If you manage rentals in Philadelphia, you already know the pattern: move-out week comes, and a sectional, two mattresses, and a broken dresser appear next to the dumpster overnight. Here's why this keeps happening and how a recurring junk removal vendor fixes it.
The six-unit line
Philadelphia's city trash collection covers properties with six units or fewer, with an exception for qualifying condos and co-ops. Anything bigger has to contract with private haulers. The city's bulk collection program has the same cutoff, so larger apartment buildings, condos, and commercial properties are told to use a private hauler for bulk items.
Your regular dumpster service handles bagged trash. It usually doesn't handle the couch someone left leaning against the dumpster, and in many cases your hauler will leave it or charge extra.
The problems that come with it
- Dumpster-area dumping. Once one mattress sits by the dumpster for a week, more appear. It draws pests, blocks access for the trash truck, and makes the property look neglected to prospective tenants.
- Illegal dumping risk. Philadelphia fines illegal dumping per item, and people who hire illegal dumpers can be held liable too. That makes it important to know where your vendor takes things. More in our illegal dumping guide.
- Turnover delays. Every day a unit sits with a previous tenant's furniture in it is a day it can't be shown.
- Storage rooms and basements. Common storage areas collect abandoned bikes, furniture, and boxes until they're a fire and pest problem.
Paperwork you're already responsible for
All commercial properties in Philadelphia, which includes larger rental buildings, are required to file a Waste and Recycling Plan with the city through its online portal, and most also file an annual Act 101 recycling report. Properties with dumpsters need a dumpster license, and the application lists the companies providing waste hauling services. Keep your vendor list current.
What a recurring vendor looks like
Instead of calling someone every time there's a problem, you set a schedule, weekly, every other week, or monthly depending on the size of the property, and the vendor shows up and clears:
- bulk items left by the dumpster or in the trash room
- move-out leftovers in vacated units, once they're cleared to go
- common storage areas and basements
- anything your maintenance team has pulled out, like old appliances, water heaters, and carpet
You get a predictable cost and a property that stays clean between visits, and your maintenance staff stop spending their days hauling furniture.
Questions to ask any vendor
- Where does it go? Get the name of the transfer station or recycler.
- Can you send photos before and after each visit?
- Will I get an invoice for every job?
- How do you handle refrigerators, electronics, and anything hazardous?
Work with us
We set up recurring pickups for property managers and landlords around Philadelphia. See how it works on our commercial page, or get a quote for your property.