Akron Bulk Pickup, Dump & Recycling — What the City Takes Free
Akron is the rare city where the honest answer to "where's the dump?" is you probably don't need one. The City picks up furniture, mattresses and other large items every week, with no scheduling at all — you just put them out.
Many cities give residents a set number of collections a year and charge extra for a mattress. Akron takes your couch on collection day, and another one the next week.
So the useful page here is not a list of landfills. It is what the curb will and will not take — and the one category with a genuinely tight window.
Akron curbside — weekly, free, no phone call
Large items go out on your normal collection day. Furniture, mattresses and similar bulky household items are collected weekly, at no extra charge, and you do not need to schedule anything.
One placement rule decides whether it gets taken: items must be set three feet apart from your city cart. Too close and the automated arm cannot work the cart, so the crew may leave both.
A big clear-out is a different program. If you have large quantities of bags and boxes — a move, a basement, a garage — that is a Special Bulk Volume Pickup, and the rules tighten:
Three per household per year
You must pre-schedule at least one working day before your collection day
Do not put anything out until 4:30 p.m. the day before your collection day
Schedule on 3-1-1 from a landline inside the city, or (330) 375-2311 from a cell phone
Glass is the curbside exception. It cannot go in your recycling cart in Akron at all. The City runs a separate glass drop-off with bins at six locations, so glass has to be driven there.
Need more capacity? Additional carts are $50 one-time each, up to two extra trash and two extra recycling carts per household.
Seasonal: June through the end of September. The 2026 season has ended; the 2027 season opens Thursday, June 3, 2027
Not available to businesses, organizations, churches, schools, or non-Summit County residents
Accepts: Paint, Automotive fluids, Pesticides, Batteries, Aerosol cans, and other household chemicals
This is the tightest window in the county. One afternoon a week, roughly four months a year — about five hours every seven days. If you have paint or chemicals to get rid of, put the date in your calendar rather than assuming you can drop in.
Closed in severe weather, including lightning, strong winds and heavy rain, and on holidays. Call (330) 374-0383 if the forecast looks bad.
Accepts: Household waste, Construction & demolition debris
No hand unloading: only dump trailers and roll-offs are allowed. A pickup or car you'd unload by hand will be turned away. This is where the City's trucks tip, not a public drop-off. WM has proposed replacing it with a new facility on East Archwood Avenue.
For all that generosity at the curb, household hazardous waste is the opposite. Paint, automotive fluids, pesticides, batteries and aerosols cannot go in the cart and are not collected from the curb at any price.
They go to Summit County ReWorks in Stow, which is free but open Thursdays only, 2 to 7 p.m., and only during its season, June through September. The 2026 season has ended; the next opens June 3, 2027. That is roughly five hours a week for about four months a year. Miss it and the paint sits in your garage until next summer.
If you are clearing a house on a deadline, this is the category to deal with first, not last. Our paint disposal guide covers the drying trick for latex paint, which turns it into ordinary solid waste and takes the deadline away entirely.
Find a disposal site near you
Enter your city or ZIP for the nearest sites across Ohio, then call ahead — access rules and hours vary a lot here.
Yes. The City picks up large items such as furniture, mattresses, couches, TVs, doors, bicycles and tied bundles weekly, with no scheduling, as long as you set them out on your normal collection day and three feet apart from your city cart.
How do I get rid of a lot of trash at once in Akron?
That is a Special Bulk Volume Pickup, for large quantities of bags and boxes after a move or a basement clear-out. Each home gets three a year, you must pre-schedule at least one working day before your collection day, and you must not put anything out until 4:30 p.m. the day before. Schedule by calling 3-1-1 from a landline inside the city, or 330-375-2311 from a cell phone.
Where do I take paint or chemicals in Akron?
Summit County ReWorks runs the Household Hazardous Waste Center at 1201 Graham Road in Stow. It's free for Summit County residents but the window is narrow: Thursdays only, 2 to 7 p.m., and only during the season, June through September. The 2026 season has ended; the next opens Thursday, June 3, 2027. Call (330) 374-0383.
Can I put glass in my Akron recycling cart?
No. Glass is not accepted in curbside recycling carts in Akron. The City runs a separate glass drop-off program with bins at six locations, so glass has to be taken there rather than put in the cart.
How much is an extra trash cart in Akron?
Fifty dollars as a one-time fee for each additional cart. A household may have up to two additional trash carts and two additional recycling carts.
