What Can and Can't Go in a Dumpster in Michigan

Yes — load it

• Household junk and furniture: sofas, tables, chairs, mattresses, boxes and general clutter.
• Construction and renovation debris: drywall, lumber and plywood, trim, doors and windows, cabinets, countertops and vanities, carpet, pad, laminate and tile, pallets and packaging.
• Roofing: shingles, tar paper and underlayment, which are heavy, so mind the weight allowance.
• Concrete, brick, asphalt, rock and dirt — usually in a 10 or 15 yard only, within its weight limit.
• Cardboard and metal — they can be separated for recycling.
• Yard waste: tree branches and limbs, leaves and grass clippings, bushes, shrubs and hedge trimmings, soil, sod and mulch, weeds, roots and small stumps — best as their own load (below).
• Small non-hazardous appliances that hold no refrigerant — ask if you are unsure.

Michigan's solid waste law counts "demolished building materials", wood, glass, bedding and yard waste as rubbish (MCL 324.11505(9)), and its landfill types include those that take construction and demolition waste (MCL 324.11506(11)–(12)). So a clean load of concrete or brick is a different load from a cleanout, and a yard waste load is different again: tell us which you have when you book.

What Michigan law keeps out

Michigan's landfill bans are in MCL 324.11514. These are the ones that matter for a roll-off, and every one of them is on our no list or kept as a separate load anyway:

"De minimis" means a small amount incidentally mixed in with other solid waste (MCL 324.11503(1)). The same section also keeps medical waste, regulated hazardous waste, liquid waste or waste with free liquids, sewage, PCBs and low-level radioactive waste out of landfills (§ 11514). Two common myths: the statute has no ban on electronics or on shingles, so we do not tell you there is one. Disposal facilities set their own rules on top, though, which is why appliances that still hold refrigerant stay out of our boxes.

Our no list, and why

Our own no list, as company policy: paint, solvents and oils; fuel and other hazardous liquids; tires; batteries; hazardous chemicals; gas cylinders, propane tanks and other pressurized tanks; medical waste; asbestos; flammable or toxic waste; and refrigerant appliances such as fridges or AC units unless properly handled. Heavy-only loads beyond safe hauling limits do not go in a 30 or 40. For a yard waste box, also leave out treated and pressure-treated wood, plastic planters, fertilizers, chemicals and household trash mixed in with the yard waste. If you are unsure about something, call (269) 292-6313 before you load it; it is far cheaper than finding out at the facility.

Electronics such as TVs and computers are not on our no list and are not in the state's landfill ban list, but call before you load them. Mixed loads matter too: heavy materials like dirt or concrete mixed with household junk may need separate pricing, so check first.

No — and where it goes instead

Check the drop-off's own rules before you go: the County hazardous waste day takes no trash, tires, yard waste, construction waste, appliances or business waste, and each city's yard waste site is for its own residents.

Asbestos in Michigan

EGLE's Air Quality Division runs the federal asbestos program (NESHAP) in Michigan. Advance notice is required, and notifications go through the MiEnviro Portal at least ten working days before regulated demolition or renovation begins. EGLE says demolition below the asbestos thresholds, even for facilities with no asbestos, is still subject to the notification requirement. Worker safety and contractor licensing fall under MIOSHA.

EGLE's fact sheet says residential dwellings of four units or less under private control or ownership are not subject to the NESHAP, so the notice is not for a typical house. That does not make a home exempt from every rule: Michigan bans asbestos waste from any landfill that does not comply with the federal disposal rule, 40 CFR 61.154 (MCL 324.11514(2)(h)). Asbestos never goes in our roll-offs.

Covered loads and clean streets

Michigan law says: "A person shall not drive or move a vehicle on a highway unless the vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent its contents from dropping, sifting, leaking, blowing off, or otherwise escaping from the vehicle" (MCL 257.720(1)). A load that is not completely enclosed must be covered with firmly secured canvas or similar covering, or fastened with binders (MCL 257.720(3)), and whoever loads a vehicle so that it breaks that rule is prima facie liable (MCL 257.720(4)). Battle Creek adds that licensees keep vehicle covers in position and secured while hauling (§ 1064.55(a)), and that hauled material must not be dropped or scattered on streets or sidewalks (§ 1020.18).

That is why the fill line matters. Keep debris below the top rim so the load can be covered safely, and keep debris inside the box: an overfilled dumpster may not be legal or safe to haul.

Sorting: clean loads, mixed loads, yard waste and household junk

It pays to sort the way the rules do. A clean load of concrete, brick, rock or asphalt is the easiest to recycle and belongs in a 10 or 15. Mixed remodel and tear-out debris is the usual construction load. Yard waste, which Michigan defines as leaves, grass clippings, garden debris, shrubbery and brush or tree trimmings less than 4 feet long and 2 inches in diameter that can be composted, not including stumps (MCL 324.11506(17)), is best as its own load because of the landfill ban. Household junk from a cleanout is a fourth kind, and the one most likely to hide a car battery, a propane tank or a can of paint.

So keep brush and leaves in their own load, keep heavy concrete and brick apart from everything else, keep cardboard and metal together, and do not mix a household cleanout into a remodel box without telling us. We work with local disposal and recycling facilities whenever possible, and metal, concrete and certain yard waste may be separated for recycling. If you are not sure where something belongs, call before you load it.