Free city pickup or a rented dumpster?

If you have a few big items and live in a building with 6 units or fewer, the city's free bulky pickup is the cheaper answer. A dumpster earns its cost on renovation debris, big cleanouts and any job a contractor is doing.

What the city's pickup covers

• Who: homes in buildings with 6 or fewer units. Bigger buildings are not on city trash service at all.
• What: furniture such as tables, chairs, bureaus and shelves, plus large appliances like refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers, water heaters and air conditioners.
• How many: up to 3 items per unit per pickup.
• How: book online or call Waste Management at 1-800-972-4545 at least 24 hours before your trash day.
• When to put it out: no earlier than 4 PM the evening before, no later than 4 AM on the day.
• Cost: free, except mattresses.

Only the items you booked get taken. Anything extra left at the curb gets tagged, and the property owner can be fined if it stays.

Mattresses

Providence residents can drop off up to 2 unbagged mattresses or box springs at the Public Works yard, 700 Allens Avenue, on Saturdays from 7 AM to 12:45 PM with a Providence ID. Curbside mattress pickup through Waste Management costs a fee and the mattress must be bagged. Any Rhode Island resident can also take up to 3 a day to the state landfill in Johnston for free.

What the city will not take at the curb

Tires and paint. Tires go to RIRRC at $8 each. Paint and household chemicals go through RIRRC's household hazardous waste program.

Construction debris: the rule most people miss

The city lets households put small amounts of construction material, like a few drywall pieces or lumber scraps, in the trash cart as long as the lid closes. Contractors may not use city carts for construction materials at all. They must arrange a private hauler, such as a dumpster. If you have hired someone, the debris is their responsibility or yours to contract out, not the city's.

A simple way to decide