Indianapolis heavy trash day is one of the better deals in the city, and one of the easiest to miss. It comes once a month on a day that depends on your address, it takes a limited number of items, and anything that does not qualify sits at the curb while the truck drives past it.
This note lays out how the program works as of this writing, what goes and what does not, how to find your day, and what to do with the pile that is left over. The trash contract changed hands in 2025, so if you have been going off memory, read the first section.
One caveat up front. Rules shift. The city’s own page at indy.gov/activity/trash-pickup is the source of record, and the Mayor’s Action Center at 317-327-4622 will answer the odd cases. Use this note to plan; use the city to confirm.
What changed in 2025
Lakeshore Recycling Systems, LRS for short, took over trash collection in the parts of Marion County that used to be served by Republic Services and Waste Management, under a ten-year contract with the Department of Public Works. Households in those areas got new gray trash carts starting in fall 2025. If your trash was already collected by DPW crews, nothing about your cart changed.
Heavy trash kept its schedule through the switch. Whoever picks up your cart also picks up your heavy trash, on the same day, during your district’s monthly window.
One more change worth knowing: LRS also became the recycling provider for Marion County, with curbside recycling planned to become free for all residents in 2028.
How to find your Indianapolis heavy trash day
Your heavy trash day is tied to your solid waste district, and the only reliable way to find it is to enter your address at the city’s trash pickup page. The result tells you your regular collection day and which week of the month heavy trash runs for your district.
Three habits that keep you from missing it:
- Save the result. The city does not mail calendars.
- Download the RequestIndy app. It shows your schedule and is the fastest way to report a missed pickup.
- Sign up for DPW text or email alerts, which cover holiday slides and weather delays.
Set your items out the evening before. Trucks start early, run one pass, and do not circle back for a couch that showed up at nine.
What the truck takes
Heavy trash is for the large household items that do not fit in the gray cart. In practice that means:
- Couches, chairs, tables, dressers and other furniture
- Mattresses and box springs, as long as they are dry and not infested
- Appliances that do not contain refrigerant: washers, dryers, stoves, dishwashers, water heaters
- Carpet and padding, rolled and tied
- Disassembled items like bike frames, swing sets and shelving
The limit is the part that catches people. Each household gets two heavy trash items per monthly pickup. A mattress and a box spring are two items. A sectional in three pieces is three items, and the third piece stays. If you have more than two, you are either waiting another month or choosing another route for the rest.
What the truck leaves behind
These do not go out on heavy trash day, and leaving them at the curb anyway is the fastest way to get a notice from the city.
- Refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and dehumidifiers. Anything with refrigerant is handled separately. The city directs residents to arrange that pickup through DPW rather than setting the unit out on heavy trash day. Our note on old refrigerator disposal walks through every option.
- Construction and remodeling debris. Drywall, shingles, concrete, brick, lumber from a tear-out, old cabinets by the pallet. Not heavy trash.
- Electronics. Indiana law keeps TVs, monitors and computers out of the trash. They go to an electronics recycler or a ToxDrop site.
- Paint, chemicals, batteries, propane. Household hazardous waste goes to a Marion County ToxDrop location, not the curb.
- Loose tires. Tires are generally not collected unless mounted on a rim, and even then it depends on the district. A tire recycler is the safer bet.
- Bags of regular trash. Household garbage set beside heavy items gets left. It belongs in the cart.
When in doubt about a specific item, the Mayor’s Action Center is the call. They will tell you yes, no, or where it goes instead.
When you have more than two items
This is where most calls to a crew start. A garage cleanout, an estate, a basement that flooded or a tenant who moved out and left the furniture produces ten or twenty heavy items, not two. Spread across heavy trash days, that is most of a year.
You have a few options.
- Take the overflow to the Marion County Citizens’ Transfer Station. It accepts extra household items for a small per-load fee. You need a truck, and some items still have restrictions.
- Rent a dumpster. Worth it for a full remodel. Overkill for a living room set and a treadmill, and you still load it yourself.
- Book a junk removal crew. One visit, everything goes, nothing needs to be carried to the curb. The crew sorts for donation and recycling and the price gets set at your door before anything moves.
The Junkonauts Indianapolis crew runs the whole 465 loop, from Carmel and Fishers down to Greenwood and out to Avon and Plainfield. The pages for the most common heavy trash overflow jobs are here:
- Furniture removal in Indianapolis
- Mattress removal in Indianapolis
- Appliance removal in Indianapolis
- Garage cleanout in Indianapolis
- Estate cleanout in Indianapolis
- Yard waste and debris removal in Indianapolis
The smart way to use heavy trash day
Treat the two free items as your two heaviest, ugliest, least donatable things each month. The recliner the dog destroyed. The box spring with the broken slat. Those have no second life and cost the most to haul privately, so let the city take them.
Everything with value should go another direction before heavy trash day arrives. Working appliances to a utility program or donation. Decent furniture to a marketplace listing or a furniture bank. Scrap metal to a yard that pays for it. What is left after that is usually two items, which is exactly the limit.
Heavy trash and the neighbors
One more thing the rules do not say. Heavy trash piles in Indianapolis get picked over, and that is mostly fine. A dresser someone wants is a dresser the city does not have to haul. The problem is when a pile gets pulled apart and spread across the sidewalk, or when a mattress gets dragged two doors down and left.
Set items out neatly, close to the curb, the night before. If a mattress had bed bugs, bag it and mark it so nobody takes it home. If you are leaving something specifically for the taking, put a sign on it so a neighbor is not guessing.
A typical call
An Irvington homeowner clears a parent’s house after a move to assisted living. Heavy trash day is in two weeks, the house has to be listed in three, and there are two bedroom sets, a sofa, a recliner, a washer, a dryer, a chest freezer, forty years of basement shelving and a garage with a riding mower that has not started since the Colts were in the RCA Dome.
Two items go out on heavy trash day, because why not. The freezer gets routed for refrigerant recovery. The rest goes in one crew visit with the usable furniture sorted for donation on the way out. The estate cleanout page covers how that visit runs and what the family needs to do beforehand, which is less than most people expect.
Frequently asked questions
How often is heavy trash day in Indianapolis?
Once a month. Each solid waste district has its own week, and heavy trash is collected on your regular trash day during that week. Enter your address at the city’s trash pickup page to see yours.
How many items can I put out on Indianapolis heavy trash day?
Two heavy trash items per household per monthly pickup. A mattress and box spring count as two. Pieces of a sectional count separately. Extra items are left at the curb.
Does Indianapolis heavy trash pick up mattresses?
Yes, as long as the mattress is dry and not infested, and it counts as one of your two items. Bag it if you can. A soaked, heavily soiled or infested mattress can be left behind by the crew.
Will Indianapolis heavy trash take a refrigerator?
Not on the regular heavy trash day. Appliances containing refrigerant are handled separately, and the city directs residents to arrange that pickup through the Department of Public Works. Freezers, air conditioners and dehumidifiers follow the same rule.
Does heavy trash take construction debris in Indianapolis?
No. Drywall, shingles, concrete, lumber and other remodeling debris are not accepted as heavy trash. Those go to a transfer station, a dumpster or a junk removal crew that handles debris.
What time should heavy trash be at the curb?
The evening before your pickup day, set neatly at the curb and separate from the gray cart. Trucks start early and make one pass. Items set out after the truck has gone by wait until next month.
What do I do if my heavy trash was not picked up?
Report it through the RequestIndy app or call the Mayor’s Action Center at 317-327-4622. Have your address and the date ready. If the item was not eligible, they will tell you why.
Can I put electronics out for heavy trash in Indianapolis?
No. Indiana law keeps TVs, computers and monitors out of the trash, so heavy trash crews leave them. Take them to an electronics recycler or a Marion County ToxDrop site, or ask a junk crew that handles e-waste recycling.
Where do I take paint and chemicals in Indianapolis?
Household hazardous waste goes to a Marion County ToxDrop location, not the curb, and not inside a heavy trash pile. That includes paint, stain, motor oil, pesticides, pool chemicals, batteries and propane tanks.
Who picks up heavy trash in Indianapolis now?
Whoever collects your regular trash. Since 2025 that is either Indianapolis DPW crews or Lakeshore Recycling Systems, which took over the areas formerly served by Republic Services and Waste Management.
What if I have more than two heavy items?
Wait for next month, take the extras to the Marion County Citizens’ Transfer Station for a per-load fee, rent a dumpster, or book a junk removal crew to take everything in one visit.
Does the heavy trash crew come into my garage or house?
No. City crews only collect from the curb and will not come onto the property. If items need to be carried out of a house, garage or basement, that is on you, a helpful neighbor, or a private crew that does the carry.
More than two items this month?
The Indianapolis crew takes the whole pile in one visit, from inside the house, and sets the price at your door first.
Or start at junkonauts.com and pick your mission site.
