Recycle Your Computer With Help From Gary

Renting a dumpster for a day, or a week, is a great way to get rid of unwanted items after cleaning out a storage closet, before putting your parents' home on the market or after a remodeling project. Such dumpsters allow you to efficiently dispose of a lot of trash at the same time without having to make a lot of trips back and forth to the local landfill. However, there are restrictions to what you can dispose of in a rental dumpster. Be sure to follow the rules to keep you and trash workers safe as well as keep from contaminating the landfill.

Items prohibited from a rental dumpster

1. Paints and paint thinners. These items contain chemicals and other substances that can leak into the local water supply if disposed on in a landfill. Most communities have special places you can take old paint.

2. Pesticides. Products used to kill weeds and bugs are considered safe in small quantities when sprayed in your garden. However concentrated amounts, as in a bottle or other container, can be a danger to the local wildlife population.

3. Electronics. Cell phones, computers, monitors and tablets all have substances that can leak into the soil. Many states prohibit them from being discarded in a landfill and some dumpster companies will even add an extra fee if they find one of these items in your load.

4. Batteries. Most batteries have at least a little mercury in them and some, like a car battery, have acid. None of these substances belongs in a landfill.

5. Tires. Tires are extremely slow to deteriorate and clutter up landfills as well as providing a spawning ground for mosquitos and other insects. Look for a company that recycles old tires to create landscaping material for playgrounds. 

6. Garden debris. Most dumpster companies also prohibit discarding garden waste, such as tree limbs, grass clippings and weeds in their dumpsters, largely because such items contribute a lot of weigh to the dumpster, making it difficult for the crew to handle.

7. Automobile fluids. If you change your own oil or flush your transmission or radiator yourself, you'll have to find a special disposal site, not a dumpster, where you can dispose of these fluids. Like paint and pesticides, they pose a hazard if allowed to leak into the soil.

While renting a dumpster has a lot of advantages, make sure you keep from using it to dispose of things like paint, computers, garden debris and tires. Contact a business, such as Parks & Sons of Sun City, Inc., for more information.