Kingsport, TN Trash & Recycling: Bulk Item Disposal (2026)

Section 86-37 governs large household items. Furniture and appliances are collected and removed from residences by the city on an on-call basis, and the producer must call the public works department to request the pickup. The city shall not accept any refrigerator or freezer unless the door has been removed from the appliance. Items go on the producer's property adjacent to an alley or at the curbside, in such a way as not to obstruct vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or at the location the director designates. The section applies only to residences: nonresidential producers are responsible for disposing of such items at their own expense. Under subsection (b), the Board of Mayor and Aldermen establishes a fee for collecting the various items, all applicable fees are billed monthly by the city, and the account is due and payable within 30 days thereafter.

Brush and limbs follow a separate section. Under § 86-36(a), the city removes tree stumps, trunks, limbs and roots from normal maintenance of residential property when none of the work was performed by a business or contractor, every piece is cut into lengths not longer than six feet, each piece does not exceed 50 pounds, and the material sits on the resident's property adjacent to the alley or curbside without blocking a street, alley or sidewalk. Under § 86-36(c), the city does not collect a volume of stumps, roots, trees, large limbs or other vegetation exceeding two truck loads (approximately 40 cubic yards) in any two-week period. Debris from contractor tree removal, landscaping, grading or clearing is removed by and at the expense of the contractor, developer or owner under § 86-36(b), and it is unlawful to leave it on any sidewalk or public right-of-way. Construction debris is the contractor's or owner's job under § 86-41.