The Southeast Neighborhood Depository occupies 2240 Central Street and is one of six free residential drop-off points operated by Houston's Solid Waste Management Department.

The allowance is the thing to plan around. Each household may use the city's drop-off centres four times per month — in practice about once a week — and that count is shared across all six sites, not granted separately at each. Only one vehicle per household may unload at a time. For a big clear-out, spreading the job over several weekends works better than trying to bring everything at once, particularly since furniture is limited to two large items such as couches per visit and contractor-type material is capped at four cubic yards.

Gates open Tuesday to Saturday between nine in the morning and six at night, staying shut Mondays and Sundays. Arrive by 5.30 p.m. to leave time for unloading.

Proof of address is required for bulk or tree waste: a current Texas ID plus a City of Houston utility bill or lease showing the same address on both. Recycling by itself needs only the ID.

Accepted here are the usual recyclables, mattresses, tree waste with leaves in compostable bags, household appliances, refrigerators bearing a refrigerant-removal tag, up to five passenger tyres a visit to a monthly ceiling of ten, and up to five quarts of used motor oil.

Refused are televisions, truck tyres, bricks, dirt, pallets, chemicals and household rubbish. Concrete appears on both the accepted and refused lists on the city's page — check before hauling any.