What items can be thrown in a dumpster?

What you CAN throw in the household trash. It is accepted to throw common household waste in garbage bins. Wooden furniture can be safely thrown into a garbage bin. While the rules may vary for some materials, there are prohibited items that cannot be thrown into a garbage bin anywhere.

This includes refrigerators, tires, chemicals, car batteries, railroad ties, and any other material that is toxic, poses a significant safety hazard, or could damage the container. Read on to learn how to handle waste materials that aren't allowed in your roll-up container. It is almost always acceptable to throw wooden furniture into a garbage container. This means that chairs, tables, cabinets, shelves, and other wooden furniture that are made entirely of wood are safe to send to the landfill.

You can dump most types of household waste, construction and remodeling debris in a rolling container. However, in some areas, not all items are allowed in the same container, as they are sent to different landfills, transfer stations, or recycling facilities. This table shows you what materials are generally accepted and what type of roll you should rent to throw them away. Common household items, such as clothing, various personal items, and household items, can be thrown into a garbage bin.

If you're renting a dumpster due to a remodel, you can place most of the debris in it, including wood, drywall, floors, siding, and cabinets. Depending on the regulations in your area, throwing appliances and electronics in a garbage bin may result in a disposal fee per item. Debris from construction, demolition and home improvement projects can almost always be thrown away in a construction landfill. Certain items, such as upholstered furniture, appliances, electronics, and mattresses, are allowed inside a trash bin in some areas.

While empty bottles of cleaning products can be recycled, the solutions contained in those bottles should not be thrown in a landfill. Appliances such as microwaves, stoves, and dishwashers are generally acceptable, but refrigerators cannot normally be thrown away. Unlike household batteries, which don't comply with federal regulations on household hazardous waste, many other types of batteries are highly toxic to the environment and should never be thrown into a landfill. If you have upholstered items to dispose of, but a dumpster isn't an option in your area, find a furniture disposal alternative that works for you.

Some of these items can be incredibly dangerous, while others may simply earn you a fee for inadequate waste disposal by your government or your garbage container rental company. Certain appliances and electronics can often be thrown in a landfill, but it's not always best to call ahead before throwing these items in the trash. Any flammable material such as propane, gasoline, oil or fuel tanks cannot be thrown into a garbage container at all. Commercial containers have lower weight limits, so items such as construction debris and appliances are not allowed.

Kristin Bessette
Kristin Bessette

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