Murrieta disposal guide

How to Get Rid of Junk in Murrieta, CA

Murrieta residents with Waste Management service get two free bulky item pickups a year. Paint, used oil, antifreeze and batteries go to the free Saturday drop-off on Jefferson Avenue. Electronics, pesticides and pool chemicals go to the county's permanent collection site in Lake Elsinore. Mattresses, usable furniture and construction debris each have their own route. This guide covers where every common item goes.

Item by item

Where Each Type of Junk Goes in Murrieta

Find the thing you are trying to get rid of, then follow the route. Rules change, so each card links to the office that sets them.

Furniture and Other Bulky Items

Furniture and large appliances aren't allowed in your Murrieta trash cart. Residents with Waste Management service get two free bulky item pickups a year. Call Waste Management at least 24 hours before your regular collection day, and ask about the size and amount limit when you book.

Mattresses and Box Springs

Riverside County's Badlands and Lamb Canyon landfills take up to five mattresses or box springs a day free from residents, as long as they're hauled separately from other waste. California's Bye Bye Mattress program lists other free drop-off sites. Habitat ReStores don't accept mattresses.

Appliances

Large appliances can't go in the trash cart, and the county's hazardous waste sites won't take them. Ask Waste Management about a bulky item pickup and say exactly what the appliance is. The City's free community cleanup events take appliances too, but refrigerators must be free of Freon.

TVs, Computers and Electronics

Electronics are banned from the landfill, and the City's trash and recycling carts don't take them. Waste Management will collect e-waste curbside if you call to arrange it. The county's permanent hazardous waste site in Lake Elsinore also takes TVs and computers. The Jefferson Avenue drop-off doesn't.

Paint, Oil, Antifreeze and Batteries

The county's free drop-off at 25315 Jefferson Avenue takes paint, used oil and filters, antifreeze, and auto and household batteries. It's open non-holiday Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm. Pesticides, pool chlorine, cleaners, aerosols and fluorescent tubes go to the Lake Elsinore site instead.

Yard Waste

Grass, leaves, weeds and small branches go in your green cart, loose and not bagged. Branches must be 4 inches across or less and 2 feet long or less. Palm fronds aren't accepted, and nothing left beside or on top of the cart gets collected. A cleared hillside needs a haul.

Concrete, Dirt and Remodel Debris

Concrete, dirt, rocks and construction debris can't go in any Murrieta cart. Contractors set up job-site service through Waste Management. Residents can self-haul to the county's Badlands or Lamb Canyon landfills, or Waste Management's El Sobrante landfill. Call ahead about accepted loads.

Things Still Worth Using

Undamaged furniture, cabinets, doors, tools and appliances seven years old or newer can go to the Habitat for Humanity Inland Valley ReStore at 27999 Jefferson Ave, Temecula. Donation drop-off runs Tuesday to Saturday, and the ReStore asks you to call ahead because it fills up.

Food Scraps

In Murrieta, food waste goes in the same green cart as yard waste: meat, fish, dairy, eggs, bread, fruit and vegetables. Food waste isn't accepted in the trash cart. It's part of California's SB 1383 push to keep organic waste out of landfills.

Waste Management bulky item pickup

How Murrieta's Free Bulky Item Pickup Works

Free bulky item pickup is the simplest way to clear large items in Murrieta if you have it. It comes with Waste Management residential service, and it's limited to two pickups a year with a size and amount limit on each.

See the City's Rules

Check You Qualify

The pickups are funded through Waste Management service fees. Homes on a City self-haul permit instead of curbside service aren't eligible for bulky item pickup.

Call at Least 24 Hours Ahead

The City asks residents to contact Waste Management at 866-909-4458 at least 24 hours before their regularly scheduled collection day.

Describe What's Going Out

There's a size and amount limit. Say exactly what the items are, especially appliances and electronics, and confirm what fits in one pickup before you drag anything out.

Make Your Two Count

With only two pickups a year, save them for the big pieces. Paint, oil and batteries have their own free drop-off, and e-waste and used oil each have a separate curbside pickup.

Lake Elsinore, 512 North Langstaff Street

Household Hazardous Waste for Murrieta Residents

Riverside County runs this free permanent collection site for county residents on the first Saturday of each month, except January and holiday weekends. Hours are 9 am to 2 pm from October to May and 7 am to noon from June to September. The county also holds one-day collections at Murrieta City Hall; in 2026 they ran on January 10 and August 8.

Paint, stains, thinners and adhesives

Used oil, oil filters and antifreeze

Household cleaners and aerosol cans

Pesticides and garden chemicals

Pool chlorine

BBQ and camp-size propane

Fluorescent tubes and batteries

TVs, computers and other electronics

Sharps and unused medication (no controlled substances)

Not accepted at county hazardous waste sites: appliances, tires, trash, asbestos, ammunition and explosives, e-bike and e-scooter batteries, business or out-of-county waste, and containers over 5 gallons or 50 pounds. It's illegal to carry more than 15 gallons or 125 pounds per trip, and loads should ride in the trunk or bed, away from passengers.

California law

Never Put These in Your Murrieta Trash Cart

Batteries of any kind, including AA, button cells and rechargeables

Fluorescent tubes and other mercury-containing lamps

TVs, monitors, computers and other electronic devices

Mercury thermostats and other mercury-containing equipment

Paint, solvents, motor oil, pesticides and pool chemicals

Needles and sharps, which also can't go in recycling

Self-hauling

Hauling Junk Yourself From Murrieta

Secure the Load

Riverside County landfills charge a surcharge on vehicles that arrive with an uncovered or unsecured load. Tarp and strap anything light, like cardboard, insulation, yard waste or bagged trash, before you leave the driveway.

Separate Before You Load

County landfills price routine refuse, green waste and hard-to-handle items differently, and mattresses are only free when hauled separately. A mixed load can cost more than two sorted ones. Sort at home, not at the scale house.

Call the Facility First

Hours, accepted materials and self-haul rules change. Confirm with the landfill on the day, especially for concrete, dirt, tires and appliances. Never use someone else's dumpster: the City says that's illegal.

Weigh the Real Cost

A self-haul often takes a borrowed or rented truck, several trips, loading time and a free Saturday. For one load of yard waste that's fine. For a whole garage it adds up fast.

If hauling it yourself doesn't add up, tell us what needs to go and where it is on the property.

When the city options don't fit

When a Junk Removal Service Makes More Sense

The free city and county programs cover most small jobs, and you should use them. They stop working when any of these apply.

Questions

Murrieta Junk Disposal FAQ

Two a year, for residents with Waste Management service. Call Waste Management at 866-909-4458 at least 24 hours before your regular collection day. There's a size and amount limit, so ask when you book.

At Riverside County's free ABOP and PaintCare drop-off, 25315 Jefferson Avenue, on non-holiday Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm. It takes paint, used oil and filters, antifreeze, and auto and household batteries. Waste Management also picks up sealed used motor oil curbside for free if you call at least 24 hours before collection day.

To the county's permanent household hazardous waste site at 512 North Langstaff Street, Lake Elsinore, open the first Saturday of each month except January and holiday weekends. Waste Management also collects e-waste curbside on request.

No. Food waste goes in the green cart with your yard waste, loose and not bagged.

Trash service is mandatory in Murrieta unless you hold a City self-haul permit. Permit holders must show proof of legal disposal at least once a month and aren't eligible for bulky item pickup or curbside used oil pickup.

Riverside County's Badlands and Lamb Canyon landfills take up to five mattresses or box springs a day free from residents when they're hauled separately from other waste. The Bye Bye Mattress locator lists other free drop-off sites.

File a complaint with City of Murrieta Code Enforcement, or use Riverside County's RivCo Mobile app.

Sources

Where This Information Comes From

Program rules belong to the agencies that run them. Confirm hours and accepted items with them before you load up.

Too much for a bulky item pickup?

Get Junk Removed in Murrieta, CA

Tell us what needs to go and where it is on the property, and we'll take it from there.

We lift it. We load it. We haul it away.