Garage Cleanout Cost in Houston, TX

Garage Cleanout in Houston: where the city stops and a hauler starts

The free route in Houston has hard edges, and they are the reason people end up paying: Maximum 8 cubic yards per set-out, about the size of a minivan. Up to 4 cubic yards of resident-generated building material may be collected.

Past those limits the city is not an option at all — not slower, not pricier, simply unavailable. That is the line a hauler exists for, and it is worth knowing exactly where it sits before you start carrying anything.

Collection in Houston is run by City of Houston Solid Waste Management Department. Below is what they will take, straight from their own rules — and where each route runs out.

Taking it yourself

The public drop-off is Residential Drop-Off Centers. Free. The city runs the centers as a free service on top of kerbside collection, so what limits a big clear-out here is how often you can come, not what it costs. Tuesday to Saturday, 9 am to 6 pm. Closed Monday and Sunday. Get there at least 30 minutes before closing — that is the real cut-off for being unloaded. A current Texas-issued ID — driver's license, DPS ID, LTC or consulate ID — plus a current City of Houston utility bill or lease, and the address on the two has to match. If your primary home is outside Texas, bring a current property tax bill in the same name. For recycling alone the Texas ID is enough. Pickup trucks, and small trailers up to 10 feet with sideboards no higher than 4 feet. Turned away: U-Hauls, box trucks, sprinter vans, contractor vehicles and vans, dump trailers, trailers with inner compartments over 10 feet, propane trucks, and anything pulling a loaded truck bed and a trailer at once. Four visits a month, one a week, and one vehicle per household unloading at a time. Furniture is capped at two large items such as couches. Tires: five a visit, ten a month. Contractor-type material — sheetrock, tile, shingles, lumber, carpet, plywood — is capped at four cubic yards, roughly eight contractor bags. Loose material has to be bagged, and you unload it yourself in under 20 minutes. Household garbage and food waste, TVs, truck and tractor-trailer tires, rocks, dirt, bricks and concrete, pallets, anything that has been burned, and liquids of every kind — paint, chemicals, pesticides, fertilizer, gasoline, acid. Tree stumps or limbs thicker than 9 inches are refused, and fencing, shelving and large toys have to be broken down first.

Checked against the operator’s own page on 2026-09-09. Source

What the regular cart will not take

Heavy trash is collected every other month, alternating with tree waste. Junk waste months take household furniture such as couches, tables and dressers, carpet if it is secured or bundled, toilets, bicycles and toys, and appliances including stoves, washers, dryers and water heaters. Between collections the city points residents to its residential drop-off locations.

Checked against the operator’s own page on 2026-08-27. Source