What Cannot Go in a Dumpster in Clermont, FL

The items that never go in a dumpster

A dumpster takes household junk, furniture, drywall, lumber, flooring, roofing and yard waste. It does not take hazardous material. The list is the same in every city in the service area, because it comes from the facility, not from the provider: hazardous waste, paint and solvents, asbestos, batteries, tires, motor oil, appliances with refrigerant, medical waste, and electronics in some cases. Finding one of these in a load at pickup can stop the job, because the facility will not take the load with it in.

Paint is the item people get wrong most often. A can of paint with liquid paint in it never goes in a dumpster, because the paint leaks out and contaminates the load. A can of paint that is fully dried out, with the lid off and the paint solid, is a different matter in some places — but the rule in Lake County is to take household hazardous waste to the transfer station, not to put it in a container. The Log House Road Transfer Station in Clermont takes household hazardous waste from residents, including paint, and the City of Clermont's Garbage Guide points residents there.

Asbestos is the item with the highest stakes. It turns up in older homes — in floor tiles, in pipe insulation, in roofing material from the mid-1900s — and it must never go in a dumpster. If a remodel uncovers material that might be asbestos, stop the work and have it tested before it goes anywhere. The same applies to lead paint, which turns up in homes built before 1978. The provider can explain what to do, but the testing comes first.

Where prohibited items go instead

Lake County takes household hazardous waste at the Log House Road Transfer Station in Clermont, at 10435 Log House Road, open Wednesdays and Saturdays for residents. The station takes paint, thinners, tires, rechargeable batteries and other household hazardous waste, with limits per household. The Lake County Central Solid Waste Facility in Tavares, at 13130 County Landfill Road, takes residential drop-offs Monday through Saturday, and the City of Clermont's Garbage Guide points residents to both facilities.

Appliances with refrigerant need a separate step. A fridge or an air conditioner must have the refrigerant removed by a qualified person before it can be taken away, and the provider can explain how that works. Tires go to the transfer station or the central facility, with a limit per household per year. Car batteries go to the transfer station, with a limit of two per household.

A load stopped at pickup

How to keep a load clean

Sort before you load. Three piles: what goes in the container, what stays, and what never goes in a container. The third pile is the one people forget, and it is the one that stops a pickup. Put the third pile in the garage, not in the container, and take it to the transfer station when the job is done.

Tell the provider what is in the load. If the job includes anything that might be hazardous — an old paint store, a shed full of chemicals, a house built before 1978 — say so before the delivery is arranged. The provider can explain what goes in the container and what goes to the transfer station, and the job will not stop at pickup.