It could be difficult to throw away an old couch or broken water heater, depending on where you live in Orange County. 

Every city in the county has a different contract with their waste disposal provider, and while some residents can arrange for their larger items like couches or televisions to get picked up as much as they want, other cities limit residents to as little as two disposals a year. 

A Voice of OC review of the trash contracts of the 34 cities in Orange County found 27 cities allowed for 16 bulky items or more to be picked up for free every year from single family homes.

This includes two of OC’s largest cities – Irvine and Santa Ana – where residents are allowed four free bulky pick ups a year, with four large items allowed per pick up.

In Anaheim – the largest city in Orange County – residents are allowed three free bulky trash pick ups a year and allowed to toss up to 20 items per pick up.

The review comes as residents could see their trash prices bumped up next year as city leaders negotiate with the county-owned landfills over how much they have to pay to dump trash.

[Read: Are Trash Rate Hikes On the Horizon for Orange County?]

Cypress Mayor David Burke said the amount of free bulky trash pick ups allowed is a huge component of the trash contract’s value to residents.

“Even if cities have comparable underlying trash rates, the variation in bulky item pick up policies can make hundreds of dollars of difference per year for residents,” Burke said in a Tuesday phone interview.

“Being able to dispose of patio furniture for free versus having to pay $180 is a huge difference.”

Under Cypress’ contract with Valley Vista, residents are entitled to two free bulky item pick ups per year for things like sofas, chairs, toilets, stoves, bicycles, suitcases, mattresses, water heaters and more – one of the stingiest free bulky pickup policies in the county.

“If residents in most other cities get 16 bulky item pickups per year and Cypress we only get two our residents are not getting the same value for our money,” Burke said about the trash contract that was approved before he was elected to office.

Residents in Fullerton and Stanton are allowed the most amount of free bulky trash pick-ups a year.

Under Fullerton’s contract with Republic Services, residents are allowed an unlimited amount of free bulky trash pick ups a year for large furniture and appliances like washers, sofas, beds, dryers, stoves, BBQs and lawnmowers.

Kim Chaudhry, a spokeswoman for the city, said the contract has been in place since 2009 and that the provision on bulky items was either standard or mutually agreed upon by city officials and the trash collector.

“Regardless of its origin, we recognize it as a valuable service that supports neighborhood cleanliness and offers significant convenience to our residents,” she wrote.

“Making bulky item pickup accessible and convenient can offer many community-wide benefits. We’re fortunate to offer unlimited pickups in Fullerton and I would definitely encourage other cities to explore service models that make it easier for residents to dispose of large items.”

Under Stanton’s contract with CR&R, residents in single family homes are allowed unlimited free bulky items a year – four items per pickup while residents in multi-family properties get four free pick ups a year.

Meanwhile, residents in cities like Seal Beach, Cypress and La Palma are allowed the least amount of free bulky trash pick-ups a year.

Under Seal Beach’s contract with Republic Services, residents living in single family homes are allowed two free pickups of one bulky or electronic item a year.

“We have not received feedback that 2 pickups/year is an issue for residents. We also host a yearly “Dump Day” where residents can drop off bulky items,” said interim City Manager Patrick Gallegos in an email.

Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.

Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.