In short
- At the curb a couch uses one of your three garbage slots for the two-week cycle.
- Alone on the truck, a couch usually costs the minimum: $129 at one Ottawa firm, $175 and up at another.
- One Ottawa mover's page puts a single couch taken from the curb at about $310 on its hourly model.
- An Ottawa charity takes sofas under 7 feet wide and refuses futons and foldaway beds.
Typical prices in Ottawa
| Job | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum charge, small pickup | $129–175 | Two Ottawa firms’ published minimums |
| Single item | $139 | One Ottawa firm’s estimate, before tax |
| Half load, 3–5 items (couch, mattress, dresser) | $300–450 | One Ottawa firm’s estimated range |
| One couch or mattress, curbside, 2 hours | about $310 | One mover’s example at $150/h plus $180/t |
| Mattress or box spring on the same trip | $35–100 each | Item fee on two Ottawa firms’ lists |
Sources. Seen 29.10.2026: Junk That Funk, pricing ($129 minimum, $35 fee); Mighty Mouse Junk Removal (minimum from $175) and its pricing guide ($100 fee); Junk Ninja, pricing (single item $139); JunkPal, pricing (half load); MIT Moving, junk removal Ottawa (couch example). Rules: City of Ottawa, Curbside garbage collection. Charity: Helping With Furniture, Give furniture. Bed bugs: Ottawa Public Health. The company that calls you sets its own price.
What the City allows for a couch
On collection day the City takes up to three garbage items per house, and a couch is one of them. Yellow overflow bags work for ordinary garbage only; a sofa cannot be bagged. The couch goes out between the evening before and 7 am, at the edge of the road, clear of the sidewalk and the snowbank.
That works for one couch with a light week of bags. It strains when the couch comes with a chair, a coffee table and the mattress from the next room. The bulky item rules page lays out the full count.
Which couches are more work
- Sectionals. Each section is its own carry, and the corner piece is the heavy one.
- Sofa beds and sleepers. A steel frame and a mattress inside add weight.
- Recliners and power units. The mechanism is heavy, and a power cord or motor may need a note.
- Leather and large three-seaters. Wide, slippery and awkward on a turn.
- Pieces in a basement or on a third floor. Time on the stairs is labour.
Prices people publish
A single couch usually meets the minimum. Junk That Funk lists $129, Mighty Mouse says pickups start at $175, and Junk Ninja prints $139 for a single item before tax. JunkPal’s half load, three to five pieces along the lines of a sofa, a bed and a dresser, runs $300–450. An Ottawa mover that bills by the hour shows a single couch or mattress from the curb as a two-hour job at about $310.
Fees can sit on top. Mattresses and box springs carry $35 on one list and $100 on another, so a couch that arrives with a bed set can change the total. For a wider comparison by item, see prices by item and the cost guide.
Donate, reuse or haul
If the couch is clean and in good shape, the City encourages donating to local charities. Conditions differ by charity. Helping With Furniture takes sofas under 7 feet wide, refuses futons and foldaway beds, and refuses items with missing parts. The donation guide lists more routes. A couch that fails the rules goes with the hauler, and the company can say on the call where it ends up.
Timing
Couches leave with moves and spring clear-outs; see student move-out. A winter pickup needs a cleared path and a dry sofa. The curb only works for the overnight window before collection, so a booked hauler visit copes better with a week of freezing rain.
Get the quote on paper
- the pieces it covers: one couch, or a list,
- the minimum charge, whether tax is included and any fee for mattresses,
- what extra applies to stairs, taking apart or a long carry,
- who carries from the room, and what protection the crew puts down,
- where the couch goes after the truck leaves.
If the couch is one of many pieces, the furniture removal page covers the larger load.
Who you are dealing with
The couch request goes to a single independent hauler; Ottawa Junk Desk owns no truck and prints no price. Whoever calls from that firm will want the measurements and the route, then books the crew. Ask if the figure is the minimum, a share of the truck or the hour, and note the answer.
Questions to ask the company
- For one couch, do I pay your minimum or a fraction of the truck?
- Do you cut or take apart a sectional or a sleeper sofa, and is that in the price?
- Does a third-floor walk-up or a long hallway change the figure?
- If the couch is in good shape, can it go to a charity, and who arranges that?
- Do you protect the railing, door frames and floor on the way out?
Have this ready for the call
- Width, depth and type: loveseat, three-seater, sectional with how many sections, recliner, sofa bed
- A photo of the couch and of the route out, with the narrowest door or stair turn
- The floor, and whether there is an elevator, a service lift or only stairs
- Any bed bugs, spills or damage, written in the request so the crew arrives ready
- Other pieces leaving on the same trip: chairs, coffee table, rug
Questions people ask
How wide a couch will a charity accept?
Helping With Furniture, an Ottawa charity, accepts sofas and love seats under 7 feet wide and refuses wider ones, along with futons and foldaway beds. It also refuses items with missing parts. A couch outside those limits can still leave with a hauler.
Is a sectional priced as one couch?
Usually each section adds weight and carry time, so a sectional sits closer to a small load than to a single item. Hauler pages describe a couch plus a mattress and a dresser as a half-load job. Send the section count and a photo to get a price on the call.
Can a sleeper sofa go out with the regular garbage?
It can leave as one bulky item if you have a free slot among the 3 items for that collection day. It cannot be bagged. A sleeper sofa has a metal frame and a mattress inside, which makes it heavy, so many households send it with a hauler.
Can the crew take the couch down a narrow staircase?
Crews carry from basements and upper floors as routine work, and a tight turn is a reason to tell the company early. Some couches leave in sections after the legs or back come off. Say in the request if you want that done or if the couch has to stay whole.
What about a couch with bed bugs?
Put it in the request. Ottawa Public Health’s hiding-place list starts with the bed: the seams of the mattress, the box spring, the frame, the headboard. A sofa someone sleeps on, or one beside the bed, sits close to all of them. The crew can then wrap the piece before it moves through the home.
Do I pay more for a couch in a downtown condo?
The base price follows the load. Extra time on an elevator booking, a long carry from the unit to the truck or a loading zone far from the door can add to it. Give the building address type and the elevator window so the company prices it once.
