# Massachusetts waste disposal rules

> Massachusetts bans more materials from disposal than any other state, and the list is long enough that it changes what you can put in a container.

Source: https://dumptergod.shop/regulations/massachusetts/
Last reviewed: 2026-08-17

# Massachusetts dumpster and disposal rules

Direct answer
Massachusetts bans more materials from disposal than any other state, and the list is long enough that it changes what you can put in a container. Fourteen categories are banned outright, including mattresses and textiles since November 2022, and the ban is enforced at the transfer station rather than at your driveway.

## Check your local rules

Permit rules and disposal bans are set by state and city and change frequently. This page reflects the sources listed as of the review date. Verify with the department named before you order.

Source: 310 CMR 19.017 · Issuing department: [Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection](https://www.mass.gov/orgs/massachusetts-department-of-environmental-protection) · Last reviewed: 2026-08-17

## How Massachusetts controls what you can throw away

The state runs a waste-ban system under its solid waste facility regulations. The bans are enforced at the facility, not at your driveway: a transfer station that finds banned material in a load can reject the whole load, and the cost of that lands on whoever hired the container. Both of the site’s most-searched "can I throw this away" questions — mattresses and textiles — are answered no here and yes in most other states.

Citation: [310 CMR 19.017](https://www.mass.gov/doc/310-cmr-19000-final-waste-ban-amendments-october-2021/download)

## Materials banned from disposal
- Asphalt pavement, brick and concrete
- Clean gypsum wallboard
- Wood
- Metal
- Glass, metal and plastic containers
- Paper, including cardboard
- Leaf and yard waste
- Lead-acid batteries
- Cathode ray tubes (televisions and monitors)
- White goods (large appliances)
- Whole tires
- Mattresses and box springs — since November 1, 2022
- Textiles — since November 1, 2022
- Commercial organic material above 0.5 ton per week

### The exception worth knowing

The mattress and textile bans exclude material contaminated with mold, bodily fluids, insects, oil or hazardous substances. This is a real and useful exception: a mattress out of a flooded basement is not caught by the ban, while the same mattress in clean condition is.

## Materials with a Massachusetts-specific answer

- Conditional ### Drywall and gypsum board Accepted in general C&D loads in most of the country, but clean gypsum wallboard is banned from disposal in Massachusetts, where it has to be separated for recycling.Massachusetts: Clean gypsum wallboard is a banned material. Loads containing it can be rejected at the transfer station. (310 CMR 19.017)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Construction debris MA
- Conditional ### Untreated lumber and wood Standard C&D material nearly everywhere. Massachusetts bans wood from disposal, so in-state it is separated for processing rather than landfilled.Massachusetts: Wood is a banned material under the state disposal bans. (310 CMR 19.017)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Construction debris MA
- Conditional ### Cardboard Physically fine in any container, but Massachusetts bans paper and cardboard from disposal, and many municipalities elsewhere require it separated from a mixed load.Massachusetts: Paper, including cardboard, is a banned material. (310 CMR 19.017)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Household MA
- Conditional ### Yard waste, brush and branches Many haulers take yard waste in a general container; many others require a dedicated green-waste container because the material has a separate compost outlet. Leaf and yard waste is banned from disposal in Massachusetts, and a majority of states have some form of yard-waste landfill restriction.Massachusetts: Leaf and yard waste is a banned material. (310 CMR 19.017)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Yard and green waste MA
- Conditional ### Concrete, brick and asphalt Accepted only as a clean, dedicated load — no rebar-tangled slabs mixed with wood and trash. Concrete is about two tons per cubic yard, which is why haulers cap these containers by depth rather than by rim. Massachusetts bans asphalt pavement, brick and concrete from disposal outright; they go to an aggregate processor instead.Massachusetts: Asphalt pavement, brick and concrete are banned materials and must be diverted to processing. (310 CMR 19.017)California: Not banned, but CALGreen requires covered projects to divert at least 65% of non-hazardous C&D debris by weight, and concrete is the easiest material to hit that number with. Expect to document where it went. (CALGreen)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Heavy debris MA, CA
- Conditional ### Mattresses and box springs This is the clearest case on the site of a question with a different correct answer depending on where you live. Most haulers take a mattress in a general container and add a per-item charge because mattresses wrap around landfill compactor drums. In Massachusetts they are banned from disposal outright.Massachusetts: Banned from disposal since November 1, 2022, including any foundation or box spring. The ban has a real exception: a mattress contaminated with mold, bodily fluids, insects, oil or hazardous substances is excluded, so a genuinely soiled mattress can still be disposed of. (310 CMR 19.017)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Household MA
- Conditional ### Textiles, clothing and bedding Physically unremarkable in a container, and banned from disposal in Massachusetts since November 2022 — which covers bedding, clothing, curtains, fabric, footwear and towels.Massachusetts: Banned from disposal since November 1, 2022. Textiles contaminated with mold, bodily fluids, insects, oil or hazardous substances are exempt. (310 CMR 19.017)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Household MA
- Prohibited ### Televisions, monitors and electronics Old tube televisions and monitors contain leaded glass in the cathode ray tube, and roughly half the states restrict electronics from landfill disposal. Massachusetts bans CRTs specifically. Assume no, and check your state before you put a screen of any kind in a container.Massachusetts: Cathode ray tubes — televisions and computer monitors — are banned materials. (310 CMR 19.017)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Electronics MA
- Prohibited ### Tires Whole tires are restricted from landfill disposal in most states because they trap methane and float back to the surface of a capped cell. Nearly every hauler refuses them in a general container, and where they are accepted it is at a per-tire fee.Massachusetts: Whole tires are a banned material. Shredded tires are not covered by the ban. (310 CMR 19.017)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Automotive MA
- Conditional ### Commercial food waste Household food scraps in a cleanout are not the issue. Commercial volumes are: several states now require large generators to divert organics, and Massachusetts sets the threshold at half a ton per week.Massachusetts: Commercial organic material is banned from disposal for generators of more than 0.5 ton per week. (310 CMR 19.017)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Organics MA
- Conditional ### Washers, dryers, stoves and water heaters Large appliances without refrigerant are the easy case — no federal recovery rule applies, so most haulers take them, sometimes at a per-item fee, and many would rather you set them beside the container for scrap. Massachusetts bans white goods from disposal.Massachusetts: White goods — large appliances — are banned materials. (310 CMR 19.017)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Appliances MA
- Prohibited ### Car batteries and lead-acid batteries Managed as universal waste under the federal rules at 40 CFR Part 273, and banned from disposal in Massachusetts by name. No hauler will take one knowingly.Massachusetts: Lead-acid batteries are a banned material. (310 CMR 19.017)Federal rule Hazardous and regulated MA
- Conditional ### Glass, metal and plastic containers Recyclable containers are banned from disposal in Massachusetts and restricted by many local recycling mandates elsewhere. In a construction cleanout nobody notices; in a container that is mostly household recycling, a facility can reject the load.Massachusetts: Glass, metal and plastic containers are banned materials. (310 CMR 19.017)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Household MA
- Conditional ### Scrap metal Accepted in a mixed load almost everywhere, and banned from disposal in Massachusetts. Everywhere else, metal is the one material in your pile with positive value — a separate pile beside the container is often collected free.Massachusetts: Metal is a banned material under the state disposal bans. (310 CMR 19.017)We have not verified this material against your state’s own regulator. That means unknown, not allowed — check with your state before you load it.Varies by state Construction debris MA

## Related questions
- All state waste rules
- The full materials matrix
- Why regional prices differ
- Broker vs hauler

## Sources
- Primary source MassDEP Waste Disposal Bans — Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection · last reviewed 2026-08-17mass.gov refuses automated requests from this build environment (HTTP 403). The ban list was read from the publisher’s own guide through a search index and cross-checked against the October 2021 amendment document below.
- Primary source 310 CMR 19.000 Final Waste Ban Amendments (October 2021) — Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection · last reviewed 2026-08-17

Reviewed by [R. Tiwari](https://dumptergod.shop/authors/r-tiwari/) Last reviewed: 2026-08-17