City vs County: whose bulk pickup rules apply to you in St. Louis

The short answer

If you live inside the City of St. Louis, the City's Refuse Division rules apply: monthly bulky pickup, up to three items, nothing over 100 lbs, 6 ft long or 2 ft in diameter, alley or curb on your collection week. If you live anywhere in St. Louis County — Clayton, Kirkwood, Florissant, Oakville, Chesterfield — your own municipality or unincorporated trash district sets the rules, and they are not the City's. Illinois Metro East towns are separate again. When the rules do not fit, a flat pickup works anywhere: sofa $126, queen mattress $103.

Why St. Louis is confusing

The City of St. Louis is an independent city. It separated from St. Louis County in 1877 after the 1876 vote often called the "Great Divorce," and it is in no county. Today the City has 79 official neighborhoods and about 278,000 residents (2025 estimate).

St. Louis County, with about 991,000 residents, is Missouri's most populous county and is split into dozens of municipalities plus large unincorporated areas like Oakville, Mehlville, Affton, Lemay and Concord. A "St. Louis" mailing address can be in the City, a County municipality, or an unincorporated area, and each has a different trash setup.

How to tell which one you are in

• Check your water bill. City residents pay a $14 per month per unit solid-waste fee, billed quarterly on the water bill. If you see it, you are in the City.
• Check your trash bill or hauler. County residents usually get trash service through their city or a contracted district hauler.
• Ask how people describe it. Locals say "the City" for St. Louis City and "the County" for St. Louis County; South City and North City are City; South County, North County and West County are County.
• Check your city's name. If your address is in Clayton, University City, Webster Groves or any other County city, you are not under City rules.

The City of St. Louis rules

As the City publishes them:

• Bulky pickup: monthly, during your designated collection week, out by 6:00 am on Monday.
• Placement: alley residents put items in the alley behind the home; curbside residents at the curb.
• Limits: up to three items; no piece over 100 lbs, 6 ft long or 2 ft in diameter.
• Prep: refrigerator doors removed; railroad ties not accepted.
• BOAT-E: batteries, oil, appliances, tires and electronics, collected monthly.
• Transfer stations: North and South, Monday to Friday 8:00 to 4:00, 12 loads per year, a load being what fits a half-ton pickup (up to 5 by 8 by 4 feet); ID and water or solid-waste bill required; no household hazardous waste and no commercial, business, charity or nonprofit waste.

St. Louis County: check your own

We will not publish County rules we have not verified. Each County municipality runs or contracts its own trash service, and unincorporated areas use contracted trash districts with a hauler per district. Bulky item limits, schedules, appliance handling and fees all vary.

What to do: find the hauler on your trash bill or your city's website and ask three questions. Is bulky pickup included? How many items, and how often? Are appliances, mattresses and electronics handled differently? Do not assume the City's three-item rule applies to you in Kirkwood or Oakville. And if you are in a West County subdivision, check your HOA's curb rules too.

Illinois Metro East: a different state

Belleville, O'Fallon, Edwardsville, Granite City, Alton, Collinsville and East St. Louis each run or franchise residential trash. One statewide rule applies to all of them: per Illinois EPA, covered electronics — TVs, computers, monitors, printers, VCR and DVD players, game consoles — cannot go in regular waste. That has been backed by Illinois's Consumer Electronics Recycling Act, effective August 25, 2017.

Common mix-ups we see

• "I have a St. Louis address, so the City picks up my couch." Many County addresses say St. Louis, MO. The mailing address does not decide your trash service; your municipality does.
• "My neighbor across the street put it out Monday." Near the City line, the other side of the street can be a different jurisdiction, and even inside the City, collection weeks differ by area. Your neighbor's week is not necessarily yours.
• "The County has the same three-item rule." There is no single County rule. Each city or district decides.
• "Belleville works like St. Louis." Illinois towns set their own service, and Illinois bans covered electronics from the trash.
• "I can take it to the City transfer station." Only City residents with ID and a water or solid-waste bill, on weekdays, and not for business waste.

When in doubt, look at your own bill and your own city's trash page before anything goes outside.

One price list, everywhere

The same flat prices apply in the City, the County and the Metro East. A sofa and a fridge are $126 + $164 = $290 in Dutchtown, Florissant or Belleville alike, carried from any floor, no stairs fee. When the local rules do not cover your job, get a price from a photo at the instant quote page.

Frequently asked questions