If you live in Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh, Seaford, East Meadow or Levittown, the Town of Hempstead Sanitation Department probably picks up your garbage. But “the Town of Hempstead” covers a lot of Long Island, and plenty of residents are actually served by a separate sanitation district or their village. That’s why neighbors a mile apart can have completely different bulk pickup rules.
This guide explains who collects where, how special pickup works, what to do with appliances, mattresses, electronics, yard waste and hazardous materials, and when it makes more sense to call a crew. Every rule below comes from the Town’s official website, and we link to the source pages so you can check the latest version before you put anything out.
Last reviewed: October 2026. Town rules and dates change, so always confirm on hempsteadny.gov or by calling the Sanitation Department at 516-378-4210.
Step 1: Find out who picks up your garbage
The Town of Hempstead disposes of all solid waste in the Town, but collection is split between three kinds of providers. Source: Town of Hempstead Sanitation Districts.
Town Sanitation Department
The Town’s own crews collect garbage and recycling in 16 communities: Barnum Isle, Bay Park, Bellmore, Bethpage, East Meadow, Harbor Isle, Levittown, Lido Beach, Merrick, North Lynbrook, Point Lookout, Salisbury, South Westbury, Seaford, Uniondale and Wantagh. Everything in Steps 2 through 6 applies to these communities.
Special sanitation districts
These districts run their own collection and set their own rules:
- District 1 (516-239-5600): the Five Towns, Green Acres, Inwood and Valley Stream South
- District 2 (516-223-3207): Baldwin, Roosevelt and part of Uniondale, and South Hempstead
- District 6 (516-481-7110): Elmont, Franklin Square, Garden City South, Lakeview, Malverne Park, North Valley Stream, South Floral Park and West Hempstead
- District 7 (516-766-8700): Oceanside
- District 14 (516-239-0663): East Atlantic Beach and Atlantic Beach Estates
Incorporated villages
Villages handle their own collection. These include Freeport (516-378-4000), Garden City (516-742-5800), Rockville Centre (516-678-9216), Lynbrook (516-599-8300), Valley Stream (516-825-4200), East Rockaway (516-887-6316), Floral Park (516-326-6300), Island Park (516-431-0600), Malverne, Hempstead Village and others. If you live in a village, call your village hall for bulk rules.
We serve all of these areas. See our pages for Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh, Seaford, East Meadow, Levittown, Baldwin, Oceanside, Freeport, Garden City, Rockville Centre and the Five Towns.
Step 2: Regular garbage rules (Town-collected areas)
From the Town’s Collection Information page:
- Use cans up to 45 gallons or bags, each 75 pounds or less. Don’t use cardboard boxes.
- Put garbage out after 7 p.m. the night before and before 5 a.m. on collection day.
- The Town doesn’t publish an online lookup for your collection day. Call 516-378-4210 to find your schedule.
Step 3: Special pickup for bulk items and appliances
Large household items don’t go out with regular garbage. In Town-collected areas you request a Special Pickup by calling 516-378-8484 (or 516-378-4210, Option 2). Source: Special Pickup Items.
The Town’s list of special pickup items includes, but isn’t limited to: air conditioners, box springs, bicycles, carpeting, dryers, electronics, freezers, furnaces, furniture, hot water heaters, humidifiers, lawn mowers, mattresses, metal objects, oil storage tanks, refrigerators, snow blowers, steel doors, steel file cabinets, steel furniture, stoves, washing machines, water storage tanks and water softeners.
Prep rules the Town lists:
- Tape glass to keep it from shattering.
- Remove refrigerator doors, as required by state law.
- Tie convertible sofas closed.
- Oil storage tanks must be cleaned and cut in half.
- Items that contain Freon, such as air conditioners, freezers, refrigerators and humidifiers, are collected separately.
The Town doesn’t publish a per-pickup item limit, so ask when you call. Everything still has to be at the curb, which means you’re carrying that sleeper sofa up the basement stairs yourself. If that’s not realistic, see furniture removal and appliance removal.
Step 4: Mattresses and box springs
Mattresses and box springs are special pickup items, and the Town requires each one to be fully sealed in a bedbug-proof plastic bag. A heavy-duty mattress delivery bag is fine if it seals completely. Putting one out unbagged violates the Town Code. Source: Bedding Collection Policy. If you’d rather skip the bagging and the carrying, see mattress removal.
Step 5: Yard waste, branches and clean-up days
From the Town’s Yard Waste page:
- Grass and leaves are collected separately, on Wednesdays only, up to 25 bags per week at 75 pounds or less each.
- Don’t rake leaves into the street.
- Stumps, logs and branches must be bundled to about 2 by 2 by 4 feet and no more than 75 pounds.
- The Town lists skipped Wednesdays and extra collection dates on that page each year.
The Town also runs seasonal Clean-Up Days, when residents can put out extra rubbish bagged or bundled at up to 75 pounds. Clean-Up Days exclude oil, car batteries, tires, construction debris, large furniture, appliances, windows and Freon items.
Step 6: The Homeowner Disposal Area in Merrick
If you have a car or pickup and want to haul it yourself, the Town runs a Homeowner Disposal Area at 1600 Merrick Road, Merrick. Source: Collection Information.
- Hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., closed on Town holidays.
- Proof of residency is required. It’s open to residents of unincorporated areas except Sanitation District 1. Village residents can’t use it, except those in Hempstead Village and Freeport. Any Town resident can drop off e-waste.
- Non-commercial vehicles only, one trip per day. Any trailer is charged commercial rates. Pickups need a cap or a load no higher than the bed.
- Accepted items include furniture, appliances, metal, tires, latex paint, propane tanks up to 20 pounds, drained auto parts, up to 5 gallons of waste oil, recyclables and batteries.
- Construction debris is accepted only if bundled, bagged or in cans. Stone, concrete, brick and masonry are limited to two 32-gallon cans per trip, with no dirt.
- No medical or hazardous waste. Questions: 516-378-4210, Option 8.
Renovation debris beyond those limits needs a dumpster or a hauler. See construction debris removal and our dumpster alternative.
Step 7: Electronics (e-waste)
Since 2015, New York State law has banned TVs, computers and other covered electronics from the trash and from the curb with regular garbage. Source: Town of Hempstead E-Cycling.
- Town Sanitation customers can schedule an e-waste special pickup at 516-378-8484.
- All Town residents, including village residents, can drop off e-waste at the Homeowner Disposal Area.
- The Town also holds E-Cycling events through the year, with document shredding. The 2026 schedule is posted on the E-Cycling page.
- Accepted: TVs, computers and components including cables and cords, monitors, tablets, e-readers, keyboards, mice, printers, scanners, fax machines, VCRs, DVRs, DVD players, cable and satellite boxes, game consoles and portable music players. Cell phones are not accepted.
Step 8: Paint, chemicals and other hazardous waste (S.T.O.P.)
Household hazardous waste goes to the Town’s free S.T.O.P. (Stop Throwing Out Pollutants) days, held about ten times a year from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at parks and Town facilities, including Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, Newbridge Road Park in Bellmore and Parking Field L2 in Levittown. Sources: S.T.O.P. schedule and accepted items.
- Accepted: aerosols, ammonia, antifreeze, double-bagged asbestos, car and household batteries, bleach, pesticides and rodent killers, degreasers, drain cleaners, gasoline, diesel and kerosene, fluorescent bulbs, latex and oil-based paint, paint thinners and strippers, pool chemicals, solvents, 20-pound propane tanks, mercury thermostats, tires off the rim, varnish, waste oil and weed killers.
- Not accepted: ammunition, explosives, fireworks, electronics, medical waste and sharps, medications, oxygen tanks, propane tanks over 20 pounds, radioactive materials and unlabeled containers.
- Residents only. No business, school or house of worship waste, and no commercial vehicles.
- Keep lithium-ion batteries out of household garbage. The Town no longer collects medications.
Junk removal companies can’t take these materials either, so set them aside before any cleanout.
When to skip the special pickup and call a crew
Town special pickup is a good deal for one or two items you can get to the curb. It gets hard fast when:
- The items are in a basement, attic or upstairs bedroom
- You’re clearing a garage, a basement or a whole house, especially before a sale
- You live in a district or village with tighter limits, or you don’t qualify for the Merrick disposal area
- You’ve got renovation debris, a shed, a pool or a deck that the curb won’t take
- You need it gone this week, not on the next available pickup
That’s what we do. Junk Done Right is based right in Merrick, a few minutes from most Town of Hempstead neighborhoods. We carry everything out from wherever it is, donate and recycle what we can, and leave the space swept. Same-day service is often available. We’re licensed and insured, and Long Islanders voted us Best of Long Island in 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
See house cleanouts, garage cleanouts, estate cleanouts and town pickup vs. a crew. To get a price, text us a photo or book online.
Live in another town? Read our guides to the Town of Oyster Bay and North Hempstead.