Special Pick-Ups

The City Council approved a multi-year pilot program to expand special bulk waste pickup services starting on April 1st, 2026. This pilot is intended to help the City's Recycling and Environmental Maintenance team operate more efficiently with collections, help offset fly dumping, and increase the availability of collections to other times of the year beyond the twice-a-year bulk pickup days.

The City of Evanston charges a fee for special pick-ups, which are defined as trash exceeding the capacity of your garbage cart plus one additional bag. 

Special pick-ups are required after a move-out or move-in, a major clean-up effort, or if you have a large piece of furniture to be disposed of.

Cost:

City Council approved a three-year pilot where a $1 per unit per month fee is applied to the water bills of residential and condo customers of the City. These flat rates allow these customers to schedule pickups at no additional cost as long as they adhere to the collection limits below:

Properties that do not adhere to these requirements of scheduling a pickup with 311 or placing too much out at any one time, or over the course of a calendar year, may incur additional fees as noted below. Properties that are also not a part of the City's residential or condo program do not have the fee applied and will be charged the additional rate structure below for a special pickup. These fees will also be applied to the property's water bill.

• $100 Flat Fee to conduct Pickup and collect 3 cubic yards of material
• $25 per cubic yard collected beyond the initial 3 cubic yards

Requesting Special Pickups:

Please call/text the Public Works Agency at 847-448-4311 to request a special pick-up. Sanitation crews will perform the special pick-up and log how much material was collected in the 311 request. For convenience, you may dial 311 directly while in Evanston.

Remember that the City is not equipped to collect and does not collect construction debris or hazardous materials. A private disposal firm can be hired to collect these materials.

All material must be out by 7 a.m. on the scheduled day; City crews will not return for late set-outs.

Pickup Guidelines:

• Here are some ways to understand the volume of material:
  • 1 cubic yard ~ the size of a recliner chair
  • 3 cubic yards ~ the size of a couch or twin mattress
  • 6 cubic yards ~ one mattress and box spring, or 25 medium garbage bags.

• All material should be placed out in an orderly fashion, i.e., bagged, contained, or bundled, with no loose garbage.
• No Hazardous Materials will be collected, including batteries, gas, oil, asbestos, pesticides, medical wastes, paint, etc.
• No Construction Material will be collected.
• Tires or Appliances will not be counted towards the limits of collection. Please call 311 or 847-448-4311 to arrange for the free removal of these items. These materials will be scheduled separately for collection as they are banned from the landfill and need to be handled separately.
• Glass should be broken up, boxed, taped, and labeled as glass.
• Bed bug-infested items should be bagged before the collection of those items is completed
• Special Pickup waste must be placed on the alley line or parkway. Crews will not remove items from private property. 
• Crews will only remove bulk items; no garbage carts will be emptied.
• Electronics are not permitted: It is illegal in Illinois to dispose of electronics in the trash.