What goes in the box, and what never does

The two lists, plainly

In the container: furniture, mattresses, carpet, drywall, roofing, yard waste, fencing, general household clear-out, and concrete and dirt within reason. Out of the container: paint, chemicals and cleaners, batteries, anything holding refrigerant, and anything else hazardous. Two things sit in between. Construction debris goes in, but it is priced separately because it weighs more. Tires are priced separately too, so they need to be mentioned on the phone rather than buried in the load. The out list is short and it does not move, because every item on it has to be handled on its own at the far end. A load with those things hidden in it becomes a problem after the truck leaves, so they get separated before it does.

Household clear-outs are the easy case

Furniture, mattresses, box springs, carpet and pad, clothes, toys, boxes, small appliances without refrigerant, the contents of a closet or an attic. All of it goes straight in. This is the load type that runs out of space long before it troubles the 2 ton allowance, so an estate cleanout or a garage nobody has opened in years usually runs out of room before it runs out of weight. Break down what you can. A couch cut in half takes up half the room. Load flat and heavy on the bottom, bulky on top, and the box holds noticeably more.

Remodel and construction debris

Drywall, lumber, trim, cabinets, flooring, tile, fencing, roofing and siding all go in. On the scale this is a different animal from household junk. Mixed construction debris is dense and it stacks tight, so the weight climbs while the container still looks half empty. That is why construction debris is priced separately at Dump It. Say it is a remodel or a roof when you call and the number gets sorted before delivery, not at the end. A roof tear-off in particular is heavier than the roof that went on, so it counts as construction debris every time.

Concrete, dirt and yard waste, within reason

These are fine in sensible amounts, and they are where the weight line gets crossed. Concrete and dirt are the two materials that hit the 2 ton allowance early, while the floor of the box is barely covered. Yard waste is the quiet one. Sod, palm and wet brush weigh far more than they look, and the load gets heavier if it rains while the container is sitting there. A few wheelbarrows of any of it is nothing. A driveway tear-out or a yard full of soaked debris is a conversation to have first, because over 2 tons it is $100.

Paint, chemicals and cleaners

Paint, thinners, pesticides, pool chemicals and household cleaners stay out. They count as household hazardous waste, and the worry is what they do once they leak into the ground. They cannot ride in a mixed load to a regular disposal site. Your county solid waste department takes household paint and chemicals, so check what yours offers and how they want it brought in before you start loading. Keep the containers sealed and upright on the way there. A nearly empty can is treated the same as a full one.

Batteries

Batteries stay out. Florida keeps lead-acid and rechargeable batteries out of household trash, so they have to be recycled or taken to a site set up for them. That covers car batteries, the packs in cordless tools, and the rechargeables inside phones, laptops and toys. The place that sold you a car battery is usually the place to ask about the old one. For rechargeables and tool packs, check with the store or with your county program. Pull them out of the pile before you start loading, because a battery buried under a couch is the one nobody finds until the far end.

Tires

Tires are not refused, but they do not go in with general waste. They get handled on their own and priced separately, the same way construction debris is. Say how many you have on the phone before you load anything, and the tire price gets added to the quote up front. Two tires off a trailer and forty tires from behind a barn are different jobs, and the phone call is where that gets sorted. If you would rather not pay to have them hauled, ask a tire shop or your county solid waste department what they take.

Anything holding refrigerant

Refrigerators, freezers, window air conditioners, dehumidifiers and water coolers stay out. This one is federal. The refrigerant inside has to be recovered by someone set up to do it, and documented, before the unit can be scrapped. That paperwork cannot follow an appliance that showed up buried in a mixed load, which is why the whole unit stays out rather than just the compressor. An old fridge is not simply scrap metal until somebody pulls the charge. Name the appliance on the phone and you will get pointed to where it goes.