What can go in a dumpster

General household junk

Non-hazardous, non-liquid household waste is exactly what a general-debris roll-off is priced for, and it is the cheapest thing to put in one by volume.

Furniture, couches and tables

Accepted everywhere as bulky waste. The catch is volume, not permission — one sectional sofa can eat a quarter of a 10 yard container.

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.

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.

Asphalt roofing shingles

Accepted, and often at a dedicated shingle rate because they are heavy and many regions have asphalt recycling markets for them. Tell the hauler it is a roof job when you order — shingle loads are usually priced differently from mixed debris.

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.

Carpet and padding

Accepted. Roll and tie it — loose carpet wraps around the container walls and stops the load from tipping out cleanly, which is how you end up with a dump-out fee.

Fiberglass insulation

Fiberglass and mineral wool are accepted. Vermiculite insulation in a pre-1990 attic is a different question — it may contain asbestos and must be tested before anything touches it.

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.

Sod, soil and dirt

Accepted, but almost always as a clean dedicated load in a 10 yard container at a dirt-specific rate. Mixed into general debris it fails: soil is roughly a ton per cubic yard, so half a 20 yard box of dirt is already over a typical weight allowance.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Refrigerators, freezers and AC units

Federal law, not hauler preference. Under EPA Section 608, the last person in the disposal chain — the scrap processor or landfill — has to make sure the refrigerant was recovered before the appliance is disposed of. If they accept a unit that no longer holds a charge, they must keep a signed statement naming the person who recovered the refrigerant, their address, and the date it was done, or a contract with their supplier committing to recovery before delivery.

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.

Asbestos-containing material

Never in a roll-off. Asbestos work is governed by the federal NESHAP rule, which sets notification, wetting, containment and licensed-disposal requirements. Putting it in a general container exposes the driver and the landfill crew and makes you the party who did it.

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)

Paint and stain

Liquid paint is not allowed in a container anywhere — it is a liquid, and oil-based paint is a hazardous waste. Fully dried latex paint in an open can is a different material and is commonly accepted, because what is left is solid pigment.

Propane tanks and gas cylinders

A sealed pressure vessel in a load that gets compacted is an explosion risk, and this is one refusal that is genuinely universal across every hauler in the country. Even an empty-feeling grill tank holds residual vapour.

Motor oil, antifreeze and fuel

Liquids are refused on their own, and these are hazardous liquids. A leaking container of used oil contaminates the whole load, which converts your rental into a hazardous-load rejection and a cleanup bill.

Fluorescent tubes and CFL bulbs

Mercury-containing lamps are universal waste under 40 CFR Part 273. They break in transit and release mercury vapour, so they are handled separately everywhere.

Pesticides, solvents and pool chemicals

Pesticides are named universal waste in the federal rules, and the rest are household hazardous waste. Pool chlorine is an oxidiser that can react with other things in the load.

Medical waste and sharps

Regulated medical waste is controlled state by state and never belongs in a rental container. This comes up most often in estate cleanouts, where a lifetime of prescriptions and diabetic supplies turns up in a bathroom cabinet.

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.

Pressure-treated wood and railroad ties

Pressure-treated lumber from a deck is normally accepted as C&D. Creosote-soaked railroad ties are a separate problem that many haulers refuse and some states regulate, so ask specifically rather than lumping them in as "wood".

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.

Hot tubs and spas

Accepted once cut up, refused intact by most haulers. A shell is mostly air, so an uncut tub can consume a 20 yard container by itself while weighing almost nothing.

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.

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.