JunkSpots

How to get rid of stuff in Madison

Madison gives residents three free drop-off sites and a booked collection for large items, but bring proof you live here, because both are for Madison residents and taxpayers only. This guide covers the options in the order worth trying them.

Options
5
Free
3
Last checked
Written by
André Ribeirinho

In short

If you only read one thing on this page.

Costs nothing

The Salvation Army donation pickup

Free collection of furniture and household goods from your home, scheduled by ZIP code, funding The Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Centers.

Free

If you can't move it

Madison drop-off sites and large item collection

Booked kerbside collection for large items, plus three drop-off sites open to Madison residents, with a significant exception for larger apartment buildings.

They collect

Without booking

E-Cycle Wisconsin

The statewide scheme for computers, televisions, printers and consoles, manufacturer-funded, landfill-banned, and, despite all that, usually not free when you turn up.

No appointment

Back into use

Buy Nothing Project

Hyperlocal gift groups where neighbours give things to each other for nothing. It started in Washington State and now runs in more than fifty countries, organised street by street.

Reused, not processed

From the editor

André Ribeirinho Editor, JunkSpots Madison Updated 19 August 2026

What residents need to know

Two municipal routes do most of the work. The Streets Division collects large items from the kerb once you have booked a work order, and three drop-off sites take most things free. The catch that catches people: since January 2025 the city no longer collects large items from buildings with more than eight units, so many apartment residents have to use the drop-off sites or arrange their own removal.

Where things go in Madison

Every option in this guide, arranged by the thing you are getting rid of. A missing name is not a refusal. It means nobody has told us either way, which is worth asking about before you make the trip.

Item Option Run by How you use it Cost Booking
electronics Buy Nothing Project Private Pickup Free By appointment
The Salvation Army donation pickup Nonprofit Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
Madison drop-off sites and large item collection Municipal Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
E-Cycle Wisconsin Government Drop-off Paid Not needed
EZ 360 Junk Removal Private Pickup Paid By appointment
appliances Buy Nothing Project Private Pickup Free By appointment
The Salvation Army donation pickup Nonprofit Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
Madison drop-off sites and large item collection Municipal Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
EZ 360 Junk Removal Private Pickup Paid By appointment
furniture Buy Nothing Project Private Pickup Free By appointment
The Salvation Army donation pickup Nonprofit Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
Madison drop-off sites and large item collection Municipal Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
EZ 360 Junk Removal Private Pickup Paid By appointment
bicycles Buy Nothing Project Private Pickup Free By appointment
The Salvation Army donation pickup Nonprofit Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
books Buy Nothing Project Private Pickup Free By appointment
The Salvation Army donation pickup Nonprofit Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
clothes Buy Nothing Project Private Pickup Free By appointment
The Salvation Army donation pickup Nonprofit Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
mattresses Madison drop-off sites and large item collection Municipal Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
EZ 360 Junk Removal Private Pickup Paid By appointment
toys Buy Nothing Project Private Pickup Free By appointment
The Salvation Army donation pickup Nonprofit Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
textiles The Salvation Army donation pickup Nonprofit Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
tyres Madison drop-off sites and large item collection Municipal Pickup, Drop-off Free By appointment
batteries Nothing we have listed takes this yet.
building materials Nothing we have listed takes this yet.
construction waste Nothing we have listed takes this yet.
garden waste Nothing we have listed takes this yet.
hazardous waste Nothing we have listed takes this yet.
paint Nothing we have listed takes this yet.

Furniture

4 options · 3 free · 1 paid

Book a work order before you put a large item out, unbooked items are not collected. Buildings with more than eight units get no city large-item collection at all since January 2025, so if you rent in a larger block the drop-off sites are your route.

Free, they collect 3

  • Reuse

    Buy Nothing Project

    Buy Nothing Project

    Takes
    furniture, appliances, electronics, books, and 4 more
    Where
    Neighbourhood groups across the US and beyond
    Booking
    By appointment
    View → Checked 18 Aug 2026

  • Reuse

    The Salvation Army donation pickup

    The Salvation Army

    Takes
    furniture, appliances, electronics, clothes, and 5 more
    Where
    Nationwide
    Booking
    Book online
    View → Checked 18 Aug 2026

  • Municipal

    Madison drop-off sites and large item collection

    City of Madison Streets Division

    Takes
    furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics, and 2 more
    Where
    Sycamore (east)
    Booking
    Book online
    View → Checked 18 Aug 2026
Paid 1

  • Removal

    EZ 360 Junk Removal

    EZ 360 Junk Removal

    Takes
    furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics, and 1 more
    Won’t take
    By appointment only
    Cost
    On quote
    Wait
    "Same-day service available." The same page offers "priority scheduling with same-day availability".
    Where
    Madison and Dane County
    Booking
    By phone
    View → Index 2 of 14 Checked 18 Aug 2026

Mattresses

2 options · 1 free · 1 paid

Whether the city takes it for nothing depends on your address. Households that pay the Resource Recovery Special Charge get most items collected free, and the rest pay per item. EZ 360 is the paid alternative and quotes each job rather than publishing a price. Either way you have to book.

Free, they collect 1
Paid 1

  • Removal

    EZ 360 Junk Removal

    EZ 360 Junk Removal

    Takes
    furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics, and 1 more
    Won’t take
    By appointment only
    Cost
    On quote
    Wait
    "Same-day service available." The same page offers "priority scheduling with same-day availability".
    Where
    Madison and Dane County
    Booking
    By phone
    View → Index 2 of 14 Checked 18 Aug 2026

Appliances

4 options · 3 free · 1 paid

The three drop-off sites are Sycamore, South Point and Quann-Olin. The central one moved to Quann-Olin Parkway in April 2026, so older directions are wrong. One trip a day, and the load must fit a pickup bed or a single-axle trailer.

Free, they collect 3

  • Reuse

    Buy Nothing Project

    Buy Nothing Project

    Takes
    furniture, appliances, electronics, books, and 4 more
    Where
    Neighbourhood groups across the US and beyond
    Booking
    By appointment
    View → Checked 18 Aug 2026

  • Reuse

    The Salvation Army donation pickup

    The Salvation Army

    Takes
    furniture, appliances, electronics, clothes, and 5 more
    Where
    Nationwide
    Booking
    Book online
    View → Checked 18 Aug 2026

  • Municipal

    Madison drop-off sites and large item collection

    City of Madison Streets Division

    Takes
    furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics, and 2 more
    Where
    Sycamore (east)
    Booking
    Book online
    View → Checked 18 Aug 2026
Paid 1

  • Removal

    EZ 360 Junk Removal

    EZ 360 Junk Removal

    Takes
    furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics, and 1 more
    Won’t take
    By appointment only
    Cost
    On quote
    Wait
    "Same-day service available." The same page offers "priority scheduling with same-day availability".
    Where
    Madison and Dane County
    Booking
    By phone
    View → Index 2 of 14 Checked 18 Aug 2026

Electronics

5 options · 3 free · 2 paid

Never put a computer or television at the kerb. The city may remove it and charge you a 30 dollar fee. Take it to a drop-off site instead, where electronics are free to residents.

Free, they collect 3

  • Reuse

    Buy Nothing Project

    Buy Nothing Project

    Takes
    furniture, appliances, electronics, books, and 4 more
    Where
    Neighbourhood groups across the US and beyond
    Booking
    By appointment
    View → Checked 18 Aug 2026

  • Reuse

    The Salvation Army donation pickup

    The Salvation Army

    Takes
    furniture, appliances, electronics, clothes, and 5 more
    Where
    Nationwide
    Booking
    Book online
    View → Checked 18 Aug 2026

  • Municipal

    Madison drop-off sites and large item collection

    City of Madison Streets Division

    Takes
    furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics, and 2 more
    Where
    Sycamore (east)
    Booking
    Book online
    View → Checked 18 Aug 2026
Paid 2

  • Recycling

    E-Cycle Wisconsin

    Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

    Takes
    electronics
    Won’t take
    Households only, Not for business waste
    Cost
    On quote
    Where
    Wisconsin
    View → Checked 18 Aug 2026

  • Removal

    EZ 360 Junk Removal

    EZ 360 Junk Removal

    Takes
    furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics, and 1 more
    Won’t take
    By appointment only
    Cost
    On quote
    Wait
    "Same-day service available." The same page offers "priority scheduling with same-day availability".
    Where
    Madison and Dane County
    Booking
    By phone
    View → Index 2 of 14 Checked 18 Aug 2026

Clothing & textiles

2 options · 2 free · none paid

Madison's municipal service does not cover clothes and textiles, so both routes here are free ones that are not the city. The Salvation Army collects from the door by appointment and leaves a receipt. Buy Nothing is neighbour to neighbour, inside your own group.

Free, they collect 2

  • Reuse

    Buy Nothing Project

    Buy Nothing Project

    Takes
    furniture, appliances, electronics, books, and 4 more
    Where
    Neighbourhood groups across the US and beyond
    Booking
    By appointment
    View → Checked 18 Aug 2026

  • Reuse

    The Salvation Army donation pickup

    The Salvation Army

    Takes
    furniture, appliances, electronics, clothes, and 5 more
    Where
    Nationwide
    Booking
    Book online
    View → Checked 18 Aug 2026

The words Madison uses

These are the terms on the city's own pages. They stay in the local language here for the same reason they do on a form: the English version will not get you to the right page.

work order
What you book before a large item goes to the kerb. Unbooked items are not collected.
drop-off site
One of the city's three, Sycamore in the east, South Point in the west, Quann-Olin in the centre, which moved to Quann-Olin Parkway in April 2026, so older directions are wrong. Proof of residency at the gate, one trip a day, a load no bigger than a pickup bed or a single-axle trailer, and no contractors.
Resource Recovery Special Charge
The charge on your home that makes most drop-off site items free. Without it, appliances are $35, smaller motorised items $15 and tyres $5–$10. Electronics are free to residents either way.
Streets Division
The city department behind both routes. Since January 2025 it no longer collects large items from buildings with more than eight units, so many apartment residents have to use the drop-off sites or arrange their own removal.
E-Cycle Wisconsin
The statewide electronics scheme. Wisconsin bans this equipment from landfill and incineration, but manufacturer-funded does not mean free at the counter, the DNR says fees vary between sites, so ring ahead. Madison's own drop-off sites charge residents nothing for electronics.
Clean Sweep
Dane County's route for household chemicals and paint. It is a county service rather than a city one, so it is not at the Streets Division's drop-off sites.

Things that catch people out

  • Book a work order before you put a large item out. Unbooked items are not collected.
  • Never put a computer or television at the kerb. The city may remove it and charge you a 30 dollar fee. Take it to a drop-off site instead, where electronics are free to residents.
  • Buildings with more than eight units get no city large-item collection at all, a change made in January 2025. If you rent in a larger block, the drop-off sites are your route.
  • The three sites are Sycamore, South Point and Quann-Olin. The central site moved to Quann-Olin Parkway in April 2026, so older directions are wrong.
  • Fluorescent tubes and bulbs are refused at the drop-off sites. City and county ordinance requires any shop that sells them to take them back from customers.
  • One trip a day, and the load must fit a pickup bed or a single-axle trailer. Contractors cannot use the sites at all.
  • Household chemicals and paint go to Dane County Clean Sweep, which is a county service rather than a city one.

How to book Madison drop-off sites and large item collection

In order. The sequence is the content, several of these fail if you do them the other way round.

  1. Book a work order first. Unbooked items are not collected.
  2. Check your building: more than eight units and the city does not collect large items at all, a change made in January 2025. The drop-off sites are your route instead.
  3. Keep computers and televisions off the kerb. The city may remove one and charge you 30 dollars. They go free to a drop-off site.
  4. Put the item out once the work order is confirmed.
Book it Full details

What it costs in Madison

What each option charges, in its own words, with the date we last read it. We publish no price of our own: a number we typed would go stale before the sentence it came from did.

Option Cost Checked
Buy Nothing Project Private · Pickup · Free · Booking needed Free Free. Nothing is sold or bartered. Everything is given.
The Salvation Army donation pickup Nonprofit · Pickup · Drop-off · Free · Booking needed Free Free, including the pickup. You get a receipt, and donations are tax deductible under IRS rules.
Madison drop-off sites and large item collection Municipal · Pickup · Drop-off · Free · Booking needed Free Most items free if your home pays the Resource Recovery Special Charge. If not, appliances are $35, smaller motorised items $15 and tyres $5–$10. Electronics are free to residents either way.
E-Cycle Wisconsin Government · Drop-off · Paid On quote Manufacturer-funded, but usually NOT free at the counter. The DNR's own wording: "Recycling fees vary between sites and calling ahead can help determine the total cost of recycling your electronics."
EZ 360 Junk Removal Private · Pickup · Paid · Booking needed On quote Paid service. Prices are quoted by the company, not published here.

Check who is carrying it away

The risk nobody mentions

Once someone drives away with your things, what happens next is on their word. These are the questions that get an answer worth having, and they work whatever the rules are where you live.

Ask where it goes

Not “we recycle”, the name of the place. A company that sorts for reuse can tell you who receives it.

Ask for it in writing

A message you can keep is worth more than an assurance on the doorstep, and costs an honest operator nothing.

What we cannot check

Licensing works differently in every country and we hold no licence data, so we never call a listed option licensed.

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This guide was last updated on 19 August 2026 and the options in it were last checked on 18 August 2026. Nothing on this page is paid placement, and there is no way to buy one. Found something out of date? Tell us . It takes a minute and it is the fastest way this gets better.