6 Items Too Big For a Dumpster Rental

No doubt you’ve heard the adage about how a square-shaped peg won’t fit into a round hole, regardless of how much you might want to bend physics. In the same vein, there are certain objects that just won’t fit into a rented dumpster, no matter how hard you try.

A dumpster can vary in size, but it’s usually between 9 and 12 feet long. The width can range from 5 1/2 feet to 8 feet. Sometimes, in the midst of a large project, you can rent a 20-yard dumpster. But if the item you want to dispose of is larger than these specifications, they won’t fit into the dumpster. No matter how hard you try.

Not to worry, though. Here are six items that won’t fit into a dumpster, along with information about the proper way to dispose of them:

1. Cars

   Perhaps it’s not surprising that even small cars are too big to be disposed of in a dumpster. To some people, the most surprising factor is that it’s been tried. But you wouldn’t believe the kinds of things the public has tried to cram into dumpster bins over the years.

If you’re trying to get rid of your car, you can use any of these methods for disposal:

• If the engine will run, you can sell the car by posting an ad on Craigslist or a similar site. These sites will allow you to share information about the car and have the buyer pick the car up for you.
• You can donate the vehicle to a charity which gives cars to people in need. These charities will pick the vehicle up for you without any extra charge. You’ll also be able to claim the vehicle’s value as a tax deduction during tax time.

• If the engine won’t start or the car is otherwise unusable, you might be able to sell it to a mechanic or junkyard. These places can strip your car for usable parts. You will need your license and your car’s title in order to complete the sale. Unlike the previous two options, you will need to have the car driven or towed to the buyer’s location.

2. Recreational Vehicles

   Believe it or not, cars are not the only vehicle that people have tried and failed to fit into a Dumpster. Golf carts, ATVs, four-wheelers, and boats also won’t fit into a dumpster. If you aren’t able to sell your recreational vehicle online, there are other avenues you can take for disposal:

• Call a vocational school and ask if they’d like the recreational vehicle as a donation. You’ll get a tax deduction, and the school might be able to restore your boat or vehicle.
• Contact your city hall to ask if they have any contacts interested in buying old vehicles or boats. Some city halls have budgets for the acquisition of such things.
• Sell the vehicle or boat through a garage sale or yard sale. Set the vehicle in your front yard where it’ll be easily seen by passersby.

3. Storage Units

   Even though a Dumpster is built to hold an almost-infinite variety of different objects, storage units don’t make the list. You can’t fit a shed, trailer, or another variety of storage bin into your rented dumpster. But you can ask your junkyard or local scrap yard whether they want to purchase the storage area.

   If you’re trading an old unit for a new one, you can contact the company to find out if they’ll take the old unit off your hands or allow you trade-in value when you purchase the new unit.

4. Furniture

   Okay, this one requires some elaboration. Most appliances and general pieces of furniture can fit in your standard rented Dumpster. But sometimes pieces like bedframes or sectionals that don’t break down will exceed the size requirements.

Try these options to dispose of overlarge furniture:

• Sell the furniture during a yard sale, so you only need to move the pieces outside and have the buyer deal with transport
• Call a donation service to take the furniture off your hands for free. This comes with a bonus of being able to claim a tax deduction for the furniture’s value.

5. Miniature Playgrounds

   Many children grow up with playgrounds in their backyards. These can include swing sets, rock climbing walls, monkey bars, and tree houses. Oftentimes, these sets are difficult to dismantle, and they won’t fit into a dumpster in one piece. You can try these disposal methods instead:

• Find out if one of your neighbors is interested in the set. Then rent a trailer to transport the playground from your backyard to theirs.
• Sell the set during a yard sale, making sure that the set’s buyer is the one responsible for the transportation of the set.
• Call a local school or non-profit organization to find out whether they would take the playground as a donation. Donated materials can be claimed as a tax deduction.

6. Large Landscaping Materials

   After you finish a renovation or other landscaping project on your land, a Dumpster rental is a good way to get rid of excess supplies and materials. But sometimes there will be large materials that can’t fit in the Dumpster, like large trees. Trying to make the trees fit in the Dumpster involves chopping them up, which is a hassle at best and hazardous at worst.

If you don’t chop up the trees, you could try these methods of disposal:

• Contact your city to find out whether they have services which remove trees from a property
• Recycle the trees; you can turn them into firewood, wood accents, mulch, and garden borders.

Hiring a Disposal Company

If you’re investing in a dumpster rental for your cleanup project, you might want to rent a bin from a company that provides additional junk removal services. For Canadians, RedBins is a company that’s been helping with garbage disposal for years. They can give you bins for the junk you can dispose yourself, and they can also give you teams of professionals to take care of the junk you need help with.

Professional disposal companies are ideal for the safe transportation of your garbage. For information about the disposal services available for your project, give RedBins a call at 416-733-2467.