Can you put concrete, brick and asphalt in a dumpster?
Direct answer
Usually, with conditions. 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.
- General status
- Usually, with conditions
- Rule type
- Varies by state
- Category
- Heavy debris
- Weight
- 3500–4100 lb/yd³
- States verified
- MA, CA
Where the answer is different
- 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)
States not listed here are unverified, not permitted. We publish a state verdict only after reading the rule at the state agency, because a wrong answer here gets a load rejected at the transfer station and the cost lands on whoever rented the container.
Sources
- Primary source MassDEP Waste Disposal Bans — Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection · last reviewed 2026-08-17
mass.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 CALGreen Construction Waste Management Requirements — CalRecycle · last reviewed 2026-08-17
- Primary source Construction and Demolition Debris: Material-Specific Data — US Environmental Protection Agency · last reviewed 2026-08-17