Junk removal in Westchester for estate and downsizing cleanouts

01

Two bulky pickups a year, booked through 311

Westchester has no city government. It is an unincorporated part of Miami-Dade, so the county's Department of Solid Waste Management collects trash twice a week and runs bulky pickup. Each household gets two bulky pickups a year of up to 25 cubic yards each. A pile over 25 cubic yards uses your next available pickup.

You book first, online, in the MDC Solid Waste App or by calling 311, then set the pile out no more than three days ahead and by 7 a.m. on the day. Appointments open 30 days out, cancellations need 2 days' notice, and there are no fit-ins. That covers a room or two. It rarely covers a whole house that someone lived in for decades.

Duplex owners can combine up to four bulky pickups into one pickup of up to 100 cubic yards, which helps on a two-unit property. Anything past the allowance means a Trash and Recycling Center, a for-fee county pickup with a signed Excess Yardage Approval form, or a private hauler.

02

What the county leaves behind at the curb

Estate cleanouts hit the county's exclusions hard. Heavy pieces and electronics are the usual leftovers:

• Any single item weighing more than 150 pounds
• Microwaves, electronics and TVs
• Central air units, fiberglass insulation and auto parts
• Household chemicals, oil-based paint, rock, dirt and sand
• Mattresses unless fully sealed in plastic and taped; fridges unless the doors are off

or call (754) 249-1015

03

Estate and downsizing cleanouts in Westchester

Nearly a quarter of Westchester residents are 65 or older, per the 2020 Census figures on Wikipedia, and close to half of households are married couples. The area doubled in 2020 when the former University Park census area, around FIU, was folded in. So a lot of the calls here are families clearing a parent's home, or a couple downsizing.

Dany's crew works room by room with you. You point at what stays and what goes, they carry out the furniture, boxes, appliances and the heavy pieces the county won't take, and they sweep each room as it empties. House cleanouts start at $1,000, furniture removal at $125, appliances at $100, and garage cleanouts at $300.

If the family is spread out, you do not have to be there for every hour of it. Walk the house with Dany at the start, mark what stays, and the crew works through the rest. If you are unsure about something, say so, and it stays until you decide.

04

Permits for tear-outs: county, not city

Because Westchester is unincorporated, building and demolition permits come from Miami-Dade County's Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER), through its online application portal. The county's permits page lists residential demolition, with different requirements for attached and detached structures. Westchester borders Sweetwater, which has its own building department, so check which side of the line the property is on.

Your GC or you as the owner pull the permit. Rapid Haul does non-structural tear-out (kitchens, baths, flooring, sheds from $350, decks from $550) and hauls the debris. The county caps construction debris at the curb at no more than 3 cubic yards, per Miami-Dade DSWM, so a real remodel needs a haul. Hauling a remodeler's leftover debris starts at $200.

or call (754) 249-1015

05

Booking from Hollywood, and county drop-off

Rapid Haul is based in Hollywood, and Miami-Dade is one of its two main counties. Text (754) 249-1015 with photos of each room. Dany answers himself and sends one flat price that covers labor, loading, hauling and disposal. Same-day is often possible when you call early. Junk removal is paid after the job; jobs of $1,000 and over, mostly demolition, take a 50% deposit.

To self-haul, Westchester residents can use the county Trash and Recycling Centers with a Florida license or ID. The closest by address are Snapper Creek at 2200 SW 117 Avenue and Sunset Kendall at 8000 SW 107th Ave. Sunset Kendall lists electronics; Snapper Creek does not.