Before paying anyone to haul something away in the Jackson metro, it is worth knowing what will leave the curb for nothing. This page is the plain-language version of the rules; the official schedules and limits are linked at the bottom and change from time to time, so check them before you drag a couch to the road.
Nearly every city in the metro has its own collector: Jackson runs its own contract, and Ridgeland, Madison, Flowood, Brandon, Pearl and Clinton each run theirs, with county service for addresses outside the city limits. What the curb takes depends on which of those you live in.
What curbside collection usually takes
- Household garbage in the cart, on the weekly schedule; inside Jackson, residential collection runs Monday to Saturday.
- Appliances and tires inside Jackson, at the curb on Wednesdays, out before 7am.
- Bulk piles inside Jackson, placed roadside before 7am on the pickup day and no earlier than 24 hours ahead.
- In rural Hinds County, bulk items, furniture, white goods, limb piles and yard waste, arranged by calling the county's public works office.
What it usually will not take
- Construction and renovation debris: the city names concrete, sand, brick, rock, carpet and wood as not collected, and drywall, tile and shingles fall under the same rule.
- Chemicals, paint, oil, fuel, batteries and other hazardous or flammable waste; the county and MDEQ list the drop-off options.
- Appliances with the refrigerant still in them, in most metro programs, unless the refrigerant has already been recovered and the unit is marked to show it.
- Anything in volume from a business, a rental turnover or an estate cleanout.
- Whole sheds, hot tubs, fences and playsets, which have to be cut down before anything can lift them.
Where a junk crew fits in Jackson
All of the second list, along with whatever has to be gone today, whatever is too heavy to drag to the road, and whatever sits upstairs, in a basement or in the back yard. The crew also notes on the quote when part of a pile is something the city or county would take for free on its next collection day, so you can leave that part at the curb and pay only for the rest.
After a storm
The spring storm lines that cross Central Mississippi leave limbs and fence panels from Clinton to Brandon, and after a declared storm Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties run debris pickups for vegetation stacked at the curb, on their own schedule. Fencing, roofing and mixed piles are usually left behind. The crew hauls what those pickups will not take, and anything that has to move before the county trucks come around.
Official pages
The links under Local resources on the home page go to the city and county pages with the current schedules, limits and drop-off sites.
Questions we get about this
How do I get the city of Jackson to pick up a couch?
Inside the city, put the bulk pile at the roadside before 7am on your pickup day and no earlier than 24 hours before; the city's collection page has the schedule for your street. If the couch does not qualify, or it is upstairs, or it cannot wait, that is the job a crew does the same day for $125 to $250.
Is a refrigerator something the city will collect?
Jackson collects appliances and tires at the curb on Wednesdays, out before 7am. Programs in the other metro cities vary, and many will not take an appliance with the refrigerant still in it. A crew recovers the refrigerant and hauls it for $125 to $200.
Will the city take construction debris with the regular trash?
No. The city lists construction debris as not collected, naming concrete, sand, brick, rock, carpet and wood. Renovation debris goes to a permitted facility by truck or by roll-off dumpster.