as one item or two is not on those pages either.
Place the item curbside. It must not sit in the street, extend in front of another property, or block pedestrian traffic. Items left on private property are unserviceable and cannot be picked up. Place items in the designated area, which the 311 bulk page names as the curb or alley. The 311 three-foot building-line rule is for bins, not mattresses. Those pages do not give a mattress setback in feet.
There are no longer public dumps in New York City. Special waste drop-off sites are for items such as batteries, paints, and motor oils. Those sites do not accept bulk items. The special waste accepted list includes aerosols, batteries, e-waste, e-cigarettes and vape pens, fluorescent and CFL lamps, motor oil and transmission fluid, oil filters, paint, passenger car tires, mercury-containing devices, and skin lightening products. Mattress, box spring, furniture, and rugs are not on that list. The city pages do not give a resident mattress drop-off address. Curbside is the path they describe.
Donate is not a mattress path. The 311 Donate Goods article lists donateNYC item types, including furniture (no mattresses). Source: KA-02424.
City pages disagree on the fine for improper mattress or box spring disposal. This page lists all three amounts and does not pick one.
The 311 residential trash rules use the same $50 / $100 / $200 ladder for waste set out incorrectly, at the wrong time, or on the wrong days. That article is not mattress-only. Which amount a given ticket uses is not on those pages. If you do not dispose of mattresses or box springs properly, they will not be collected.
The Department of Sanitation large-item page and the 311 bulk page do not say whether commercial addresses get this curbside program. A 311 article on waste disposal for businesses says a store or commercial business must hire a private carter or register as a self-hauler with the Business Integrity Commission.
For major construction or renovation, get a dumpster through a private trash removal service. Hired contractors arrange private disposal. If you do the work yourself in your own one- or two-family home, with no hired help, you may put out up to six items curbside. Work on income properties (3-family and larger), fee-for-service work, and contractor material need a private carter or dumpster. Do not treat a household mattress as construction debris. The 311 construction list is tubs, sinks, heaters, cement, sheetrock, bricks, rocks, glass, and tiles.
This page has no affiliate links to private haulers.
If collection day falls on a holiday, there may be changes. Check back near the date. The 311 articles do not say what happens to mattress or bulk pickup on each holiday. They list these 2026 dates:
This page has no affiliate links. It does not claim traffic or job volume. The rules are from the Department of Sanitation and NYC 311 URLs above, read on 30 Aug 2026. Collection day is the address lookup, not a borough guess.
The photo is by Beyza Kaplan. It is under the Pexels License (free to use; attribution not required). Source: pexels.com/photo/old-home-furniture-in-close-up-photography-11776763. License: pexels.com/license.