Bulk Item Collection



In an effort to create a clean and safe community, the City of East Lansing offers bulk item pickup. Bulk items include furniture, appliances, carpet, mattresses and other large rubbish items that exceed 40 pounds and/or do not fit in a 32-gallon yellow City trash bag. To have the City pick up a bulk item at the curb, residents must purchase a $20 bulk item sticker ($44.25 for items containing Freon) and schedule a Monday* bulk item pickup.

How to Schedule a Bulk Item Pickup (Mondays; excluding holidays*)


  1. Purchase a $20 bulk item sticker ($44.25 for items containing Freon**). Bulk item stickers can be purchased at East Lansing City Hall, 410 Abbot Road; the East Lansing Department of Public Works (DPW), 1800 E. State Road; or the East Lansing Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbot Road (see above for available locations during the COVID-19 crisis). NEW! Bulk item stickers can now also be purchased online.***

  2. Schedule the collection with DPW. There are two ways to submit a bulk item collection request:
    • The optimal way to make a request is to Submit an Online Request. Requests must be made online by 7 a.m. on the Monday of collection.
    • The second way to make a request is to call DPW during regular business hours at (517) 337-9459. DPW is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Requests need to be made by phone by 4:30 p.m. on the Friday prior to the Monday collection.

When to Place the Bulk Item at the Curb


Bulk items can be placed at the curb with the bulk item sticker attached on the morning of pickup (Mondays; excluding holidays*) only. To ensure pickup, items need to be placed at the curb by 7:30 a.m. Otherwise, bulk items must be placed inside a resident’s house or garage until the appropriate scheduled pickup date. If bulk items are placed at the curb without a bulk item sticker, without a scheduled pickup or on the wrong day, they are in violation of the Ordinance No. 1300.

Residents have two hours to remove bulk items if they receive a face-to-face notification of violation and eight hours to remove items if a violation notification is posted outside of their residence. A citation can be issued if bulk items are not removed from the curb in these allotted time periods, resulting in fines (currently set by the court at $220 for similar violations) and abatement costs ($35 if removed during regular business hours or $150 if removed after hours).

*When DPW is closed on a Monday in observance of a holiday, there will be no yard waste or bulk item pickup until the following Monday. View Holiday Collection Schedule.

**Freon includes items that contain a refrigerant (refrigerator, dehumidifier, etc.)

***It takes 5-7 days to receive bulk item stickers by mail when purchasing them online. Residents are advised to wait to schedule their collection until after their stickers have been received.