(Canva Image)
Not sure what furniture you can throw in a dumpster? Just because you can physically throw your furniture in a dumpster, it doesn’t always mean you’re allowed to or should.
Read our helpful guide before you throw furniture in a random dumpster up the street.
Throwing Furniture in a Dumpster is Often Illegal
No matter where you live, it is usually illegal to throw furniture or other items in someone else’s dumpster. The dumpster may even be located on private property you can’t enter without permission or knowing the apartment dumpster rules.
Private property is simply that which isn’t owned by a state entity or a group of non-governmental entities. Dumpsters located at office buildings, apartment complexes and within shopping centers are technically considered to be on private property, and using them to throw away old furniture items is illegal.
That’s a lot to pay for getting rid of your old couch or mattress or kitchen table.
Can you leave furniture by a dumpster?
Although you may not be physically placing an old piece of furniture in a dumpster, it’s likely that the dumpster you’ve scoped out is located on private property.
Even if you aren’t throwing the furniture away in the dumpster, leaving it next to the dumpster will get you in trouble for trespassing and littering and of course, potentially a fine.
What Not to Throw in a Dumpster
Even when you are allowed to throw something in a dumpster, that still doesn’t mean you need to or that you should. Many furniture items are made of hazardous or toxic materials that have to be disposed of properly.
When you throw furniture in a dumpster, it eventually ends up in a landfill. There are better ways to get rid of used furniture than by filling up landfills and polluting the environment.
In fact, there are a lot of eco-friendly, cheap, quick, and easy ways to get rid of that old, unwanted furniture. So, let’s talk about whether or not you can throw your old furniture in a dumpster and how you can find an even easier option for furniture disposal.
Furniture and Other Items You Can’t Throw in a Dumpster
There are several types of junk and waste items that you can’t dispose of by throwing in a dumpster, due to safety concerns and local waste ordinances.
Even though every city and municipality’s disposal regulations are each a little different, there are certain things that are almost universally not allowed to be disposed of in a dumpster. These prohibited items are generally considered hazardous or even have a potential to damage the dumpster.
If there’s ever something you’re just not sure about in terms of whether you can toss it in a dumpster, contact your local public works department or office of solid waste for a list of items you can’t throw away in a dumpster.
What Can Be Thrown in a Dumpster?
Small junk items like small appliances, home decor, clothes, and linens are generally OK to throw in a dumpster. Things like tiles, wallpaper, asphalt, roofing, wood scraps, and other demolition and construction waste are also usually allowed.
Here is a list of things that can generally be thrown away in most dumpsters:
wood
metal
bricks
concrete
dirt
paper
drywall
cardboard
yard waste
aerosol cans
storm debris
heavy debris
Some areas have local waste ordinances that can prevent junk removal companies or dumpster rental services from disposing of certain items that they usually take.
To learn the official disposal regulations in your neighborhood, you’ll need to contact your local Public Works Department or Office of Solid Waste.
Recent Comments