Frequently Asked Questions

We do not publish a price list. Pricing depends on the dumpster size, the type of debris, the delivery location and the rental length, and you get a flat-rate quote on the phone that can include delivery, pickup and disposal with no hidden fees. Every quote includes a weight allowance — commonly 1 to 2 tons on a 10 yard, 2 to 3 on a 15, 3 to 4 on a 20, 4 to 5 on a 30 and 5 to 6 on a 40. The cost guide explains what moves the number.

Your quote can include delivery, pickup and disposal, along with the standard rental period. No hidden fees, and no hidden fuel surcharges.

Two things: going over the included weight, where the container may be weighed and an overage fee applies, and keeping the container past the rental period, which carries a daily or weekly fee. We explain both in advance so there is nothing to find later.

Heavy materials use up the weight allowance fast, which is why they usually go only in the smaller dumpsters (10 or 15 yards), and mixed with other debris they may need separate pricing. Tell us roughly how much there is — we help you stay within the allowance.

Major credit and debit cards. Payment is typically collected when your booking is confirmed to secure your delivery date, and recurring contractors can ask about custom billing. Where an independent provider handles the rental, billing may be handled by that provider, and we tell you on the call.

It depends on the town and where the container sits. In Battle Creek we found no City rule that names dumpsters; the code bars objects in the street other than temporary obstructions while things are moved to and from the property, and the City lists right-of-way permits for obstructions, so we check the City's rules and the placement with you before booking. In Marshall, a City dumpster permit is required for any dumpster of 20 yards or more, even on a driveway, plus a separate right-of-way permit for a spot in the City's right-of-way. The permit guide and your city page cover the details.

On a Battle Creek street, the code bars placing any object in the street - which runs from property line to property line and takes in the lawn extension and the sidewalk - except temporary obstructions while things are moved to and from the property (§§ 1020.01, 1020.02(a)). The City's fee schedule lists right-of-way permits for lane and road closures and obstructions, and we found no City rule that names dumpsters. So the driveway comes first, and for a street spot we check the City's rules and the placement with you before booking. Elsewhere the street rule is written down too: Kalamazoo needs a right-of-way permit "for things like placing a dumpster at the street", applied for at least 10 business days ahead; Portage bars putting "building and construction materials/equipment" on a street "unless written approval therefore is granted by the director of community development", with a bond or insurance filed first (§ 66-3(a)); Marshall wants a separate right-of-way permit for a dumpster in the City's right-of-way, whatever its size; Galesburg (§ 66-63) and Richland (§ 28-40) want a permit before materials occupy a street; Union City allows nothing on a street for more than 24 hours without Council approval (§ 91.01); and Bellevue wants trash containers kept covered and at least five feet back from the road (§ 109-9). Tell us when you book and we plan the placement around it.

Not always obvious. I-94, I-194, M-66, M-96, M-37, M-89, M-227 and the I-94 Business Loop are state highways — the Business Loop runs along Michigan Avenue in Marshall, where the City's right-of-way form sends Michigan Avenue and M-227 work to MDOT, and Main Street in Tekonsha is a state trunk line. MDOT requires a permit from anyone who wants to use state highway right-of-way for anything other than normal vehicle or pedestrian travel (it manages that right-of-way under Public Act 200 of 1969 and the Encroachment Act), so we keep containers out of the right-of-way of I-94, I-194, M-66, M-96, M-37, M-89, M-227 or the I-94 Business Loop. Tell us the address and we check.

Because in Michigan, licensing is local. EGLE says the state's solid waste regulations "do not require a license, permit, or registration from EGLE to haul solid waste" (scrap tire haulers carrying more than ten tires need a registration), but "Some areas in the state require a local business license or have other local operating requirements for solid waste haulers". In Battle Creek, anyone in the business of collecting, transporting or disposing of other people's refuse in the City needs a City licence from the City Clerk (Codified Ordinances § 1064.44). The City's exclusive contract covers residential refuse only (§ 1064.43), businesses must use a hauler licensed by the City (§ 1064.09), and every construction or demolition site must have enough containers for its loose debris, with loose refuse containerized at the end of each day (§ 1064.17). Several places around Battle Creek license haulers too: Springfield (§ 36-137) and Emmett Township, where our yard sits (§ 42-51), use the same model; Albion says "No person shall engage in the business of collection, transportation, disposal or recycling of refuse in the city without first obtaining a license" (§ 66-61) and wants the licensee's name and phone number on both sides of each truck in letters at least four inches high (§ 66-66); Galesburg requires a City licence to collect, transport or dispose of "refuse of any type" (§ 58-62); and Vicksburg licenses haulers of residential garbage (§ 389-18).

Some towns set them. In Battle Creek and Springfield refuse may be collected from homes only between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. (§ 1064.55(k); § 36-145), in Albion between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. (§ 66-137), and in Climax between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. (§ 26-34). Battle Creek also keeps trucks of four tons or more on posted truck routes except for the direct run to a delivery. The phone is answered around the clock, but we do not promise night or Sunday drop-offs.

We take precautions to help protect your property, and protective boards can go under the rails on request. If you are concerned, you can also place plywood or boards under the contact points before delivery. Keep it off soft ground and grass.

A flat, solid surface such as a driveway, pad, gravel or pavement; room for the container — about 14 feet long for a 10 yard, 16 feet for a 15, and about 22 feet for a 20 and up, all about 7.5 feet wide; about 60 feet of clear approach for the truck, more if it has to turn; and about 25 feet of clearance overhead, free of wires and branches. Move cars, trailers and bins before the drop.

Battle Creek and 15 communities around it: Springfield, Marshall, Augusta, Climax and Bellevue; Galesburg, Richland, Kalamazoo, Portage and Vicksburg; and Albion, Homer, Tekonsha, Athens and Union City — each with its own page. The complete Battle Creek guide pulls it together.

At 923 E Michigan Ave, Battle Creek, MI 49014 — on E Michigan Ave on Battle Creek's east side, on the I-94 Business Loop, in Emmett Charter Township just outside the city limits.

Mostly the rules and the distance. Kalamazoo, approx. 27 road miles from the yard, needs a right-of-way permit for a dumpster at the street; Portage, approx. 30, ties household trash at homes of one to three units to one contractor (§ 58-35); Galesburg licenses haulers (§ 58-62) and Vicksburg, our furthest stop at approx. 34, licenses haulers of residential garbage (§ 389-18). Same-day there depends even more on availability.

Some places tie household trash to one hauler. Portage gives a single contractor the neighborhood pickup of household trash, bulk waste and yard waste at homes of one to three units (§ 58-35); Climax allows no one but the Village's contractor to collect refuse in the village except as its solid waste chapter provides (§ 26-20), while leaving construction waste with the owner or contractor (§ 26-23(a)); Augusta says "All residents who need garbage and/or recycling service, are required to use the waste hauler contracted by the village" (Ord. 188); Union City's contractor is the only one allowed to provide residential refuse service (§ 52.05); and Marshall's contract is exclusive for residential refuse (§ 50.05), on top of a City permit for any dumpster of 20 yards or more. In Portage and Marshall we check the City's rules before booking, and in Climax, Augusta and Union City we check the Village's rules before booking. In Homer, Athens and Tekonsha we found no rule online, and we check with the Village before booking. Each city page says what that town asks for.