Practical Waste Management Blog

Any good project begins with a solid strategy, and that includes finding out exactly what types of permits will be required by your local municipality. Planning for the right size dumpster is definitely part of the planning process, but will you need a permit to rent a dumpster and have it placed on or near your project site?

The answer will vary depending on where you live. While there is a clear and easy to understand guideline to follow for Chicago residents, it’s not so simple when you get out into surrounding communities that have their own governing bodies and sets of laws.

That’s why it’s important to do your research, because you don’t want a code violation to add delays and costs to your project.

Did you know Americans generate more than 250 million tons of waste per year? Fortunately, decades of focus on recycling has directed about 35 percent of that waste away from landfills and toward more responsible destinations where it can be composted or reused. When it comes to taking responsibility for your own waste, what measures can you take to protect the environment?

Focus on recycling

First and foremost, if you don’t want to attract pests, be mindful of what you put into your dumpster rental. Never place food items into it, as it will rot and stink up your immediate area. Flies will be attracted to it, which will cause an infestation of maggots. Raccoons are notorious for finding ways into tight spaces to retrieve all types of items, and you don’t want to entice them with food odors. If you live in an area where bears are present, you should be well aware of the dangers of attracting these large beasts with improperly disposed of food waste.

Your dumpster rental will likely not be with you for long, but even in that short span of time, it can become a major magnet for pests of all species and sizes. From tiny crawling maggots to large bears, you don’t want your dumpster rental to be anything other than a repository for your waste. So, what can you do to prevent it from becoming something you never intended?

No food waste

First and foremost, if you don’t want to attract pests, be mindful of what you put into your dumpster rental. Never place food items into it, as it will rot and stink up your immediate area. Flies will be attracted to it, which will cause an infestation of maggots. Raccoons are notorious for finding ways into tight spaces to retrieve all types of items, and you don’t want to entice them with food odors. If you live in an area where bears are present, you should be well aware of the dangers of attracting these large beasts with improperly disposed of food waste.

Just about any remodeling project or room cleanup is going to leave you with piles and piles of refuse. In fact, the amount will probably surprise you. For instance, if you’re tackling small bathroom remodel, you could see 150 pounds or more of refuse for every square foot that you demolish. So, when it comes to disposing of the debris, it becomes a bag vs. dumpster issue.

Most people are familiar with dumpsters, and less so with bags. As you might have guessed, “dumpster bag” is a term derived from dumpster due to its shape and purpose, except it’s a bag instead of a metal container. It is a waste management item that is portable and small when collapsed. It’s made of a material that will withstand waste common with household projects. You fill it and call a waste management company to pick it up and dispose of it for you. However, pickup for these items aren’t available in all communities, so you want to make sure someone nearby has the capabilities of hauling it off before you make a purchase.

Buy a bag or rent a small dumpster?

An important note here is that a bag is only an option if you have three cubic yards or less of debris. It is roughly a 600-gallon receptacle, about eight feet long and four feet wide. Most are about 2.5 feet high. The weight limitation is around 3,300 pounds, maximum, which is debris from an approximately 22-square-foot room.

It’s amazing how much junk can pile up in a garage, especially ones that don’t house an automobile. Broken ladders, old garden hoses, old paint cans, unused tools, empty flower pots, motor oil, forgotten toys, old newspapers and magazines – the list goes on and on. There comes a time when a massive purge is needed. Is a dumpster rental for a garage clean out a good idea?

Considering that you probably have a limit to how much trash you can put at the curb, tasking your trash company with removing all your garage waste is not a plausible solution. Your best bet is to go with a residential dumpster rental. There isn’t much to it on your end, you just call the waste management company and order it, they drop off dumpster, you fill it up with your garage waste, and the junk removal company carries it off.

Residential dumpster rental sizes for a garage debris removal

So, what size dumpster should you rent? This is a very important question because you don’t want to go too small and have to pay to have it carried off two or three times, and you don’t want to go too big and risk losing money. Most dumpster rental companies have dumpster that will hold between six cubic yards and 30 cubic yards of waste. Those numbers don’t mean much to most people, so let’s break it down by roll off size.