Should I use Surrey’s large item pickup or a junk removal company?
Use Surrey’s free large item pickup for a few eligible items you can carry to the curb and that can wait for a booked date. Call a junk removal company like Spartan Junk Removal when you’re over your yearly allowance, have items the city excludes, like hot tubs, or need things carried out of the house.
How does Surrey’s large item pickup work?
If your home gets City of Surrey garbage collection, a large item pickup is already part of your garbage utility. You don’t pay extra for it. You book a date, put the items out, and a city truck collects them.
- Your yearly allowance: up to 6 items a year for a house, 8 with a registered secondary suite, and 4 for apartment buildings that have City recycling. Apartment residents book through their property manager or strata.
- Booking: online through the City’s booking page, or by phone at 604-590-7289 (option 3).
- Pickup day: items must be at your collection point by 7:30 am. The city can collect any time until 7:30 pm, and different trucks may come for different items, so leave everything out until the end of the day.
- Use it or lose it: unused pickups don’t carry over to the next year.
- Cancelling: cancel at least 2 business days ahead. A late cancellation counts as one item.
One more rule worth knowing: items left at the curb without a booked pickup may be treated as illegal dumping, and fines can apply. Always book first.
Source: City of Surrey: Large item pickup
What does Surrey’s pickup take, and what doesn’t it?
The list of accepted items is generous. It includes furniture and seating, beds and mattresses, kitchen and laundry appliances, TVs and electronics, exercise equipment, bikes, patio items, tools and lawn mowers, and passenger tires.
Some things are left out. The city won’t collect:
- Renovation and demolition materials, like doors, windows, cabinetry and drywall
- Hot tubs, bathtubs, toilets and sinks
- Carpets and rugs
- Mirrors, large glass and fish tanks
- Fences, fireplaces, wood pallets and metal pipes
- Musical instruments
- E-bikes, e-scooters and other lithium-ion battery equipment
- Propane tanks and car parts
Mattresses need a bag. Each mattress, box spring or topper must be sealed in its own clear plastic bag, or it stays at the curb. The city hands out free bags at its Cart Storage Yard (14577 66 Ave), Monday to Friday, 9 am to 3 pm. Bring the service request number from your booking.
Glass comes off first. Take glass tops and shelves out of furniture before pickup day. The city asks you to take them to a recycling and waste centre.
Source: City of Surrey: Large item pickup
How do the two options compare?
Here’s the short version, side by side.
| Compare | Surrey large item pickup | Junk removal company |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to you | Free, included in your garbage utility | Paid. Spartan gives an upfront estimate at a free on-site quote |
| How many items | Up to 6 a year (8 with a registered secondary suite, 4 for eligible apartments) | One item or a whole house |
| Where items go from | Your collection point, by 7:30 am on your day | Any room, floor, yard, garage or storage locker |
| Who lifts | You carry everything out | The crew does every lift and load |
| Timing | Booked ahead; collected any time from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm | A booked time that suits you, 7 days a week |
| Excluded items | Renovation materials, hot tubs, carpets, bathtubs, toilets, sinks, mirrors, musical instruments and more | Most non-hazardous items; a few need a quick check first |
| Mattresses | Must be sealed in a clear plastic bag | Taken as they are, and sent to a mattress recycler |
| Sorting and donation | Collected as is | Sorted for donation, recycling and disposal |
City details: City of Surrey: Large item pickup. Rules can change, so check the city’s page before you book.
When is the city pickup the better choice?
We’ll say it plainly: if the city pickup fits your job, use it. It’s free, and it’s already paid for in your utility bill. It’s a good fit when:
- You have a handful of items, and allowance left for the year.
- Everything is on the accepted list.
- You can get the items to the curb yourself, safely.
- You’re not in a rush, and a booked date works for you.
- Your mattress is already bagged, or you can pick up a free bag.
A single bagged mattress at the curb is a classic example. That’s often the better deal through the city.
When does hiring a junk removal company make more sense?
A crew earns its keep when the job is bigger, heavier or harder to reach than the city program allows for. Think about hiring help when:
- You’re over your allowance. A garage, basement or move-out can fill 6 items in one corner.
- The items are excluded. Hot tubs, renovation debris, carpets, old bathroom fixtures and mirrors all need another route.
- It’s inside the house. A sectional on the third floor or a freezer in the basement has to get out somehow. A crew carries it out, takes it apart if it won’t fit through the door, and protects your walls on the way.
- You have a deadline. A sale closing, a move-out date or a tenant turnover can’t always wait for the next open pickup date.
- You’d like things donated. The city collects items as they are. Spartan Junk Removal sorts each load, so furniture in good shape goes to local charities and metal and electronics go to recyclers.
Some jobs have their own pages with more detail: hot tub removal, mattress removal and renovation debris.
Can you use both on the same clear-out?
Yes, and it’s often the smartest way to do it. Book the city for the eligible pieces you can easily get to the curb. Then have a crew take everything else: the excluded items, the heavy things in the basement, and the overflow once your allowance runs out.
Tell us at your quote which items are going to the city. We’ll leave those alone and give you an upfront estimate for the rest. If you’d rather move your own items out to the driveway, curbside pickups get a discount too.
What about items neither option takes?
Paint, propane tanks, fuel and asbestos don’t go in the city truck or in ours, and household chemicals are an ask-first item for us. Metro Vancouver bans hazardous and stewardship items from garbage loads, and most have their own free drop-off instead. Your nearest Metro Vancouver recycling and waste centre takes many of them, like paint and propane tanks.
Our what we don’t take page lists each item and where it goes. The Metro Vancouver disposal guide covers the bans and the recycling centres.
Pianos: Surrey’s pickup doesn’t take musical instruments. Spartan treats pianos as “ask first”, so call or text us with a photo and we’ll tell you what we can do.
Source: Metro Vancouver: Disposal ban program
How is junk removal priced if the city is free?
Spartan Junk Removal prices by the room your items take in our 25-cubic-yard truck, not by the hour. The crew, loading, disposal and recycling fees and the sweep-up are all included. You get an upfront estimate at a free on-site quote, and nothing moves until you say go. If the city pickup turns out to be the better fit for some of your items, we’ll tell you.
See how our pricing works for load sizes and what affects your estimate.
