Garage Cleanout Checklist for Berlin, MD: Bulk Pickup, Dump Hours and What Goes Where (2026)

A Berlin garage tends to fill up one season at a time: the beach chairs and coolers, a dead mower, paint cans from three projects ago, a broken treadmill, boxes from the last move. Clearing it out is mostly a sorting problem. Once you know which pile goes where, the job gets a lot smaller. This checklist walks through a garage cleanout in Berlin, MD, using the Town of Berlin's Special Collections Policy, its trash and holiday schedule, and Worcester County Solid Waste. Everything was checked on November 11, 2026.

If you'd rather hand off the heavy part, request a free estimate or call or text (443) 365-1942. We're open Monday–Saturday, 8 AM–5 PM, and we do junk removal and garage cleanouts in Berlin and Ocean Pines.

Quick facts at a glance

• Town bulk pickup: second Wednesday of the month, $25, up to four items. The next one after today is Wednesday, December 9, 2026, and the form is due by 4 PM on Tuesday, December 8.
• Town bulk pickup won't take paint, chemicals, propane tanks, automotive fluids, tires, yard waste, or construction materials such as lumber, cabinets and doors.
• The Berlin Homeowners Convenience Center (9636 Mill Haven Road) is closed every Wednesday. It needs a county permit or $1 bag tags.
• Furniture, appliances and renovation debris go to the Central Landfill in Newark (Monday–Saturday, 7:30 AM–4 PM, $80 per ton).
• Old computers, laptops and servers are recycled free for Worcester County residents.
• Lithium-ion batteries (tool packs, e-bike batteries) don't go in the trash or the recycling bin.

Veterans Day (Wednesday, November 11) at a glance

Today is Veterans Day. Here's what the official schedules say:

• Town trash: Wednesday trash is collected on Thursday, November 12, along with the normal Thursday route (Town holiday schedule).
• Town bulk pickup: November 11 is this month's second Wednesday. The Town's holiday schedule doesn't list a change for bulk pickup, and the registration deadline was 4 PM yesterday. If you're registered, call Public Works at 410-641-4001 if you're unsure whether your items will be picked up.
• Berlin convenience center: closed. It closes every Wednesday.
• Central Landfill in Newark: Veterans Day isn't on the county's posted closure list (New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas). Call 410-632-3177 before you drive down.

Step 1: Sort the garage into six piles

Before anything leaves, split it up. Each pile has a different destination in Berlin, and mixing them is what turns a one-day job into three trips.

Step 2: Use the Town's monthly bulk pickup for up to four items

Since September 2025 the Town of Berlin has offered a bulk pickup on the second Wednesday of each month for occupied residential properties inside Town limits. Commercial properties and vacant lots aren't included. The rules from the Special Collections Policy and the Bulk Pickup Request Form:

• The fee is $25 per pickup. Bring the form and payment (cash, check or card) to Customer Service at Town Hall, 10 William Street. The office is open Monday–Friday, 8 AM–4 PM, and is closed weekends and holidays. Phone 410-641-2770.
• The limit is four items per household. A box or bag of small items weighing 50 pounds or less counts as one item. Anything over four stays at the curb and is the owner's responsibility.
• Forms are accepted starting 30 days before the collection date and are due by 4 PM the day before. The Town's request page notes that bulk collection is scheduled according to your regular trash day, so confirm your date when you register.
• Items must be at the curb by 6 AM.
• Mattresses, box springs, cushions and other fabric items must be wrapped in plastic and sealed with tape. The Town has a limited supply of mattress bags (call 410-641-2770).
• Accepted: furniture, carpet and rugs, mattresses, tables and chairs, toilets, sinks, appliances and electronics.
• Not accepted: hazardous waste, construction materials (doors, windows, cabinets, countertops, lumber, fencing, drywall), paint, yard waste and brush, propane tanks, chemicals, insecticides, automotive fluids and tires.
• If the items are removed some other way before the Town's pickup, the form says the $25 isn't refunded. Decide which route you're taking before you pay.

For a garage, four items usually means the biggest pieces: an old couch from the "man cave," a chest freezer, a treadmill, a mattress. Small stuff can go in up-to-50-pound boxes, but each box uses one of your four slots. For the full details, including the item-by-item table, see our Berlin bulk trash guide.

Step 3: Know the county drop-off options

Berlin Homeowners Convenience Center

Worcester County runs the Berlin Homeowners Convenience Center at 9636 Mill Haven Road (410-641-4910). It's open 7:30 AM–5:30 PM Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 1–5 PM on Sunday. It's closed on Wednesdays, which is also the Town's bulk pickup day. To use it you need either an annual homeowner permit ($100 for the first two vehicles in a household, good January 1 to December 31) or the county's pay-as-you-throw bag tags ($1 per bag of household waste up to 33 gallons). Permits are sold at the Treasurer's Office in Snow Hill, the Isle of Wight office, the Central Landfill, or by mail. Yard waste hasn't been accepted at the Berlin site since 2016.

Central Landfill in Newark

The county says bulk items such as furniture and appliances must go to the Central Landfill, 7091 Central Site Lane, Newark, MD (410-632-3177). Construction debris such as drywall, decking, shingles and carpet goes there too, at the construction and demolition tipping fee. Key details:

• Open Monday–Saturday, 7:30 AM–4 PM. Nothing that has to go up on the landfill hill is accepted after 3:45 PM.
• Closed Sundays, and closed on New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• The tipping fee is $80 per ton for household trash and $80 per ton for demolition and construction material.
• White goods and bulk items are collected there with a homeowner permit. Without one, tipping fees apply.

Two dates to plan around: the landfill and the convenience centers are closed on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26 and Christmas Day, Friday, December 25.

Step 4: Handle the "special" pile correctly

This is the pile garages are full of, and the one that can't just go in a trash bag.

• Paint, chemicals, pesticides and automotive fluids. These are excluded from Town bulk pickup. Worcester County holds household hazardous waste collections at various times during the year and advertises them in local newspapers and on the radio, so call Solid Waste at 410-632-3177 to ask about the next one. Keep products in their original, closed containers until then. We don't take hazardous materials either.
• Motor oil. The convenience stations and the Central Landfill take up to 5 gallons per household. The county won't recycle the empty oil, antifreeze and pesticide containers, though.
• Propane tanks. These aren't accepted in Town bulk pickup, and the ReStore doesn't take them. Call the county before bringing one to any site.
• Tires. These aren't accepted in Town bulk pickup. The county holds tire amnesty days at various times. Call ahead for the current options.
• Lithium-ion batteries from cordless tools, e-bikes and scooters. The U.S. EPA says these shouldn't go in household trash or municipal recycling bins, because they can start fires when crushed. Put each battery in its own plastic bag or tape the terminals, then take them to a battery recycler, a participating retailer, or a household hazardous waste collection.
• Old computers, laptops and servers. These are recycled free for Worcester County residents at the convenience stations or the Central Landfill. Other electronics, such as old TVs, are charged as trash ($80 per ton) unless you have a homeowner permit, according to the county recycling page.

Step 5: Recycle and donate what you can

Recycling

Berlin's curbside recycling has to be separated by type. Plastics must be #1 or #2 containers, and cardboard should be broken down, flattened and tied in bundles or stacks of 12 inches or less, not left loose. For more than the curb can handle, the county has recycling stations at 9636 Mill Haven Road and at Walmart off Route 50 (open 24 hours), and there's a cardboard station at Heron Park on Old Ocean City Boulevard. The Town also has recycling containers on Old Ocean City Boulevard next to the entrance to Berlin Falls Park. The county doesn't recycle plastic coolers, chairs, flower pots, plastic toys, PVC pipe, vinyl siding, mirrors or window glass. That garage staple, the broken cooler, is trash.

Donating to the Habitat ReStore

Habitat for Humanity of Worcester County runs a ReStore at 11307 Manklin Creek Road in Ocean Pines (store hours Tuesday–Thursday 10 AM–4 PM, Friday–Saturday 10 AM–3 PM). According to its donation page:

• You must email donations@habitatworcester.org first, with photos. Don't bring items without a confirmed drop-off time. Pre-approved drop-offs are Tuesday–Saturday, 10 AM–1 PM.
• Pickups cost $40 (cash or check). Items must be on the ground floor, disconnected from utilities, and free of mold and mildew.
• Its list includes appliances, cabinets, doors, furniture, hardware, tools and lighting. It doesn't take mattresses, opened paint, propane tanks, electronic equipment or clothing.

Garage tools, hardware and spare cabinets are exactly what the ReStore resells, so it's worth an email before you haul those to the landfill.

Step 6: Yard waste and brush from the garage side yard

Yard waste isn't part of Town bulk pickup, and the Berlin convenience center doesn't take it. The Town's fall curbside yard waste collection is Wednesday, December 2 if your trash day is Tuesday or Wednesday, and Wednesday, December 9 if it's Thursday. No request is needed. Under the Special Collections Policy, leaves, grass clippings, pine needles and garden waste go in paper or plastic bags, and brush must be cut into 4-foot lengths and tied in bundles no larger than 18 inches across. Stones, dirt, sod, metal and animal waste aren't allowed. Otherwise, yard waste goes to the Central Landfill with a homeowner permit.

A one-weekend garage cleanout plan

1. A week ahead: decide whether you'll use the Town's next bulk pickup (December 9; the form is due 4 PM December 8). Email the ReStore with photos of anything you want to donate.
2. Saturday morning: pull everything onto the driveway and sort it into the six piles. Bag and box small trash as you go.
3. Saturday afternoon: take recyclables and bagged trash to the convenience center (with a permit or bag tags), or set recycling out for your regular day. Remember that it's closed Wednesdays.
4. Set aside the special pile in a dry, ventilated corner, away from kids and pets, until the next county collection.
5. Bulk and debris: up to four items for the Town pickup. Everything else goes to Newark, or to a crew that loads and hauls it.
6. Sweep, then put the keep pile back on shelves so the floor stays clear.

When hiring a crew makes sense

The Town pickup is a good deal for a few pieces. A crew is usually the better fit when:

• You have more than four bulky items, or things the Town won't take, such as old shelving, lumber, cabinets, doors or carpet.
• The load would mean several trips to Newark before 3:45 PM.
• You don't have a truck or trailer, or you're clearing a garage for a sale, a move or an estate.
• There's light demolition involved, such as an old shed, a deck or built-in shelving.

What we do

INSTA Junk Removal & Demolition clears garages in Berlin, Ocean Pines and the surrounding Worcester County area. We give a free estimate and price by how much truck space your items take. The price includes the labor, loading, hauling and disposal, and you get it before any work starts. We sort out what can be donated or recycled where possible, and we sweep up when we're done. We don't take hazardous materials such as paint, chemicals, fuel or propane tanks. Learn more on our Berlin junk removal page, or request a free estimate. We're open Monday–Saturday, 8 AM–5 PM.

More local guides

• Berlin, MD bulk trash: dates, rules and the Worcester County landfill (2026)
• Ocean City, MD bulk trash pickup guide
• Furniture removal for Ocean City, MD condos
• Newland Park Landfill hours, fees and permits (Salisbury, MD)

Frequently asked questions

Will the Town of Berlin pick up garage junk?

Up to four items per household, through the Town's $25 monthly bulk pickup on the second Wednesday. You register at Town Hall by 4 PM the day before. The pickup takes furniture, appliances, electronics, mattresses (wrapped in plastic), rugs, toilets and sinks. It won't take paint, chemicals, propane tanks, automotive fluids, tires, yard waste or construction materials like lumber, cabinets and doors.

When is the next Berlin bulk pickup in 2026?

After today's November 11 pickup, the next one is Wednesday, December 9, 2026. The form and $25 payment are due at Town Hall (10 William Street) by 4 PM on Tuesday, December 8. Forms are accepted starting 30 days ahead.

Is the Berlin dump open on Wednesdays?

No. The Berlin Homeowners Convenience Center at 9636 Mill Haven Road is closed every Wednesday. It's open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM, and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM. The Central Landfill in Newark is open Monday–Saturday, 7:30 AM–4 PM.

Where do I take old paint and chemicals from my garage in Worcester County?

They're not accepted in Town bulk pickup. Worcester County holds household hazardous waste collections at various times during the year and advertises them locally. Call Solid Waste at 410-632-3177 for the next date, and keep products closed in their original containers until then.

How do I get rid of cordless tool and e-bike batteries?

Don't put lithium-ion batteries in the trash or the recycling bin. The EPA recommends bagging each battery or taping its terminals, then taking it to a battery recycler, a participating retailer, or a household hazardous waste collection.

Does INSTA do garage cleanouts in Berlin, MD?

Yes. We clear garages in Berlin, Ocean Pines and nearby Worcester County, from a few bulky items to the whole space. Request a free estimate at /contact#estimate or call or text (443) 365-1942. We're open Monday–Saturday, 8 AM–5 PM.

Featured image is an illustration, not a photo of a specific INSTA job. Town, county and donation details were checked against the Town of Berlin, Worcester County Solid Waste, the U.S. EPA and Habitat for Humanity of Worcester County on November 11, 2026. They can change, so confirm with the agency before you go.