What Can and Can't Go in a Dumpster in Minnesota

Yes — load it

• Household junk and furniture: sofas, tables, chairs, mattresses, boxes and general clutter.
• Construction and renovation debris: drywall, lumber and plywood, doors, trim and windows, cabinets, countertops and fixtures, carpet, flooring and tile, pallets and packaging.
• Roofing: shingles, tar paper and underlayment, heavy, so mind the weight allowance.
• Concrete, brick, asphalt, rock and dirt — within the weight limits of a 10 or 15, ideally kept as a clean load.
• Cardboard — flattened and kept together, so it can be recycled.
• Yard waste: tree branches and limbs, leaves and grass clippings, bushes and hedge trimmings, soil, sod and mulch, weeds, roots and small stumps — as its own load.
• Small appliances that hold no refrigerant — ask if you are unsure.

Minnesota defines demolition debris as solid waste from demolishing buildings, roads and other structures, "including concrete, brick, bituminous concrete, untreated wood, masonry, glass, trees, rock, and plastic building parts", and adds that it "does not include asbestos wastes" (Minn. R. 7035.0300 subp. 30). The District's definition is narrower: it leaves out treated wood, furniture, appliances, unattached carpet and padding, mattresses, cardboard and paints, among others, and says "Mixtures of Demolition Debris and other Solid Waste are not Demolition Debris" (WLSSD Ord. § 2.1). So a clean load of concrete or brick is a different load from a cleanout, and tell us which you have when you book.

What Minnesota keeps out of the trash

These are the state rules that matter for a roll-off, and where each item goes instead:

Two common myths. Minnesota does not ban mattresses, furniture, shingles, drywall or wood from the trash, so those can go in a roll-off. And the state electronics ban covers TVs and monitors with a cathode-ray tube; the broader ban on flat screens and computers in the Duluth area is the District's local rule, below.

The Duluth-area list (WLSSD)

Inside the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, which covers Duluth, Hermantown, Proctor, Rice Lake, Cloquet, Carlton, Scanlon, Wrenshall and Thomson Township, the District's banned-items list keeps these out of the garbage: recyclable materials, electronic waste, major appliances, tires, asbestos, hazardous waste, household hazardous waste, infectious and pathological waste, medical sharps and yard waste. Electronic waste there means equipment with a display screen or monitor 7 inches or larger, computer systems, video players, fax machines, rechargeable batteries and cell phones. That is a local rule, not a state one, but it applies to every load from the District.

The ordinance also makes the generator separate vehicle fluids, lead-acid and rechargeable batteries, tires, yard waste, hazardous waste, major appliances and problem materials from solid waste (§ 4.4.A), bars anyone from leaving waste, appliances, tires, demolition debris or yard waste on a street or right-of-way (§ 4.8.A), and requires corrugated cardboard to be separated from trash (§ 4.2.I). So flatten cardboard and keep it together, and tell us if there is a lot of it.

Our no list, and why

Our own no list: paint, solvents and oils, fuel and other hazardous liquids, tires, batteries, hazardous chemicals, gas cylinders, propane tanks and other pressurized tanks, medical waste, asbestos, and appliances containing refrigerants unless properly prepared. For a yard waste box, also leave out treated and pressure-treated wood, plastic planters, fertilizers, chemicals and bagged trash. If you are unsure about something, call (218) 522-8487 before you load it; it is far cheaper than finding out at the facility.

The bans are the hauler's business too. The District bars collectors from accepting loads that contain yard waste, batteries, mercury items, vehicle fluids and filters, waste tires, major appliances or medical waste (§ 6.3.7), and Duluth bars yard waste, motor oil, car batteries, tires, medical waste and household hazardous waste from waste set out for a licensed collector (§ 24-17.1(a)). So consider this our notice: banned items stay out of the box.

No — and where it goes instead

Outside the District, Carlton County runs a Household Hazardous Waste Facility at its Transfer Station in Carlton for Carlton County households only, and Lake County takes household hazardous waste on Wednesdays year-round. Check your own city or county page before you plan around a drop-off.

Remove it before you renovate or demolish

Minnesota puts a duty on the owner, the person authorizing the work and the person doing it to remove certain items before a renovation or demolition starts (Minn. R. 7035.0805 subp. 3). The list in subpart 5 covers household furniture, unattached carpet, bedding and mattresses; household hazardous waste such as automotive fluids, lawn and garden chemicals and paint; waste tires and major appliances; mercury thermostats, switches and fluorescent and HID lamps; PCB ballasts and capacitors; refrigerators, AC units and dehumidifiers; oils; lead-acid batteries, lead pipe and lead flashing; electronics with a cathode-ray tube or a circuit board; and asbestos that must be removed. Pull those first, then the building comes down into the roll-off.

Asbestos in Minnesota

The MPCA says hazardous and other problem wastes, including asbestos, must be removed from a structure before it is renovated or demolished, and that the rule applies to all structures, including homes. For regulated buildings, which in general means everything except residences of four dwelling units or less, the MPCA needs notice at least ten working days before the work begins. Asbestos-related work at or above the state thresholds (Minn. Stat. 326.71 subd. 4) needs an MDH-licensed contractor, who must give MDH written notice at least five calendar days before the project begins (326.74). A domiciled owner of a single-family home is not required to hold a licence or pay a project permit fee for asbestos work in that home (326.72).

Minnesota's definition of demolition debris excludes asbestos wastes (Minn. R. 7035.0300 subp. 30), and the District lists asbestos on its banned-items list. Never put asbestos in a roll-off.

Superior and Wisconsin

Across the bridge, Wisconsin keeps its own list out of landfills (Wis. Stat. 287.07): lead-acid batteries and major appliances, waste oil and used oil filters, yard waste including brush up to 6 inches in diameter, waste tires, TVs, computers, monitors, printers and other listed electronics, corrugated cardboard, newspaper, magazines and office paper, aluminum, steel and glass containers, and #1 and #2 plastic containers. The DNR says the bans apply everywhere in Wisconsin, including in homes and businesses. The electronics rule covers TVs and monitors with screens of at least 7 inches, consumer computers and printers, and peripherals (Wis. Stat. 287.17), and covered batteries join the list on January 1, 2028 (287.07(6)). The DNR defines construction and demolition waste as concrete, bricks, asphalt, wood, glass, masonry, roofing, siding and plaster, not paints, solvents, sealers or adhesives (NR 500.03(50)).

For asbestos, the owner or operator must inspect for asbestos before any demolition or renovation (NR 447.06(1)), and regulated jobs need 10 working days' notice to the DNR; a single, isolated house or a building of four or fewer units is typically exempt from the demolition notice, unless the job is part of a DOT road, commercial or industrial, or urban-renewal project, but never from the inspection. Loads must not drop, sift or leak on the road (Wis. Stat. 348.10(2)). Superior's City landfill on Moccasin Mike Rd does not take demolition or building materials, appliances, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, motor oil or household hazardous waste, so a roll-off is the practical route for remodel and demolition debris, and Superior residents can take household hazardous waste to the Resource Renew facility in Duluth free.

Sorting: clean loads, mixed loads, yard waste and household junk

It pays to sort the way the rules do. A clean load of concrete, brick, rock or asphalt is demolition debris and can go to recycling. Mixed remodel and tear-out debris is a different load, and once household junk goes in with it, the District no longer counts it as demolition debris (§ 2.1). Yard waste is a third load, because Minnesota keeps it out of mixed trash (115A.931). Household junk from a cleanout is a fourth, and the one most likely to hide an old TV, a car battery or a set of tires.

So keep brush and leaves in their own load, keep heavy concrete and brick apart from everything else, flatten cardboard, and do not mix a household cleanout into a remodel box without telling us. Whenever possible, metal, concrete, asphalt, cardboard and yard debris are diverted from landfills. If you are not sure where something belongs, call before you load it.