Dubuque, IA Trash & Recycling: Bulk Item Disposal (2026)

Section 13-6A-6 of the City Code defines the bulky item program: no person may place items larger than 3 feet by 2 feet in diameter, or weighing more than 40 pounds, out for collection except under this section's rules. Only premises already receiving City solid waste collection service qualify for bulky item pickup, and the customer must schedule the pickup in advance; section 13-6-1 defines a 'bulky item' the same way, as anything too big for a standard city-issued refuse cart. If an oversized item is set out without being scheduled first, section 13-6A-6B is explicit that the city will not collect it and the property owner is responsible for removing it.

Section 13-6A-3D reinforces this from the refuse side: electronics or items larger than 3 feet by 2 feet, or heavier than 40 pounds, must be scheduled as a bulky item pickup rather than stuffed into a cart or left beside it. Smaller excess refuse that does not fit in a subscribed cart, but is not itself a bulky item, instead takes an official single-use refuse sticker under section 13-6A-3C. The bulky item program sits within Article A of Chapter 6, the same article that sets mandatory collection for Class I premises and lets the City Manager direct city equipment and personnel to collect bulky items along with refuse, recycling, and organic waste under section 13-6A-1.