How to get rid of a couch in St. Louis

The short answer

In the City of St. Louis, bulky pickup takes up to three items a month, but no piece over 100 lbs or 6 ft long — and most full-size sofas are over one or both. You can cut it down, haul it to a transfer station yourself, sell it, or book a flat pickup: $126 for a standard sofa, $119 for a loveseat, $185 for a 3-piece sectional, with carry-out from any floor included.

The City's bulky rule, and why couches fail it

The City publishes its bulky rules plainly: monthly collection during your designated week, out by 6:00 am on Monday, in the alley if your block has one, up to three items, and nothing over 100 lbs, 6 ft long or 2 ft in diameter.

A typical three-seat sofa runs about 7 feet long. A sleeper sofa has a steel mechanism inside and is far heavier than 100 pounds. A reclining sofa has motors and steel. Sectional pieces may individually pass, but a 4-piece sectional plus anything else blows through the three-item cap. Loveseats are the most likely to qualify. If you are not sure, weigh the odds before you drag it out to the alley and it sits there for a month.

Option 1: cut it down yourself

Some people saw a sofa into pieces to get under the 6-foot limit. It is doable with a reciprocating saw, but understand what you are getting into: staples, springs under tension, a hardwood frame, and a lot of foam and fabric dust in your living room. A sleeper sofa's steel frame needs a metal blade and patience.

Even cut down, each piece still counts as an item toward your three. And none of this applies if you live in the County or Illinois, where your own hauler decides what is accepted.

Option 2: the transfer station

City residents can take it to the North or South transfer station, Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 4:00, with ID and a water or solid-waste bill. A load is what fits a half-ton pickup, up to 5 by 8 by 4 feet, and you get 12 a year.

A full sofa fits in a long-bed pickup if you stand it on end or let the tailgate down and strap it. Allow for the carry: two people, down the front steps of a Soulard rowhouse or the narrow interior stairs of a South City flat, without gouging the plaster or the banister. Most of the work is getting it out of the house, not the drive.

Option 3: sell it or give it away

A clean, intact sofa from a non-smoking home can find a buyer, especially at the end of July and through August when students move into apartments near SLU, WashU and the Delmar Loop. A few honest rules:

• Photograph it in daylight and list the measurements, including the depth.
• Say which floor it is on and how wide the stairs are. Buyers who discover a third-floor walk-up on arrival often leave.
• Set a date. If it has not moved in a week, it is not going to.

Stained, torn, pet-damaged or sagging sofas rarely sell. We try to donate usable items when local charities accept them, but we never promise it.

Option 4: flat pickup

A living-room set — sofa, loveseat and armchair — is $126 + $119 + $77 = $322. A sleeper sofa and a recliner from a basement rec room is $149 + $98 = $247.

Outside the City: County and Metro East couches

The three-item, 100-lb rule is a City of St. Louis rule. It does not apply in Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Florissant, Chesterfield or the unincorporated South County areas like Oakville, Mehlville and Affton, where each municipality or trash district runs its own service. Some may take a couch at the curb on a schedule, some may charge, and some may not take upholstered furniture at all. Check your city's hauler before you drag it out.

West County HOA subdivisions often have their own rules about curb piles, so a sofa waiting at the curb for several days can draw a notice. On the Illinois side, Belleville, O'Fallon, Edwardsville and Granite City each set their own rules too. Our prices are the same on both sides of the river, with no sales tax added, and the crew loads straight from the house so nothing waits at the curb.

What carry-out looks like in St. Louis housing

The City's brick flats are the hard case. Interior stairs are narrow, landings are tight, and many sofas came in before the last renovation narrowed the doorway. Crews take legs off, tip the sofa on end and pivot it through landings. If it truly will not clear, the oversize or cut-apart price is $185 and the crew handles it.

Out in the County it is usually easier: a Ballwin or Chesterfield split-level with a garage, or a Florissant ranch with a basement walkout. CWE and Clayton high-rises add a different step: book the service elevator and ask management whether they need a certificate of insurance, which we email within one hour. Either way, there is no stairs fee and the price is the price you saw.

Picking the right route

If it is a loveseat under 100 pounds and you live in the City, try the bulky pickup on your week. If you have a truck and a weekday, the transfer station is cheap. If the sofa is a sleeper, a recliner, a sectional, or upstairs in a flat, book the pickup.

Since the order minimum is $100, a sofa alone at $126 is already over it, so there is no need to pad the order. If something else is waiting, add it to the same visit: a sofa and the old coffee table are $126 + $67 = $193, and a sofa with a queen mattress is $126 + $103 = $229. Price it from a photo at the instant quote page and choose a two-hour window, 8am to midnight, any day.

Frequently asked questions