While it would be great if you could just sit building materials out in your curbside garbage containers with the rest of your trash, garbage removal services, whether public or private, generally forbid it. 

Construction materials are generally too heavy, and may contain hazardous materials or sharp edges that can cause harm to anyone handling garbage removal in your area.

There are various ways to rid yourself of building materials, and they vary in price and the amount of physical exertion required.

Take building materials to a public landfill yourself

If you have a vehicle that is capable of hauling building materials, such as a pickup, van, or SUV, your local municipal landfill will take building materials. However, local landfills generally have some restrictions, such as the following:

• Proof of residency in the municipality in which the landfill is located.
• You may be limited to the amount of material that can fit in your personal vehicle, which means no large rental trucks or commercial vehicles.
• You will need to separate toxic materials such as paint and solvents from other materials, and dispose of them in special containers at the landfill.

You can donate building materials to charities that recycle them

There are charities that accept building materials for resale, giving new life to both the materials and the beneficiaries of the charitable efforts. While they won't be able to use trash such as old broken concrete or wallboard, they will accept lumber, doors and windows, kitchen and bathroom fixtures, and just about anything else in the home that is reusable.

Best of all, while you can deliver the materials to their warehouses, they will also pick up your unwanted but usable building materials and fixtures from home renovations. 

Using both of these methods together will limit the amount of material that you'll need to take to the landfill, as well as saving space at the landfill while also helping your fellow citizens rebuild their lives.

Dumpster rental

This is the best option when there's just too much building material to move, or if you will be involved in a longer renovation project and you need a space to periodically dump material without making multiple trips to a landfill or throwing it into your yard and risking a fine.

You don't need to have the type of huge dumpster that you see in back of large businesses dropped outside your home. They are available in various sizes, according to the amount of material you will need to move and the space that you have for the dumpster to be placed.

All you need to do is call the rental business when the dumpster is full, and they will either take it away for good or empty it and return it according to your need.

When renting a dumpster from a company like General Waste Removal, you must ask what types of materials are prohibited from being thrown into the dumpster. This usually consists of hazardous materials such as solvents, poisons such as insecticides, flammable materials, and anything else that can't be dumped in a landfill.

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