Rules
What Can and Cannot Go in a Dumpster: The Paducah List
The accepted list is long and boring. The prohibited list is short, strictly enforced, and the reason loads occasionally get turned away. Here is both, plus where the rest goes in McCracken County.
The short version
If it came out of a building, a yard or a household and it is solid, non-hazardous and not on fire, it can almost certainly go in the container. If it is liquid, toxic, pressurised, or contains asbestos or refrigerant, it cannot.
That covers about ninety-five percent of questions. The rest of this article is the other five percent, which is where the money and the headaches live.
What you can put in
Household and furniture
Sofas, armchairs, beds, mattresses and box springs, tables, wardrobes, bookcases, desks, carpets, rugs, curtains, clothing, linens, toys, books, paperwork, kitchenware, patio furniture, grills with the propane tank removed, exercise equipment and general clutter. There is no mattress surcharge on our containers.
Construction and renovation debris
Drywall, plaster, lath, timber, plywood and sheet goods, doors, windows, trim, kitchen cabinets, countertops, tiling, laminate, hardwood and vinyl flooring, insulation, siding, soffit and fascia, guttering, porch and deck timber, and general non-hazardous building material.
Roofing
Asphalt shingle in both three-tab and architectural, metal panels, felt and synthetic underlayment, flashing, drip edge, ridge vents and roof decking. Weight is the constraint here, not acceptability — see the roofing sizing guide.
Heavy and inert material
Concrete, block, brick, pavers, stone, rubble, ceramic and porcelain tile and clean asphalt. All fine, all heavy — these belong in a 10 yard.
Scrap metal
Ductwork, conduit, steel studs, railings, farm sheeting, fencing and bicycles. Worth separating if there is enough of it, because it is often worth money rather than costing it.
What is prohibited
These are not company preferences. Receiving facilities reject them and Kentucky rules prohibit them.
- Liquids of any kind — including paint, stains, varnish, thinners, solvents, oils and fuels
- Asbestos-containing material — common in pre-1980 floor tile, mastic, pipe lagging, textured ceilings and some siding. Licensed abatement only
- Tyres
- Batteries — vehicle, marine, lithium and household
- Propane, gas and pressurised cylinders, including "empty" ones
- Refrigerant-charged equipment — fridges, freezers, AC units and dehumidifiers not professionally evacuated and tagged
- Pesticides, herbicides and fertiliser
- Medical and infectious waste, including sharps
- Hot ashes or anything smouldering
- Contaminated soil
- Fluorescent tubes and older ballasts
- Electronics at volume — a few household items in a mixed load are usually fine, but televisions, monitors and computers should go to an e-scrap route
The grey areas people ask about
Paint cans
Liquid paint is prohibited. Dried-out latex paint is generally acceptable, and the City of Paducah's own guidance is the simplest instruction to follow: open the can and let the paint harden, and once it is solid and not pourable it can go out with the garbage. Cat litter or sand speeds that up. Oil-based paint is hazardous whether wet or dry and needs the county route.
Appliances
Washers, dryers, ovens and dishwashers are fine. Anything with a compressor — fridges, freezers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers — needs the refrigerant professionally evacuated and the unit tagged before any facility will take it. Most transfer stations in this part of Kentucky charge a recovery fee if you leave that to them.
Treated timber
Acceptable in a mixed load. Not acceptable in a clean-wood container. That matters here because deck, fence and dock timber is nearly always treated.
Mattresses
Perfectly acceptable, no surcharge from us. Bulky rather than heavy, so allow for the volume.
Brush and yard waste
Acceptable in a mixed container, but it is usually the wrong answer financially. Clean vegetation has a cheaper route through the city compost facility, and the City of Paducah also runs brush collection. See the brush guide before you fill a mixed container with limbs.
Where to take what we cannot accept
| Material | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Paint, solvents, garden and pool chemicals | County household hazardous waste collection |
| Antifreeze and used motor oil | Most auto parts retailers take them back |
| Vehicle batteries | Auto parts retailers |
| Tyres | Tyre retailers and county collection events |
| Electronics and e-scrap | County collection events and dedicated recyclers |
| Fluorescent tubes | Household hazardous waste collection |
| Refrigerant appliances | Licensed technician to evacuate and tag first |
| Asbestos | Licensed abatement contractor only |
| Brush, limbs and yard waste | City of Paducah Compost Facility, North 8th Street |
The Kentucky Division of Waste Management publishes fact sheets covering the proper route for most household hazardous materials, and the City of Paducah links to them. If something has you genuinely unsure, that is the place to check.
Spring Clean Up Day
Worth planning around, because it solves most of the prohibited list in one trip and costs nothing.
Each spring the City of Paducah and McCracken County run a free drop-off day at the Republic Services transfer station on Burnett Street. Residents can bring household garbage, household hazardous waste, old tyres, appliances, batteries and e-scrap. You need identification showing you live in the city or the county, and it runs until early afternoon rather than all day.
What it does not take: medical waste, commercial waste or radioactive items. It is a residential programme, so it is not a route for contractor debris.
If you have a renovation coming up and a shed full of half-used chemicals, doing the clean-up day first and the container afterwards is the cheapest possible sequence.
What happens if prohibited material turns up
Loads are inspected at the receiving facility. If prohibited material is identified, one of three things happens: the item is pulled and specially handled at cost, the load is rejected and returned, or the facility levies a charge which is passed on.
None of those are good outcomes and all cost more than a phone call would have. If you are looking at something and wondering, that wondering is the signal to ask.
A pre-load checklist
- Walk the pile and pull out anything liquid, pressurised or chemical
- Check for a refrigerant tag on any appliance with a compressor
- If the building predates 1980 and you are disturbing floor tile, mastic or pipe insulation, stop and get it tested
- Set aside scrap metal if there is enough to be worth it
- Keep clean brush out if you have a decent volume of it
- Check pockets, drawers, tins and books before furniture goes in
- Load flat and heavy first, bulky on top, and stop at the rail
Need a container in Paducah?
Call and describe the job. Three minutes on the phone gets you a size recommendation, a flat rate and a delivery window — and we will tell you if a smaller, cheaper container is the right answer.
Call (270) 477-4085