I have a mix of scrap parts from a defunct swing set that I cannot break down any further. I have concrete with a slice of a metal pole in the center and some plastic mixed with (ie: plastic clad) metal parts. My community dump won’t take some of these, and was wishy-washy on others. Also, they want $15 for some of what they will take. If I have to pay a small fee, I will but…how can I find a dump that will take ALL this stuff (even if there is a fee)?
I guess then the question becomes will a non-local dump accept “donations” from out-of-towners? (Oh, I remember how easy this all used to be!)
Other suggestions?
a) Pay a junk man to haul it all away?
b) Wait for a community day when the County will take almost anything? …less than a HAZMAT situation, that is!
Did you ask your community dump where these things can be disposed? Surely they’re going to know better that a bunch of strangers on the internet who have no idea where you live.
If it’s metal, drag the whole mess out to the curb and tape a big sign on it that says “FREE”. The next time a scrapper is driving through your neighborhood, they’ll take it, concrete, plastic coated metal and all.
You can take it a step further and put it up on craigslist.
If your city has a special collection/spring cleaning coming up, put it out for that. Even if the city doesn’t take it, the scrappers are usually out in full force on those days.
The other option is to take a sawzall to it, hack it up into manageable sizes, and put it in your garbage bin. A few pieces each week.
Another idea; drive around with the debris in the trunk until you find a small pile of garbage and then add yours to it, on the theory that one big pile is better than two little piles.
You might look for a “concrete and construction debris dump” near you, or look into a dumpster rental. The dumpster rental has the advantage of perhaps having a lot more room for other junk, but is likely an expensive solution.
I have a dumpster at work. It’s amazing what will fit in a dumpster. I use it for all our household garbage, work garbage, spring cleaning crap, etc and yet I usually fill it 3/4 of the way full most weeks.
People occasionally ask if they can dump stuff in my dumpster. They buy me a case of beer or give me some cash. Win/win. Know anyone with a dumpster?
Ditto. It has always been nice to be able to take a work van*/pick up home, fill it with something I need to get rid of and toss it in the dumpster at work.
But on the flip side, getting into work in the morning and finding that someone filled the entire dumpster with furniture or a landscaper dumped all their yard waste in it is a PITA. A special pickup is really expensive.
*Also nice that when I lived in apartments, I could use a work van and move by myself, and could do it in a day.
Resist the temptation to just randomly dump it in a dumpster belonging to a business. It’s called “theft of services” and you can be prosecuted for it.
Arrange it in a way that makes it look less like a pile of stuff, maybe some vertical pieces, some horizontal pieces supported by other pieces…then donate to your city as art titled “Man Against Nature”.
I had a lot of success getting rid of scrap metal (from old broken A/Cs, lawn mowers and microwaves to unidentifiable bits of metal) with Craigslist ads while cleaning out the basement this summer. Make sure you use the phrase “free scrap metal” in the ad title, not just free, however.
In fact, the first pile I advertised, I’d decided to multi-task and smother some weeds at the same time by covering the ground with cardboard then staking a tarp over it before piling on the random bits of metal. When I got home that day all the metal was gone - and so was the tarp, the stakes, and even the cardboard. Oops.
This thread title can be interpreted so many different ways.
My parents have a company that picks up their trash. Sometimes they’ve had me haul stuff directly to where all the trash is dumped, and dump it there. I was told this is perfectly fine by the people who work there since we are already paying them to take our trash.
