How to dispose of junk and bulk items in St. Johns County, FL

St. Augustine and the rest of St. Johns County have more disposal options than most people realize, and the rules differ depending on whether you're inside city limits, in an unincorporated area, or in an HOA community that handles its own collection. Here's how to figure out which applies to you and what each route actually costs you in time.

Route 1 — Curbside bulk collection

Residential addresses in the county get bulk-item collection on a schedule tied to your address and your hauler, separate from your weekly cart. It's the cheapest option because it's already covered by your service, but it comes with real limits: item counts per pickup, size and weight restrictions, no construction debris, no appliances containing refrigerant in many cases, and you have to get the item to the right-of-way yourself.

Route 2 — Haul it yourself

The county operates solid waste facilities and residential convenience centers, including the Tillman Ridge site, that accept household bulk waste and separated recyclables. You'll pay a disposal fee, you'll need a truck or trailer plus straps, and you'll want a second person for anything awkward. Check current hours and accepted materials first — driving out with a load the site won't take is the most expensive version of a free option.

Route 3 — Have it hauled

A removal crew makes sense when the item is upstairs, when there's a deadline like a closing or a tenant turnover, when the volume is more than one truck bed, or when the thing is simply too heavy to handle safely. The disposal fee is inside the quote, the labor is included, and nothing has to reach the curb first.

What never goes in a regular load

• Paint, stains and solvents — household hazardous waste collection only.
• Gasoline, motor oil, antifreeze and propane tanks.
• Pesticides, pool chemicals and fertilizer.
• Car and marine batteries — most auto parts retailers take these back.
• Televisions, monitors, computers and other electronics — e-waste stream.
• Fluorescent tubes and CFL bulbs, which contain mercury.
• Medical sharps and prescription medication.

Items with their own rules

• Refrigerators, freezers and A/C units — refrigerant has to be recovered by a certified technician before the unit is scrapped.
• Mattresses and box springs — bulk items, never cart items, and they should be wrapped if they'll sit outside.
• Tires — accepted in limited quantities and usually for a per-tire fee.
• Yard waste — a separate collection stream from bulk junk, with different bundling and length rules.
• Construction and renovation debris — not a residential collection item. Drywall, tile, lumber, roofing and concrete need a self-haul trip or a hauler.

Historic district and island access

Downtown St. Augustine's narrow one-way brick streets and the stilted, short-driveway housing on Anastasia Island and Vilano Beach both change what's physically possible. Large trucks often can't reach the door, which means staging nearby and hand-carrying. Factor that into your own plan if you're self-hauling — a rented truck you can't park is worse than no truck.

The fastest path if you just want it gone

1. Take a photo of the pile and the path out to the street.
2. Text it to us with your ZIP and what's in it.
3. We send back one flat number covering labor and disposal.
4. We show up in the agreed window, load it, sweep up and route donations and metal before disposal.