Bulky garbage in Matsuyama, Imabari and Niihama: booking a pickup, fees and drop-off (2026)

If you are moving into or out of an apartment in Ehime, sooner or later you will have a sofa, a desk or a bicycle that does not fit in a garbage bag. In Japan this is “bulky garbage” (粗大ごみ, sodai gomi), and each city has its own rules. This page compares Matsuyama City, Imabari City and Niihama City: how to book a pickup, what it costs, and how to take items to the city’s waste facility yourself. It uses the three cities’ official pages.

In short

Matsuyama City picks up bulky garbage for free, but you must apply in your area’s application period (six a year). Pickup starts about one month after the period ends (section 1).
Imabari City: book by phone, then buy ¥300 stickers at a shop that sells city garbage bags. The city’s examples cost ¥300 or ¥600 per item (section 2).
Niihama City calls it “large garbage” (大型ごみ, ogata gomi). Book by phone or online, and buy a ¥200 ticket for each item (section 3).
None of the three cities collects air conditioners, TVs, refrigerators, freezers, washing machines or clothes dryers as bulky garbage (section 4).

Checked with official pages on October 5, 2026.

City	How to book a pickup	Pickup fee	If you take it yourself
Matsuyama	Postcard, online or LINE, in your application period	Free	Free up to 30 kg
Imabari	Phone only	¥300 or ¥600 per item (city’s examples)	¥100 per 10 kg
Niihama	Phone or online	¥200 per item	¥500 up to 50 kg

All three cities collect only household garbage. Garbage from a business, such as a shop or restaurant, is not collected. Matsuyama takes up to 5 items per application; Imabari and Niihama take up to 10.

1. Matsuyama City: how do I book a free pickup?

Matsuyama City

Matsuyama City (松山市) collects bulky garbage from your home for free. You can only apply in your area’s application period, and the city does not accept changes after the period ends. Every address belongs to one of four application areas, A to D. Each area has six application periods a year. The city’s Bulky Garbage Collection Application Guide (粗大ごみ収集申込みガイド) lists every town name with its letter and the dates for each letter.

How to apply

Find your area letter (A to D). Look up your town name in the application guide. You can download it from the city’s bulky garbage page, or pick it up where the garbage calendars are handed out and at the city’s Citizen Service Centers.
Check your application period. The guide shows the dates for your letter. The application period is not the collection date.
Apply by postcard, online or LINE. Use the special application postcard (粗大ごみ収集申込みハガキ) and put a stamp on it. The postmark must be on or before the last day of the period. The city asks you to apply in the name of the head of household on your residence record (住民票上の世帯主). To apply online, you first register on the Ehime e-application system (えひめ電子申請システム). The pages are in Japanese.
Wait for the notice. Collection starts about one month after your period ends; when there are many applications it can take longer. About one week before collection, a postcard arrives with your collection date and bulky garbage stickers (粗大ごみシール).
Put the items out by 8:00 on the day. Stick a sticker where it is easy to see, and put the items where you said on the postcard. You do not need to be at home.

On LINE, the city’s page says to open the Matsuyama City official account, then tap 「基本メニュー」(Basic menu), 「ごみの出し方カレンダー」(Garbage calendar), and 「粗大ごみ収集の申し込み」(Apply for bulky garbage collection). The printed guide shows a slightly different menu name, 「ごみに関すること」.

One application can include up to 5 items. Small items that fit in a clear, colorless bag of 45 liters or less can go in as one “small bulky garbage bag” (小物粗大ごみ袋), which counts as one item. Write the bag on your postcard, tie it closed, and do not put spray cans, lighters or batteries in it. The city does not carry items out of buildings, so put them in a place that faces the road. Matsuyama does not collect spring mattresses or tires as bulky garbage; the guide tells you to ask the shop or a dealer, which may cost money.

Taking it to a clean center yourself

Matsuyama City

If you missed the period, for example because you are moving out, the city says you can take items to a clean center yourself or hire a licensed collector. Garbage from outside Matsuyama City is not accepted. At reception you hand in a disposal application form (ごみ等処分申請書); you can download it in advance from each center’s page. You unload the garbage yourself.

If you bring it yourself, up to 30 kg is free. Over 30 kg up to 40 kg costs ¥760, and each extra 10 kg adds ¥190 (tax included). The centers take credit cards, many e-money cards such as Suica and nimoca, and PayPay and other code payments, as well as cash.

Minami (South) Clean Center (南クリーンセンター): takes all household bulky garbage. Monday to Saturday, 8:30 to 17:00. Closed on Sundays and from the afternoon of December 31 to January 3. There are no reservations; the city has a live camera page that shows how busy it is.
Nishi (West) Clean Center (西クリーンセンター): takes only bulky garbage that burns. Anything with metal must go to the Minami Clean Center. Monday to Friday, 7:40 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 17:00; Saturday, 7:40 to 12:00. Closed on Sundays and from the afternoon of December 31 to January 3.

Minami Clean Center: 1000-1 Ichitsubonishimachi, Matsuyama City. Google Maps. Phone: 089-971-8862.

Nishi Clean Center: 3-525-6 Okaga, Matsuyama City. Google Maps. Phone: 089-953-1153.

Tip

Matsuyama has a Guide to Separating Household Garbage in English, Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese. You can download it from the city website, or pick it up at the Cleaning Division (清掃課), the foreign residents’ corner of the Citizens Division (市民課), Ehime University and the Matsuyama International Center (MIC). The English version was made in December 2020, before online applications started, so check the Japanese guide for the current way to apply.

2. Imabari City: how do I book, and how much is it?

Imabari City

In Imabari City (今治市), bulky garbage is collected for a fee, by appointment. You can only apply by phone, to the Bulky Waste Reception Center (粗大ごみ受付センター), within your district’s application period. Check your period on the garbage calendar for your district. Residents of the Unoshima (鵜島) area apply to the Miyakubo Branch Office (宮窪支所) instead.

Measure your items first. The city asks for the length of the longest side, the material and the exact number (up to 10 items each time).
Call the Bulky Waste Reception Center. Phone 0898-47-5300, Monday to Friday (not on national holidays), 8:30 to 17:15. You give your phone number, name, address and the items. The center tells you the collection date, the place to put the items, the fee for each item, and a receipt number (受付番号). People with hearing disabilities can apply by fax at 0898-48-3942.
Buy the stickers. Buy Imabari bulky garbage stickers (粗大ごみ処理券) for the fee at a shop that sells Imabari’s designated garbage bags. There is only one kind, a ¥300 sticker; for a ¥600 item, use two. You cannot return or exchange them.
Put the items out by 8:30 on the day. Write your receipt number on each sticker, stick one set on each item, and put it where the center told you. You do not need to be there.

The city’s guidebook gives examples. ¥300: a dresser, a one-seat sofa, a desk with drawers on one side, a bicycle, one tatami mat, a kerosene heater, and a table or cupboard shorter than 180 cm. ¥600: a sofa for two or more, a desk with drawers on both sides, an electronic piano, and a table or cupboard 180 cm or longer. A mattress with springs costs the ¥300 or ¥600 fee plus a ¥1,200 or ¥1,800 dismantling fee, depending on size. In one period you can put out up to 4 tatami mats and up to 3 bicycles.

The city collects only what you booked. Large amounts of garbage from moving or clearing out a home are not collected; the city says to hire an Imabari-licensed collector or take it to a facility yourself.

Taking it to Bari Clean or an island relay center

Imabari City

People who live in Imabari can bring household garbage to the city’s facilities themselves. You do not need stickers. The fee is ¥100 for each 10 kg. If you use a truck, cover the load with a sheet; uncovered loads are refused. Bags must be clear or semi-clear.

Bari Clean (Imabari City Waste Management Center, バリクリーン): Monday to Saturday, 9:00 to 16:00, including national holidays. Closed on Sundays and January 1 to 3.
Oshima, Hakata and Omishima Relay Centers (大島・伯方・大三島中継センター), on the islands: Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 15:30, including national holidays. Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and January 1 to 3.

Bari Clean: Ko-394 Machiya, Imabari City. Google Maps. Phone: 0898-48-3601.

Imabari has an English leaflet on bulky waste and its facilities, and an English garbage-sorting chart. The leaflet is dated January 2018, so check the fees and hours on this page against the current Japanese guidebook (March 2026 edition).

3. Niihama City: how does “large garbage” work?

Niihama City

Niihama City (新居浜市) calls bulky garbage “large garbage” (大型ごみ). It means items over 30 cm and under 180 cm, such as appliances, furniture, bicycles and heaters. Each item needs a ¥200 large garbage ticket (大型ごみ処理券). You cannot put it out at your normal garbage station.

Book by phone or online. Call the large garbage line (大型ごみ受付), 0897-31-5300 (the city’s page writes it as 31-5300, without Niihama’s 0897 area code), on days when the city office is open, 9:00 to 14:00. Or apply online through the city’s e-application page (in Japanese). You can book up to 10 items at a time, and you can book again two months after your last booking.
Check the postcard. A few days later, a confirmation postcard arrives. If something is wrong, call the line at least three days before collection.
Buy the tickets. Buy one ¥200 ticket per item at a supermarket, convenience store or other shop that sells city garbage tickets (ごみ処理券取扱店). The pickup ticket and the ticket for bringing garbage to the cleaning center are different tickets, so check which one you buy.
Put the items out by 9:00 on the day. Put them where you agreed on the phone, not in cardboard boxes. You do not need to be at home.

Some small things are counted together as one item: 5 umbrellas, 5 pots or frying pans, 5 floor cushions, 3 blankets, or 15 golf clubs, for example. Tie them together by material. Garbage from an empty house, from moving, from demolition, or from clearing out a deceased person’s belongings is not collected.

A Niihama City video (in Japanese) on how to use the tickets for pickup and for bringing garbage in yourself, from the city’s official YouTube channel:

Taking it to the Cleaning Center yourself

Niihama City

First buy a ticket for bringing garbage in (搬入ごみ処理券). It costs ¥500 and covers up to 50 kg; over 50 kg, you pay ¥100 for each extra 10 kg in cash. The Niihama City Cleaning Center (清掃センター) takes garbage Monday to Saturday, 8:30 to 16:00, except on garbage holidays, and also on the second Sunday of each month at the same hours. From the 29th of each month (except December), it does not take large garbage. Mornings are very busy, so the city asks you to come in the afternoon. Garbage from outside Niihama City is not accepted.

Niihama City Cleaning Center: 122-1 Kannonbara-machi Otsu, Niihama City. Google Maps. Phone: 0897-41-4225.

4. What can none of the three cities collect?

Official rule (Japan)

Air conditioners, TVs, refrigerators and freezers, and washing machines and clothes dryers fall under Japan’s Home Appliance Recycling Law (家電リサイクル法). Matsuyama and Niihama say they cannot collect them as bulky garbage, and Imabari lists them as items the city cannot handle. Matsuyama’s guide explains the usual ways: ask the shop where you buy a new one, ask the shop where you bought the old one, or get a recycling ticket (家電リサイクル券) at a post office and take the item to a designated collection point. You pay a recycling fee, and sometimes a transport fee.

Large amounts of garbage from moving are also a problem. Imabari and Niihama do not collect them as bulky garbage. Matsuyama says to take them to a clean center yourself or to hire a licensed collector if you cannot wait for the next application period.

5. Can I use a “free pickup” truck?

Matsuyama City

Matsuyama City warns about collectors who advertise that they take unwanted items for free but have no city license. It says it gets many complaints, such as being asked for a high fee after the items were taken. To collect household garbage, a company needs the city’s general waste collection and transport license (一般廃棄物収集運搬業の許可). Licensed companies show their name on both sides of the vehicle and have a city license sticker on the driver’s door. The city also says that if you give garbage to an unlicensed collector, you may be held responsible in the end. Ask about the price before you hire anyone.

Both Matsuyama and Niihama also point to reuse first: Matsuyama works with the Jimoty Spot (ジモティースポット) reuse point, where you can give away things that still work, and Niihama works with the Oikura (おいくら) buy-back service, which only buys items that can be reused.

Common questions

I live in Matsuyama and missed my application period. Can I add an item later?

No. Matsuyama City says it cannot add or change items after the period ends, even if you call. You can send a new postcard (or apply online again) while the period is still open. Otherwise, apply in your next period or take the item to a clean center.

Can I choose the collection day?

No. In Matsuyama and Imabari, the city sets the date. Matsuyama sends it on a postcard about a week before; in Imabari, the reception center tells you on the phone. Niihama sends a confirmation postcard a few days after you book.

Do I need to be at home on collection day?

No. All three cities say you do not need to be there, as long as the items are out by the time they say: 8:00 in Matsuyama, 8:30 in Imabari and 9:00 in Niihama.

Can I get my money back for unused stickers?

Imabari City says bulky garbage stickers cannot be returned or exchanged. Niihama’s pages do not say.

How do I cancel a Matsuyama pickup?

To cancel everything, contact the Cleaning Division (清掃課, 089-921-5516). To cancel only some items, tell the division in advance, or leave a note on collection day saying which items you cancelled.