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Junk removal in Costa Mesa
Junk removal in Costa Mesa starts with knowing who runs your trash: for houses and small apartment buildings, that is the Costa Mesa Sanitary District, not the city. If the district's large item pickup won't fit your load or your calendar, send us photos for a quote or call (657) 822-0016.
Costa Mesa Sanitary District, CR&R and who they serve
The Costa Mesa Sanitary District (CMSD) is an independent special district formed in 1944, separate from the City of Costa Mesa. It covers the city plus small portions of Newport Beach and unincorporated Orange County, and its contracted hauler is CR&R. Fees ride on the property tax bill as special assessments, so there is no trash account to open or close when you move.
CMSD collects from single-family homes and from small multi-family buildings with 4 units or less. Larger apartment complexes and businesses fall under the City of Costa Mesa instead.
Sources: Costa Mesa Sanitary District: Trash & Recycling FAQs; Costa Mesa Sanitary District: District FAQs.
Large item collection in Costa Mesa
Each CMSD household gets three complimentary large item pickups per year, up to ten items each. Book with CR&R at 949-646-4617, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or online. The list you give is binding, since CR&R will not collect anything you did not name, and the district warns that "pickups do not occur immediately" and may be one or more weeks out.
- Taken: refrigerators, ranges, washers, dryers, water heaters, sofas, chairs, mattresses, rugs, scrap metal, and contained yard debris up to 1 cubic yard.
- Size limit: no item larger than 8 x 4 ft or heavier than 150 lbs, which the district equates with items two people cannot lift.
- Refused: asphalt, concrete, building materials, soil, sandbags, tires, car bodies and hazardous waste.
Our guide to bulky item pickup across Orange County compares neighboring cities.
Sources: Costa Mesa Sanitary District: Large Item Collection.
Apartments, dumpsters and curb space
If your Costa Mesa building shares a dumpster, the district is plain about it: residents who use dumpsters are not eligible for the large item program. Call the hauler whose name and number are usually printed on the dumpster, or ask the property manager.
On cart streets, carts go out by 7:00 a.m., about a foot apart and at least 3 feet from hydrants, cars and trees, and "items not in containers will not be collected" on a regular day.
Sources: Costa Mesa Sanitary District: Large Item Collection; Costa Mesa Sanitary District: Trash & Recycling FAQs.
Paint, batteries and electronics: CR&R's door-to-door program
No junk hauler in California may accept household hazardous waste. Instead, the district sponsors a free door-to-door program for its own customers: up to three pickups per household a year, each capped at 15 gallons or 125 lbs. Call CR&R at 949-646-4617 or request online; the containers go out front by 6:00 a.m. and nobody needs to be home. TVs, computers, batteries, fluorescent tubes, paint, motor oil, pool chemicals, weed killers and sharps all qualify, and propane tanks only when empty with the valve removed. Asbestos is refused by the district and the county alike and calls for a licensed abatement professional.
Residents on dumpster service can use the county's collection centers, which take these materials free from Orange County residents, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday as of November 2026, closed on major holidays and in rainy weather. The nearest are Huntington Beach (17121 Nichols Lane, Gate 6) and Irvine (6411 Oak Canyon). Irvine's center runs under a license extension of up to one year, per a county notice updated December 5, 2025, so check the notice page first.
Sources: Costa Mesa Sanitary District: Household Hazardous Waste Collection; Costa Mesa Sanitary District: Disposal Guide; OC Waste & Recycling: HHW locations and hours; OC Waste & Recycling: Irvine HHW center notice.
Self-hauling from Costa Mesa: landfills, mattresses, tires and debris
The Frank R. Bowerman Landfill in Irvine takes commercial haulers only. Public loads go to Olinda Alpha in Brea or Prima Deshecha in San Juan Capistrano; under the July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027, schedule a pickup truck load under 880 pounds is $30.00, with an additional $15.00 fee for hard-to-handle items longer than six feet. Bring ID or a utility bill with an Orange County address, and read the county's updates page, which on November 7, 2026, reported long waits at Olinda Alpha and Prima Deshecha closed to public self-haul because of picketing.
- Mattresses: district customers can put one on a large item pickup, and the CMSD guide notes free residential mattress recycling through Bye Bye Mattress at Olinda Alpha and Prima Deshecha.
- Tires: never in the carts; the guide points to a tire facility at 1281 N. Kraemer Blvd., Anaheim.
- Remodel debris: concrete, drywall, tile and flooring are outside the district's curbside programs; the county lists haulers that take them at oclandfills.com/cd.
Sources: OC Waste & Recycling: Frank R. Bowerman Landfill; OC Waste & Recycling: Landfill fees; OC Waste & Recycling: Updates (Nov. 7, 2026); Costa Mesa Sanitary District: Disposal Guide.
Reporting illegal dumping in Costa Mesa
A couch abandoned in the street is the city's to handle, not the district's. The CMSD FAQ says "items that are dumped in the public right-of-way should be reported to the City of Costa Mesa" at 714-754-5000 or costamesaca.gov/mycostamesa. Junk in front of your own house is different: district customers can set it out on a booked large item pickup at no charge.
Sources: Costa Mesa Sanitary District: Trash & Recycling FAQs.
How a Costa Mesa pickup works with us
- Send photos or call. Snap the garage or back bedroom plus a close-up of anything heavy, and send them through our quote form or to help@ocfastjunkremoval.com, or call (657) 822-0016. Mention stairs, a gated complex or street parking.
- Hear the quote. We price it from what you showed or described.
- We load it. We carry it out and haul it away. Paint and chemicals stay for CR&R or a county center.
Call a crew when something tops 150 lbs or 8 x 4 ft, when you have more than ten items, when your building is on a dumpster, or when the district's pickup date lands after your move-out. For an old water heater see appliance removal; for a sofa or bed frame, furniture removal; for a packed garage, a garage cleanout.
Sources: Costa Mesa Sanitary District: Large Item Collection.
Questions people ask
Does Costa Mesa have bulky item pickup?
Yes, if your home is a Costa Mesa Sanitary District customer: CR&R collects large items at the curb a few times a year by appointment. Name every item when you book; the limits are in the large item section above.
I live in a Costa Mesa apartment with a dumpster. Can I use the CR&R large item pickup?
No. Buildings on dumpster service are not district customers. Ask the hauler listed on the dumpster or your manager, or send us photos of what needs to go.
Can you haul away paint or propane tanks from my Costa Mesa garage?
No hauler in California can take household hazardous waste. District customers can book CR&R's door-to-door pickup; everyone else can drive it to the county center in Huntington Beach or Irvine.
Related
Appliance removal
Refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, stoves and water heaters hauled out
Furniture removal
Couches, sectionals, beds, dressers and office furniture carried out and hauled away
Garage cleanouts
Years of boxes, broken equipment and clutter cleared so the car fits again
Bulky item pickup in Orange County
How city bulky item pickup works in OC's largest cities
Get a quote for your junk removal
Send a few photos through the form or call (657) 822-0016, and tell us the city and where the items are.