How to get rid of bulky junk in Highland, CA
Highland provides four free five-item bulky collections yearly and publishes $12.21 per extra item and $42.73 per additional trip. Start with the municipal program, separate mattresses and hazardous materials, then compare self-haul or paid removal only if needed.
- City service first: Burrtec Waste Industries. Call 909-889-1969.
- Mattress only: use a verified recycling option below, or ask for mattress collection; do not mix chemicals into a bulky load.
- Mixed junk: check the local disposal section, including weight charges and restrictions, before borrowing a truck.
- Need indoor lifting? compare a written full-service quote; the city allowance is not a promise of indoor removal.
Sources: City: Trash & Recycling Services · last checked 2026-11-08
1. City bulky-item pickup: eligibility, limits and booking
Burrtec Waste Industries — Highland
- Allowance: each residential customer is eligible for four free curbside collections per calendar year, up to five items per scheduled collection.
- Book: call Burrtec with the item list and request an assigned date.
- Published extras: each item over five is $12.21; an additional pickup trip is $42.73. Ask how the charges combine for your job.
- The city service page does not enumerate the bulky program’s complete accepted/excluded materials or booking lead time. Confirm mattresses, appliances, electronics and any unusual material individually rather than assuming another city’s Burrtec rules apply.
Sources: City: Trash & Recycling Services · last checked 2026-11-08
Before putting anything out
- Confirm the service address is inside the city or town and ask which account type applies, especially at apartments or mobile-home parks.
- Give the dispatcher the complete item list and disclose refrigerators, electronics, tires or contaminated mattresses.
- Get the collection date, placement instructions, remaining allowance and any extra charges confirmed before moving items to the curb.
2. Drop-offs and mattress recycling
Valley mattress recycling: MAT Recyclers, Rancho Cucamonga
Bye Bye Mattress lists 9669 Hermosa Avenue, 909-395-3220, Monday–Friday 7:30 AM–3:30 PM. It explicitly lists free resident mattress drop-off, a five-unit resident maximum, and a listed $3-per-mattress incentive. Confirm condition requirements and current incentive eligibility before driving. This is a mattress/box-spring program, not free disposal of couches or mixed household junk; drive distance varies by city.
Sources: Bye Bye Mattress: MAT Recyclers listing · last checked 2026-11-08
3. Dumps, transfer stations and disposal fees
San Timoteo Landfill
Address: 31 Refuse Road, Redlands. Operator-posted hours: Monday–Saturday 8 AM–5 PM (Pacific Time). A county self-haul option in the eastern valley. Redlands explicitly directs residents with excess bulky waste to the landfill in San Timoteo Canyon. Confirm holiday or emergency closures before departure.
Sources: Athens Services: county landfill/transfer-station operator · County Public Works: waste disposal sites · last checked 2026-11-08
County-posted disposal fees
The official county fee page was rechecked for this guide. It still labels the following prices effective July 1, 2023; these are currently posted rates, not a newly dated 2026 fee schedule. Confirm the amount before you drive.
- Ordinary residential waste up to 300 pounds: $13.71.
- Residential waste 301 pounds or more: $61.49 per ton, prorated.
- Rollable off-rim tires, maximum nine per load: $5.31 each.
- Hard-to-handle or special handling: add-on $53.14 per ton, with a $26.57 minimum for loads under 2,000 pounds.
- Uncovered or unsecured loads double the disposal fee. Secure the load before leaving.
- Payment: cash, Visa or MasterCard; cash charges are rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
Sources: County: Disposal Cost & Fees · last checked 2026-11-08
Restrictions: no out-of-county waste, hazardous waste, paint, liquids, sealed containers, batteries or fluorescent tubes. Refrigerators must have no Freon left in them; ask about approved refrigerant handling rather than venting it yourself. Items over ten feet are excluded at landfills; items over four feet are excluded at transfer stations. County rules limit treated wood acceptance to Mid-Valley and Victorville. Tell the facility about special materials before travel.
Sources: County: Accepted Waste · last checked 2026-11-08
4. Paint, batteries, chemicals and electronic waste
Use the correct HHW or e-waste channel
HHW is a separate disposal stream, not ordinary bulky trash. Yucaipa’s official regional guidance lists the San Bernardino International Airport collection center, 2824 “W” Street, Building 302, Monday–Friday 9 AM–4 PM, for free household HHW disposal by county residents with proof of residency; no business waste. Call 800-645-9228 for current material/transport restrictions and emergency or holiday closures. This is a regional option, not a claim that your city’s curbside bulky program takes hazardous materials.
Sources: Official city regional HHW guidance · County Public Works: HHW assistance · last checked 2026-11-08
Check each facility’s own accepted-material list. HHW and e-waste are not interchangeable: a site may take paint and batteries but refuse televisions, and some sites do not accept sharps.
5. Local service vs national paid haulers
Local municipal/franchise service and independent quotes
Highland’s city page publishes $12.21 for each item over five and $42.73 for an additional bulky pickup trip. These are curbside charges, not in-home labor prices.
No independent Highland hauler with a verified published item-specific price was established for this guide. If comparing a local independent quote, request the total including lifting, stairs, disposal and any special-item charge, confirm local authorization, and ask where the material will go. An unverified estimate is not published here as a price.
Sources: City: Trash & Recycling Services · last checked 2026-11-08
LoadUp — published national starting prices, not a local guarantee
- Mattress removal: from $85 in-home, or from $80 curbside.
- Couch removal: from $85 in-home.
- Refrigerator removal: from $115 in-home.
These amounts were rechecked on LoadUp’s own pages. Final price depends on ZIP code, item details and access; availability and price for your specific Highland address are unverified. Do not treat a nationwide starting price as a booked local offer. Before hiring any outside service, confirm with the city that the proposed work is allowed under local franchise and container rules. The mattress page excludes wet/waterlogged mattresses and active undisclosed bed-bug infestations; disclose contamination when requesting any removal.
Sources: LoadUp: mattress prices · LoadUp: couch prices · LoadUp: refrigerator prices · last checked 2026-11-08
6. Dumpster rental: check the contract, not just the headline
Ask the city solid-waste contact or its listed provider which temporary bins and haulers are authorized at your address. Current local rental prices and permit requirements were not verified; no outside operator is recommended as automatically authorized.
Sources: City: Trash & Recycling Services · last checked 2026-11-08
Before accepting any dumpster quote, ask for:
- Included tons, the overage rate, minimum billing increments, and a copy of the disposal scale ticket.
- Included rental days, extension and late-cancellation charges.
- Mattress, appliance, tire and other restricted-item charges; ask what must never go into the bin.
- Delivery/pickup, failed-trip, blocked-access, overfill and waiting charges.
- The total including disposal, fees and any required permit; do not equate a county tipping fee with the complete rental bill.
Hometown’s consumer guide explains that weight overages may be billed in whole increments rather than prorated. Dumpsters.com separately publishes extension, trip, prohibited-item and overage fee categories. BBB’s indexed complaint records include disputes over post-pickup weight fees; complaints are allegations, not findings, and do not establish wrongdoing by any provider listed here. The practical lesson is to document the terms before the container arrives.
Sources: Hometown Dumpster Rental: weight-overage explanation · Dumpsters.com: published fee categories · BBB: consumer complaints (indexed; direct fetch timed out) · last checked 2026-11-08
Sources and checking notes
Official city/town sources establish the local contract and allowance; county and facility-operator sources establish disposal rules; commercial pages are used only for their own advertised terms. Older effective dates, conflicting statements and failed fetches are disclosed rather than filled with guesses.
Sources: City: Trash & Recycling Services · County posted fee schedule · County facility operator · Mattress recycling locator · LoadUp: mattress prices · LoadUp: couch prices · LoadUp: refrigerator prices · last checked 2026-11-08