What items are prohibited from being in your dumpster?
There are a lot of things you cannot put into your dumpster. However, ask, some of the things we cannot usually accept we can take in some circumstances. Some items we can take but there are additional charges.
If the spray can is empty, you may put it in the dumpster. If there is anything in it, then it is not allowed. Full or partially full aerosol cans have the potential to explode or catch on fire, and are not allowed.
These materials generally require a special dumpster and typically are best disposed of by using a specific dumpster for only these materials. This allows us to recycle them and give you a better rate, rather than having you pay by the ton for such heavy material.
Construction debris is allowed in your dumpster. This is what the dumpsters were originally invented for. You can throw away most any material you would get from a building supply company. This includes used lumber and pieces, drywall, windows, doors, wiring, pipes, and most construction materials.
Most appliances can go in your dumpster. This includes microwaves, stoves, and dishwashers. You cannot put in refrigerators, air conditioners and freezers as these are considered hazardous materials as they contain a refrigerant such as freon. Stoves. dishwashers, and what are commonly called white appliances usually have a surcharge.
Wooden furniture is always allowed in the dumpster. In some locations, upholstered furniture is not allowed. You may be charged a surcharge to dismantle upholstered furniture to take up less space in the landfill. Or you may be charged extra if the dumpsite deems it crushable items that you did not crush.
Make sure all items are below the container's edge. You are not allowed to have anything sticking out of the dumpster.
Small amounts of yard waste are always ok. If you have nothing but yard waste, let us know to prevent extra charges. Tree stumps are usually not allowed to be mixed with other types of debris.
Disposing of Tree Stumps
Tree stumps with the root ball can be problematic. That being said, we take
tree stumps in some
cases. Tree stumps can be very heavy. Tree trunks in general can be heavy, the
stumps even more so. The first problem is that live wood holds a lot of water
and water is heavy. This makes it much more heavy than old wood, or wood in
furniture. The second weight problem is that dumpster users tend to like to
use automated equipment, such as a machine like a skid steer loader
(Bobcat) to get the very heavy tree stump in the dumpster. This also gets a
lot of dirt in the dumpster. You might say it scrapes up a ton of dirt and
puts it in the dumpster. Literally a ton a dirt or more. Dirt is one of
the heaviest things you can put into a dumpster.
If you are paying by the ton then this will cause you extra charges. If the dumpster gets overfilled past the weight the truck can lift and carry, then you will get charged for a trip fee and you will have to unload part of the overfilled dumpster. This may require you rent your loading machine for another day. And you may have to rent a second dumpster to put the offloaded material into.
To avoid additional charges please let us know if you have tree stumps.
Each dump site has different rules concerning items you can, and cannot put in the dumpster. The following items are best to keep out of the dumpster, but if you wish you may include these things. You may, or may not get a surcharge for these materials. We just haul your debris; if the dump site charges us, we charge you. Pricing will vary from dump site to dump site.
We do pickup dumpsters with mattresses, but we might charge you extra. Matresses are generally not accepted at the dump sites. The charges for a matress can be hefty. We have had charges as high as $75 for a mattress. We can in some cases get the fees waived if we know about the matresses ahead of time. If you declare to us you are throwing away matresses when you order we can sometimes get a dump site that will allow us to dump matresses for no additional fees. This generally only applies if you have a larger dumpster such as a 30-yard dumpster. So let us know before you order and we will see if we can save you some money. Otherwise, if the dump site charges us, we charge you.
We will pickup dumpsters with paint cans, but we charge you. Paint is a liquid, and it is a hazardous material. Liquids are not allowed, nor are hazardous materials allowed in the dumpster. That being said, if you do have paint cans you are charged a small fee for each paint can.
Automobile tires are not allowed in your dumpster, but if you have them we will pickup the dumpster, but charge you for each tire. Tires cannot be processed in a regular landfill. Tires can be recycled, but it requires special equipment and no dump site locally has the tire recycling equipment. Consequently the dump sites charge us for tires. They store the tires until they get a semi-truck load ready to go, then ship them to a distant recycling facility.
Unless you make prior arrangements with us, we may not be able to take a dumpster with railroad ties until you remove them from the can. Railroad ties come in two flavors, treated and untreated. Railroad ties are usually treated with creosote, which makes them a problem. If we can do it, there may be additional charges to dispose of railroad ties, but we must know before we bring out your dumpster.
A dump site that handles C&D - Construction and Demolition waste - recycles about 75% of the construction waste they take in. While, dirt, concrete, and asphalt are recyclable, these materials cannot be processed at a standard dump site. They don't want them. So small amounts of such heavy materials is ok, but if you put in too much they may reject the load, incurring additional costs for you. Another consideration is such materials are heavy, often weighing about a ton and a half per cubic yard. Ultimately, you pay by the ton to have your debris hauled away. If you put in these materials and exceed your weight allowance, you will pay exta.
If you need to get rid of a large amount of these dense, recyclable materials you can rent a special clean dump dumpster to save on tonnage charges.
Please let us know when renting if you are throwing away food waste. This material is more expensive to dispose of than regular waste. We may have to adjust your weight allowance or charge extra for food waste. If you let us know before hand we can schedule the dumpster to go to the appropriate dump site. If we go to a regular C&D waste site you are likely to get excess charges for your dumpster.
If you are in need of a dumpster rental, check our list of the best dumpster rental companies in the area.
Rent a dumpster today. Call us at (703) 229-8080.