Quick answer
Weekly garbage in New Braunfels takes what fits in the cart with the lid closed, plus tagged extra bags. Take furniture and other bulky items to the City's free quarterly Bulky Goods Drop Off, next on Saturday, December 5, 2026, with a photo ID and a current utility bill, or request a curbside bulky pickup through the City's online form.
Couches, mattresses and old tires need their own route in New Braunfels, because weekly garbage takes what fits in the cart with the lid closed, plus tagged extra bags. Take them to the City’s next Bulky Goods Drop Off on Saturday, December 5, 2026, or request a curbside bulky pickup from the City.
The drop-off is free for residents with a state-issued photo ID and a current utility bill, although the landfill site may charge for mattresses. Check the City’s event page the week before, since the sites and rules are set for each event.
How does bulk trash pickup work in New Braunfels?
Weekly garbage collection takes what fits in your City cart with the lid closed, plus extra bags that carry a City excess garbage tag. For items too large for the cart, the City offers two options.
- Bulky Goods Drop Off. A free event held once a quarter. You bring the items to one of four sites on the event morning.
- Curbside bulky pickup. You request a pickup from your curb through the City’s online trash and recycling request form, and the City schedules it.
The drop-off costs nothing and works if you can load the items yourself and the next event is soon. The curbside pickup suits items you cannot haul and a date that does not match an event.
Match the item to the route before you start loading.
| Item | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Furniture that is not mostly metal or glass, such as a couch or a wooden table | Bulky Goods Drop Off or curbside bulky pickup |
| Mattress | Drop Off at City Hall, Walnut Springs Elementary or the landfill, or curbside bulky pickup |
| Up to 4 whole car tires without rims | Bulky Goods Drop Off, not the landfill site |
| Appliance without Freon | City Recycle Center as scrap metal |
| Furniture that is mostly metal or glass | Call the City at 830-221-4000 before you haul it |
| Other scrap metal | City Recycle Center |
| Extra bags of household trash | Your cart, or a bag with an excess garbage tag |
| Green waste | The City’s green waste collection, not the Bulky Goods Drop Off |
The table covers the common cases. When an item is not on either City list, call the City at 830-221-4000 before you haul it anywhere.
For extra bagged trash that will not fit in the cart, use a City excess garbage tag on each bag. The City’s Bulky and Excess Trash page explains how to set out a tagged bag.
When is the next Bulky Goods Drop Off?
The next Bulky Goods Drop Off is Saturday, December 5, 2026. The City holds the event once a quarter and posts each date on its garbage and recycling calendar. Check the December event page for the hours and the line cutoff before you load up.
The City lists the event at four sites.
| Site | Address | Mattresses |
|---|---|---|
| New Braunfels City Hall | 550 Landa St., enter on Laurel Lane | Accepted |
| NBU Service Center | 355 FM 306 | Not accepted |
| Walnut Springs Elementary | 1900 S. Walnut Ave. | Accepted |
| Mesquite Creek Landfill | FM 1101 and Kohlenberg Rd. | Accepted, the landfill may charge a fee |
At City Hall the line enters on Laurel Lane and queues down Laurel Lane and up Wood Road.
Bring a state-issued photo ID and a current utility bill. The event is free for New Braunfels residents, and the limits apply per household. Put both in the glove box the night before, so nobody in the line has to turn around for a missing bill.
- One load per household, per event.
- Up to 5 oversized items.
- Up to 4 whole passenger car tires, without rims.
Trailers go to the landfill. The City says trailers are not accepted at the City sites, so a trailer load means the Mesquite Creek Landfill line.
The landfill has its own rules on event day. Every trailer must be tarped, each person in the vehicle must wear a safety vest, and only one load per household is allowed. The landfill does not take tires or appliances.
Pick your site by what is in the load. A mattress rules out the NBU Service Center, a trailer means the landfill, and tires rule out the landfill. A load with a mattress and tires in a pickup bed fits City Hall or Walnut Springs Elementary. A trailer with a mattress and tires has no single site that takes everything, so split the load or move the tires to a later event.
The drop-off is outdoors on a December morning. Check the New Braunfels weather page before you load a couch into an open truck bed.
What can you bring to the bulky drop-off, and where?
Bring furniture, mattresses, up to four whole passenger car tires without rims and other non-metal household items too large for your trash cart. The City lists the same accepted items on its Bulky and Excess Trash page and on the December event page.
Mattresses are the item that changes your site. The NBU Service Center on FM 306 does not accept mattresses. Take a mattress to City Hall, Walnut Springs Elementary or the Mesquite Creek Landfill, where the landfill may charge a fee.
The City does not accept these at the drop-off.
- Electronics or appliances
- Household hazardous waste
- Yard waste, plants or green waste
- Loose or bagged garbage
- Scrap metal
- Construction, demolition or remodeling debris
- Fixtures
- Business or commercial waste
- Partial, damaged, motorcycle, ATV and lawn mower tires
Sort the load at home. A truck that mixes a sofa with paint cans, a microwave and a bag of yard waste will have items turned away at the site, and you will carry them home again.
Count before you leave, too. The five-item limit is per household, so a full garage cleanout may need two events or a mix of the drop-off and a curbside pickup. Take tires off their rims first if you can, since the City accepts whole passenger car tires without rims only, and leave partial or damaged tires out of the load.
How do you schedule a curbside bulky pickup?
Use the City’s online trash and recycling request form and choose the curbside bulk pickup. The City’s Residential Garbage page lists scheduling a curbside bulk pickup among the requests the form handles, and its recycling page names curbside bulk pickup as one of the two City routes for a mattress.
Read the City’s Bulky and Excess Trash page before you submit the request. It lists the current service fee, the items the curbside program will not take, how to declare your items and how to set them out at the curb. Those rules are set by the City and can change, so check them each time instead of relying on an older receipt or a neighbor’s experience.
A curbside pickup is the better choice in three cases.
- The item is too heavy or awkward for your vehicle, like a sleeper sofa or a waterbed frame.
- The next quarterly drop-off is weeks away and the item has to go now, for example at a move-out.
- You have no one to help you load and unload on the event morning.
Write down what you are setting out before you submit the form, and take a photo of the pile at the curb on the day. If the crew leaves something behind, you can tell the City exactly which items you declared.
If you would rather pay someone to do the heavy lifting, the local pros directory lists New Braunfels home-service pros by trade. Whoever you hire, ask where the load will be taken.
Where do appliances and scrap metal go instead?
Appliances without Freon go to the City Recycle Center as scrap metal. The City Recycle Center page lists appliances without Freon among the scrap metal it accepts, and the Bulky and Excess Trash page sends appliances without Freon there. The December event page sends scrap metal there too.
Check the City Recycle Center page for its current hours and rules before you go.
Household hazardous waste is not accepted at the bulky drop-off. The City holds separate Household Hazardous Waste drop-off events and lists them on its events calendar. Electronics and green waste also stay out of the bulky load, so the line keeps moving for everyone behind you.
For a big yard cleanup, the landscaping directory lists landscapers in New Braunfels. Green waste itself goes to the City’s green waste collection, not to a bulky event.
The Bulky Goods Drop Off does not accept construction, demolition or remodeling debris. If a project left you with old drywall, lumber or fixtures, plan for that waste before the work starts. The contractor’s quote can say who hauls the debris away, which keeps it off your curb and out of the drop-off line.
More bulk trash questions
Where do I buy excess garbage tags?
At the City Municipal Building, 424 S. Castell Ave. Tag each extra bag of household trash that will not fit in your cart, and set it out on your regular collection day.
Can a business use the Bulky Goods Drop Off?
No. Business or commercial waste is on the City’s list of items the drop-off does not accept. The event is for New Braunfels residents with a photo ID and a current utility bill.
When is the next Household Hazardous Waste drop-off?
None is listed for the rest of 2026, either on the City’s 2026 solid waste events list or among its upcoming solid waste events through December 24. Watch the City’s events calendar for the 2027 dates.
What if I miss the December 5 drop-off?
Schedule a curbside bulky pickup through the City’s online request form, or wait for the next quarterly event on the City’s garbage and recycling calendar.
