What Can and Can't Go in a Dumpster in North Carolina

Yes — load it

• Household junk and furniture: sofas, tables, boxes, general clutter — and mattresses.
• Construction and renovation debris: lumber and plywood, drywall, doors and windows, flooring, carpet and tile, cabinets and countertops, scrap metal and fixtures — and pallets, mixed into construction debris.
• Roofing: shingles, tar paper and underlayment — heavy, so mind the weight allowance.
• Cardboard and packaging.
• Concrete, brick, dirt, asphalt and gravel — in a weight-limited 10 or 15 yard, kept separate.
• Yard debris: branches, shrubs, leaves, grass clippings, soil and sod — ideally in its own load.
• Small appliances that are not white goods or electronics — ask if you are unsure.

That list lines up with North Carolina's own definitions. Construction or demolition debris is waste "resulting solely from construction, remodeling, repair, or demolition operations on pavement, buildings, or other structures" (G.S. 130A-290(4)), and the state's rules count municipal and industrial waste that is identical to construction materials as construction waste too (15A NCAC 13B .0101(14)). Wooden pallets are banned from most landfills but may go to a landfill permitted only for construction and demolition debris (G.S. 130A-309.10(f)(12)). We found no North Carolina statute or rule that names mattresses.

What North Carolina keeps out of landfills

G.S. 130A-309.10(f) starts: "No person shall knowingly dispose of the following solid wastes in landfills". The ban falls on any person — the customer who throws the item out as well as the landfill. That is why we check loads:

Three common myths. North Carolina has no rule that bans mattresses, and we found none. The electronics ban does not cover keyboards and mice. And yard waste is not banned from every landfill — the ban carves out landfills approved for yard trash, and land-clearing and inert debris landfills take it.

What each landfill takes, and what our boxes refuse

North Carolina sorts disposal by facility. A construction and demolition landfill may not take garbage, hazardous waste, liquid waste, municipal solid waste, special wastes such as whole tires, white goods, yard trash, loose bulbs, ballasts, thermostats and batteries, lead pipe and flashing, transformers, or CCA and creosote treated wood, and containers such as drums, cans and bottles only if they are "empty and perforated" (15A NCAC 13B .0542(e)). A land-clearing and inert debris landfill "shall accept only yard waste and inert debris waste" (.0563(1)). Iredell County's Twin Oaks facility takes demolition debris — wood, concrete, asphalt, brick, block, gravel, rocks, shingles, windows, sheetrock and flooring — but not dirt, and no County facility takes stumps, liquid waste, medical waste or burnt wood.

Our own no list: paints, oils and solvents, tires, batteries, hazardous chemicals, propane tanks and gas cylinders, medical waste, flammable materials, asbestos-containing materials and appliances containing refrigerant. For a yard waste box, also leave out treated and pressure-treated lumber, plastic planters, chemicals and fertilizers, and household trash mixed in with the yard debris. If you are unsure about something, call (980) 447-2697 before you toss it in — it is far cheaper than finding out at the gate.

No — and where it goes instead

NC DEQ's household hazardous waste page points homeowners to county collection programs for these products. In Iredell County that is the Household Hazardous Waste Day; check your own county if you live outside Iredell.

Appliances and refrigerant

North Carolina defines white goods as "refrigerators, ranges, water heaters, freezers, unit air conditioners, washing machines, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and other similar domestic and commercial large appliances" (G.S. 130A-290(44)), bans them from landfills (G.S. 130A-309.10(f)(4)) and from construction and demolition landfills (15A NCAC 13B .0542(e)(13)), and lets the state assess up to $100 a day against anyone who, knowing it is required, fails to remove the refrigerant from a discarded white good (G.S. 130A-309.84). Federal law adds that the final processor — "including but not limited to scrap recyclers and landfill operators" — must recover the refrigerant or verify it has been recovered (40 CFR 82.155(b)). That is why large appliances stay out of our boxes. If you would rather not deal with a fridge or a window unit yourself, our junk removal service takes appliances with refrigerants properly removed.

Asbestos in North Carolina

The state Health Hazards Control Unit (NC DHHS) requires a DHHS 3768 notice for "Demolition of a building, whether or not it contains asbestos", and for removing regulated asbestos-containing material of at least 160 square feet, 260 linear feet or 35 cubic feet. "Removal or demolition activities may start on the tenth working day", and faxed filings are not accepted. The state unit covers Iredell County; Mecklenburg County — Davidson, Cornelius and Huntersville — runs its own program, which the state says should be contacted.

Landfills manage asbestos under the federal rules (40 CFR 61 Subpart M): covered on receipt and placed in a marked area (15A NCAC 13B .0542(c)(3)). Iredell County asks for 24 hours' notice before asbestos comes to Twin Oaks. Never put asbestos in a roll-off.

Sorting: construction debris, inert loads, yard waste and household junk

North Carolina sorts waste by the facility that takes it, and it pays to sort it the same way. Clean stumps and brush, and dirt-free concrete, brick, block, asphalt, gravel and rock, can go to a land-clearing and inert debris landfill — usually the cheapest drop — but inert debris "shall not contain chemical adhesives or sealants, or lead-based paint" (15A NCAC 13B .0101(28)), and shingles, drywall and treated lumber are not inert. Remodel and tear-out debris goes to a construction and demolition landfill, which takes no household garbage. Household junk from a cleanout is a different load again. At Iredell County sites, a load that mixes residential and commercial waste is charged at the commercial rate (§12-8(b)).

So keep brush and stumps in their own load where you can, keep heavy concrete and brick apart from everything else, and do not mix a household cleanout into a remodel box without telling us. Whenever possible we send metal, concrete, asphalt, cardboard and yard debris to recycling. If you are not sure where something belongs, call before you load it.