What to Expect at the Indianapolis Citizens’ Transfer Station

Expect a Saturday-only drop-off. The Citizens’ Transfer Station at 2324 S. Belmont Ave. is open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except the Saturdays closest to Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and charges $2 per carload or $5 per SUV or pickup truckload, cash only. It takes extra household trash, heavy trash and bags of leaves, allows up to two trips a day, and does not permit moving trucks, trailers or several other vehicles.

Those are the City of Indianapolis’s rules, as listed on the station’s page on indy.gov when we checked on October 12, 2026. We do not run the station; the page names the Indianapolis Department of Public Works (DPW) as its contact, at 317-327-4000. You may hear it called the $5 dump or the Belmont transfer station, and both names mean this one site.

Below we cover the hours, the fees, which vehicles get turned away, what the station takes and what it refuses, the Saturday line, and when a crew makes more sense. For every other place to take junk, see our list of Indianapolis dumps, landfills and transfer stations.

When Is the Citizens’ Transfer Station Open in Indianapolis?

Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with two exceptions. The station’s page on indy.gov says it is closed on the Saturday closest to Christmas Day and the Saturday closest to New Year’s Day, and it lists no other day of the week. The City’s Trash 101 page repeats the Saturday hours without those two exceptions, so go by the station’s own page.

Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall exactly one week apart, so by our count those two closures land on back-to-back Saturdays at the turn of the year. The page does not print the dates. For a holiday cleanout, an earlier Saturday in December is the safer plan, and DPW is the office to ask for the dates before you count on a late-December trip.

Make that call on a weekday. The same page lists DPW’s hours as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, so the Saturday you load the truck is the wrong day to ask.

What Does a Carload or Pickup Load Cost at the $5 Dump?

$2 for a carload and $5 for an SUV or pickup truckload, cash only, as listed on indy.gov in October 2026, so bring cash.

The fee is per load, and the page allows up to two trips a day. Two pickup loads on the same Saturday therefore cost $10, and two carloads cost $4.

Some vehicles fall outside those prices. The page names no price for a van, so if that is what you drive, ask DPW before you load it. The vehicles on the banned list in the next section are not permitted at all, whatever the load.

Which Vehicles Get Turned Away at the Indianapolis Transfer Station?

Six kinds, by the station’s page on indy.gov. It lists these as not permitted:

• Moving trucks
• Dual axles
• Trailers
• Haulers
• Stake-bed trucks
• Truckloads larger than 3/4 ton

The page puts a fee on three vehicles: cars, SUVs and pickups. WTHR’s September 2024 report on the station put the rule in fewer words: “U-Hauls and trailers are a no-no.”

Three cases are worth spelling out:

• A trailer behind an allowed vehicle. The page bans trailers without naming an exception, so a utility trailer is out even when an SUV or pickup tows it.
• A rented truck. A rented pickup is still a pickup, but a rented moving truck is on the list.
• A heavy-duty pickup. The page does not say whether “truckloads larger than 3/4 ton” refers to the truck’s rating or the weight of the load. Ask DPW before you bring a large pickup or a full bed of something heavy.

If your load needs one of those vehicles, the station is the wrong trip. The City’s Trash 101 page lists South Side Landfill, at 2561 Kentucky Ave., as a place to take trash yourself if none of the City’s other options work, and it is a separate site whose pricing is based on volume. A crew is the other answer, and the last section covers when that makes sense.

What Will the Transfer Station Take From Indianapolis Homes?

Extra household trash, heavy trash and bags of leaves. Those three are the whole list on the station’s page, and the City’s Trash 101 page pitches the station to households with extra trash that does not fit inside the cart.

Heavy trash is the broad category. The station’s page does not list items one by one, but heavy trash is the same term the City uses for curbside pickup, and Trash 101 describes it as generally consisting of bulky items that would not fit into your trash cart. Its common examples include household furniture such as a couch, desk, dresser, table or chairs; box springs and mattresses; and appliances without Freon, such as a stove or water heater. WTHR’s 2024 report named furniture and washers and dryers among the items the station takes.

The station’s list names bags of leaves, and the City’s leaf collection page adds that leaves brought there are sent to the landfill, not composted.

Who can use it? The page calls the site the Marion County Citizens’ Transfer Station and publishes no residency or ID rule. If you live outside Marion County, in Greenwood or Plainfield for example, call DPW at 317-327-4000 before you load up.

Which Items Does the $5 Dump Refuse in Indianapolis?

The City of Indianapolis publishes no refused list for the station: its page names only what it accepts, so treat anything outside extra household trash, heavy trash and bags of leaves as a question for DPW before it goes in the truck.

The most recent published list we found comes from WTHR, whose September 2024 report named these as items the station refuses:

• Building material. The station’s page does not mention it, so ask DPW before you bring remodel debris.
• Tree limbs and brush. The station’s page names only bags of leaves. Trash 101 points yard waste such as brush and logs to GreenCycle, which charges a fee.
• TVs and computers. Trash 101 says Indiana’s e-waste law bars households from putting electronics in the trash, and it sends residents to ToxDrop, a program for Marion County residents, or to RecycleForce.

That list is WTHR’s from 2024, not the City’s, so it is a guide rather than a rule.

Two more groups need a call or a different plan:

• Refrigerators, freezers, tires and toilets. None of the four is named on the station’s page, so call DPW before you load any of them.
• Household hazardous waste. The station’s page does not mention it either. ToxDrop takes paint, gasoline, used motor oil and pesticides, among other items, at Saturday events, and its page limits the program to Marion County residents.

A weekday phone call costs less than a wasted Saturday.

Is There a Long Saturday Line at the Indianapolis Station?

It can be. The City of Indianapolis publishes no wait times for the station, but WTHR’s September 2024 report said customers warned that the line can be long, and the customer it quoted advised coming a little later in the day.

The schedule explains the crowd. One site, open one day a week, means everyone who uses it comes on a Saturday.

Three details shape how much the wait costs you. The station takes cash only, so a forgotten wallet means a wasted spot in line. It closes at 4 p.m., so a late arrival, or a second trip, leaves less time if the line is long. And its page says nothing about anyone helping you unload, so plan on lifting everything out yourself or bringing someone who can.

The December closures are the other trap. A late-December trip can land on one of the two closed Saturdays, which is why the dates are worth confirming first.

When Does a Crew Beat a Saturday Dump Run for Indianapolis Homeowners?

When the job breaks one of the station’s rules, or your Saturday does. The station suits a homeowner with a car, SUV or pickup and a load they can handle. Past that, the math changes. A Saturday run costs little in dollars and more in time: loading, the drive to Belmont Avenue, the line, unloading and the drive home, once or twice. If you would have to rent a pickup for the run, the rental is part of the price too.

A Saturday run makes sense when:

• the load fits a car, SUV or pickup in two trips or fewer
• it is extra household trash, heavy trash or bagged leaves
• you can lift every piece in and out yourself
• you are free between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on a Saturday the station is open

A crew makes more sense when:

• the job needs a trailer, a moving truck or another vehicle on the banned list
• the load would take more than two trips
• the pieces are heavy or awkward, like a sleeper sofa, a solid-wood dresser or anything coming down stairs
• the load includes things the station’s page does not name, such as a refrigerator or tires
• Saturday does not work, or the trip would fall on one of the two closed Saturdays

If the items can wait for your curbside heavy trash day, our guide to Indianapolis heavy trash pickup covers that route.

The second list is where we come in. Two crew members arrive in a branded truck and in uniform, look over the load and price it on the spot. The quote carries no obligation, and payment comes at the end of the job. Tires and Freon items carry an extra charge with us. We do not haul paint, chemicals, fuel or oil; ToxDrop takes those from Marion County residents. We are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.

For couches, dressers and whole rooms of furniture, see our furniture removal in Indianapolis. We also work south of the city, including junk removal for Greenwood homes.

Wrapping Up

• The Citizens’ Transfer Station at 2324 S. Belmont Ave. is open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except the Saturday closest to Christmas Day and the Saturday closest to New Year’s Day, as listed on indy.gov in October 2026. The page prints no dates for those closures, and DPW’s listed hours are weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• It charges $2 per carload or $5 per SUV or pickup truckload, cash only, with up to two trips a day.
• Moving trucks, dual axles, trailers, haulers, stake-bed trucks and truckloads larger than 3/4 ton are not permitted.
• It takes extra household trash, heavy trash and bags of leaves. The City of Indianapolis publishes no refused list for the station, and the station’s page publishes no residency or ID rule.
• WTHR’s September 2024 report listed building material, tree limbs and brush among items the station refuses. Refrigerators, freezers, tires and toilets are not named on the station’s page, so call DPW before you load them.
• WTHR’s 2024 report said customers warned that the line can be long; the City of Indianapolis publishes no wait times for the station.
• A crew beats a Saturday run when the job breaks one of the station’s rules, or your Saturday does.