The catch: the curb is as far as the City goes
The City collects from the curb. It does not come into the house, so the real cost of the free route is getting the couch out.
Before you plan on garbage day, check four things:
- The route out. Measure the doorways, the stairwell and the turn at any landing. A sectional that came in before the stairs were redone may not leave the same way.
- The people. A full-size sofa is a two-person carry, and a sofa bed is heavier than it looks.
- The weather. An upholstered couch left out overnight in the rain gets heavier and messier to handle.
- The timing. It waits in the hallway, garage or porch until collection day.
If any of those is a problem, a removal crew is often the cheaper choice once you count the time, the borrowed van or the scraped wall.
Condos and apartments
The City's household schedule covers homes on its curbside service. In a condo or apartment building, ask your property manager how bulky furniture is handled, and book the service elevator before anything large goes down.
Can the couch be donated instead?
Sometimes. Charities and reuse groups are usually selective about upholstered furniture, so a sofa with stains, tears, pet damage or a broken frame is unlikely to find a second home. A clean, solid piece may. Contact the organisation before you move anything, since many have their own rules for what they accept.
When we remove furniture, pieces in usable shape are separated from the rest of the load for donation, and metal frames go to recycling. Upholstered pieces with stains, tears or pet damage generally go to the transfer station with the rest of the load.
What couch removal costs with Junk Alert
Furniture is priced on the same truck-volume scale as any junk load, and you hear the price before anything is loaded. Prices are before HST:
- One couch or single item within 10 km: from $80
- Small minimum load: $125
- An eighth of the truck: $175
- A quarter of the truck: $250
A sectional, a sofa bed with its mattress, or a couch plus a few other pieces is priced by how much of the truck it fills, and the crew confirms the load size on site before you pay. The full rate card, up to a full load at $700, is on our pricing page.
How to get a couch ready for pickup
A little preparation makes either route quicker:
- Empty it. Check under the cushions and inside a sofa bed for anything you want to keep.
- Clear the path. Move rugs, side tables and anything on the stairs between the couch and the door.
- Tie a sofa bed shut. The City requires it at the curb, and it keeps the frame from opening on the stairs.
- Send a photo. A picture and a note on which floor it is on lets us price the job before anyone is dispatched.
Need an Old Couch Gone in Toronto? Junk Alert Is Ready to Help
Tell us what the piece is and where it sits, and you will have the price before anyone is dispatched. We carry furniture out from living rooms, basements and condos across Toronto and the GTA, Monday to Saturday from 7am.
See our furniture removal service, call us at (647) 456-6665, or contact us today to book a pickup.
