Rules

What Can and Cannot Go in a Dumpster: The Hammond List

The accepted list is long and boring. The prohibited list is short, strictly enforced, and the reason loads occasionally get turned away at the gate. Here is both, plus where to take the rest.

The short version

If it came out of a building, a yard or a household and it is solid, non-hazardous and not on fire, it can almost certainly go in the container. If it is liquid, toxic, pressurised, or contains asbestos or refrigerant, it cannot.

That covers about ninety-five percent of questions. The rest of this article is the other five percent, which is where the money and the headaches live.

What you can put in

Household and furniture

Sofas, armchairs, beds, mattresses and box springs, tables, wardrobes, bookcases, desks, carpets, rugs, curtains, clothing, linens, toys, books, paperwork, kitchenware, patio furniture, grills, exercise equipment and general clutter. There is no mattress surcharge on our containers, which is worth knowing because some haulers do charge one.

Construction and renovation debris

Drywall, plaster, lath, timber, plywood and sheet goods, doors, windows, trim, kitchen cabinets, countertops, tiling, laminate, hardwood and vinyl flooring, insulation, siding, soffit and fascia, guttering, porch and deck timber, and general non-hazardous building material.

Roofing

Asphalt shingle in both three-tab and architectural, metal panels, felt and synthetic underlayment, flashing, drip edge, ridge vents, boots and roof decking. Weight is the constraint here, not acceptability — see the roofing sizing guide.

Yard and vegetation

Branches, limbs, pine, oak, hedge and shrub cuttings, grass, leaves, sod, and storm-fallen material. Stumps and root balls with notice. Keep it clean and it disposes through a cheaper route.

Heavy and inert material

Concrete, block, brick, pavers, stone, rubble, ceramic and porcelain tile, screed and clean asphalt. All fine, all heavy — these belong in a 10 yard.

Appliances and metal

Washing machines, dryers, ovens, dishwashers, water heaters, microwaves, scrap metal, ductwork, conduit, farm sheeting, fencing and bicycles. Refrigerators, freezers and air conditioning units are acceptable only once the refrigerant has been professionally evacuated and the unit tagged.

What is absolutely prohibited

These are not company preferences. Receiving facilities reject them, Louisiana DEQ rules prohibit them, and in most cases there are meaningful penalties attached.

• Liquids of any kind — including paint, stains, varnish, thinners, solvents, oils and fuels
• Asbestos-containing material — common in pre-1980 floor tile, mastic, pipe lagging, textured ceilings and some siding. Requires a licensed abatement contractor
• Tyres
• Batteries — vehicle, marine, lithium and household
• Propane, gas and pressurised cylinders, including "empty" ones, which retain flammable residue
• Refrigerant-charged equipment — fridges, freezers, AC units and dehumidifiers not professionally evacuated
• Pesticides, herbicides and fertiliser
• Medical, clinical and infectious waste, including sharps
• Hot ashes or anything smouldering
• Contaminated soil
• Fluorescent tubes and older ballasts which may contain PCBs
• Animal carcasses, manure and spoiled feed at volume

The grey areas people ask about

Paint cans

Liquid paint of any kind is prohibited. Fully dried-out latex paint with the lid off is generally acceptable — and notably, the parish landfill states plainly that all paint must be dried out with the can cover off. Dry it with cat litter or hardener, leave the lid off, and it is fine.

Treated timber

Acceptable in a mixed load. Not acceptable in a clean-wood container. That distinction matters around here, because deck, dock, pier and fence timber is nearly always treated.

Televisions and computers

A few household items in a mixed load are generally fine. Volumes of e-waste should go to a dedicated recycler.

Mattresses

Perfectly acceptable, no surcharge from us.

Bagged material

Fine, and it helps with loose debris. But do not bag anything you would not put in loose — an inspector at the facility may open bags.

Food waste

Small quantities from a kitchen clear-out are acceptable. Meaningful volumes of organic food waste are not. In a Louisiana summer, a container sitting for a week becomes a genuine public health problem.

Mould-covered material

Standard flood and water-damage debris is acceptable. Wear a respirator while you load it, bag the worst of it, and tell us at booking so we can advise on weight.

Where to take what we cannot accept

The Tangipahoa Parish Landfill on Hano Road at Independence does accept household waste and Type III construction and demolition debris, and residents with a Louisiana licence showing parish residency get the residential rate. Commercial vehicles are charged the commercial rate. Worth knowing: after heavy rain, conditions at the facility are not always suitable for tipping, which occasionally affects turnaround.

What happens if prohibited material turns up

Loads are inspected at the receiving facility. If prohibited material is identified, one of three things happens: the item is pulled and specially handled at cost, the load is rejected and returned, or the facility levies a charge which is passed on.

None of those are good outcomes and all cost more than a phone call would have. If you are looking at something and wondering, that wondering is the signal to ask.

Loading rules that are not about material

Do not load above the top rail. An overfilled container cannot lawfully be hauled. If we arrive to one loaded above the fill line, we cannot take it until material comes off, and a return trip may be chargeable.

Distribute the weight. Heavy material spread across the floor rather than piled at one end. A load concentrated at the rear makes the container difficult and occasionally unsafe to winch onto the truck.

Think about rain. An open container left through a downpour gains water weight you pay for by the ton. If the load is already heavy and a storm is coming, cover it.

A pre-load checklist

• Walk the pile and pull out anything liquid, pressurised or chemical
• Check for a refrigerant tag on any appliance with a compressor
• If the building predates 1980 and you are disturbing floor tile, mastic or textured ceiling, stop and get it tested
• Set aside scrap metal if there is enough to be worth it
• Check pockets, drawers, tins and books before furniture goes in
• Keep clean concrete or clean vegetation separate if you have a container for it
• Load flat and heavy first, bulky on top, and stop at the rail

Work through that and the load goes through the gate without a second glance. If anything on your pile has you hesitating, call before it goes in.