Bulk Item Waste Removal Tips
If you’re doing an annual clean or simply trying to make space in your home or garage, you’re bound to find items that you want to do away with. Any item that is too big to put in a garbage bag or weighs over 23 kilos is usually considered bulk waste. Since a garbage truck won’t pick up your bulky waste, you will have to schedule a pick-up with your local waste municipality department or city agency. You can do this online or calling directly.
The next thing you’ll have to figure out is whether your items are acceptable for collection. Furniture, toilets, bidets, wood, windows, mirrors and flooring are all acceptable. However, items such as automobile engine parts, building debris, concrete, bricks, soil or rock, are not. Any material that is ignitable, corrosive, or toxic, like gasoline, propane, acid, or asbestos, is not eligible for collection because of the harm it can bring to the environment. There are hazardous waste management sites that you can contact to dispose of these types of waste in a safe manner, but you’ll need to visit their website to ensure that you follow the appropriate guidelines such as containment and labeling of the hazardous waste.
Additionally, you will have to make sure to prepare your bulky waste items for collection to avoid fines. Refrigerators must have the doors removed, whilst tires must have the rims removed before being put on the curb. If you’re throwing items like windows or mirrors, make sure that you place two pieces of tape in the form of an “X” to keep them from shattering. Wood from tables, shelves, and doors should be taken apart and bundled. If there are any nails, tacks, or other sharp protruding items, remove them. Waste must be clear of food, trash or flammable materials as well. Place the waste items to be collected on the scheduled day and not before. If you’re throwing away carpeting, make sure that it’s rolled up and tied first. When you’re ready to put your bulky waste on the curb, see to it that you don’t pile them on top of each other. Do not block sidewalks, driveways or streets. Property owners may get hit with heavy fines if the bulky items aren’t placed correctly on the curb on the specified collection day.
If you feel that the need to remove your bulky waste is urgent, you can hire a private waste removal service, in lieu of your city government’s public service, but at your own expense. You also want to make sure that the waste service is a legitimately authorised waste removal provider. If you fail to do so, you risk having your waste illegally dumped which could force you to incur some costly fines.
Also keep in mind that most items can be donated to a charity collection centre so long as they are in decent or working condition. Some of these items are refrigerators, stoves, computers, washers, dressers, tables, chairs, carpeting, and sofas. Some centres may allow you to donate your old mattress and box spring, but you’ll have to check first. Most don’t accept these two items for sanitary reasons, like bed bug infestation or body fluids on the material. Reuse and recycling centres will usually collect your items for free.
Warnings
People tend to throw more trash into a bulk item pile that’s been left unattended to for a long period of time. Eventually, that bulk of trash grows and can make your residence and neighborhood appear unattractive. Not to mention the fact that refrigerators and stoves can be unsafe to children. The benefits of bulk item pick-up services are that they help keep streets and sidewalks clutter free. This way, pedestrians and drivers can remain safe when going about their business.