What can go in the dumpster

Most household junk and furniture, cardboard, clean lumber and framing scrap, drywall, cabinets, flooring, fixtures and yard waste can go in. If you're not sure about something, text a photo to (909) 284-4597 before you load it. Robert has the final say on every load.

California bans hazardous and universal waste from the trash, and that includes dumpsters: paint, motor oil and filters, solvents, pesticides, pool chemicals, antifreeze, propane tanks, aerosol cans that aren't empty, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, and TVs, computers and other electronics.

County disposal sites also turn away liquids, sealed containers, medical waste and sharps, and hot ashes, so those stay out too.

To a San Bernardino County Fire household hazardous waste site, where drop-off is free for residents. In Big Bear Lake, the collection facility is at 42040 Garstin Drive and is open Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm. The Rim communities from Crestline to Running Springs don't have a permanent site. The nearest ones are in San Bernardino (2824 East W Street, weekdays 9 am to 4 pm) and Redlands (500 Kansas Street, Saturdays 7:30 am to 12:30 pm), and County Fire holds collection events during the year.

Call 1-800-OILY-CAT (645-9228) to confirm hours and find the next event. The limit is 15 gallons or 125 pounds per trip, in containers of 5 gallons or less.

They're universal waste, and California bans them from the trash for households as well as businesses. County Fire's household hazardous waste sites take household and car batteries and mercury thermostats, and some of them take electronics. Call 1-800-OILY-CAT (645-9228) to find a site that takes what you have.

Call first. Fridges, freezers, AC units and dehumidifiers hold refrigerant, which has to be removed by a certified technician before disposal, and County disposal sites take refrigerators only with no Freon left in. County household hazardous waste sites don't take large appliances.

Tell us first. Pressure-treated wood (old decking, fence boards and posts, landscape timbers) is treated wood waste under California law. It can't be burned, scavenged or chipped for mulch, and once it has been separated it can't be mixed back in with other trash.

Only certain lined landfills accept it. In San Bernardino County that means the Mid-Valley Landfill in Rialto and the Victorville Landfill. The County's mountain transfer stations don't take it.

Call first. County disposal sites take tires only off the rim, no more than nine per load, and charge an added fee for them.

Couches, chairs, tables, dressers and other household furniture are usually fine. Ask before you load a mattress or box spring, and we'll tell you how to handle it.

Call or text first. Dirt, rock, concrete, asphalt, tile and roofing shingles get heavy long before the dumpster looks full, and disposal is billed by the pound, so we plan heavy loads with you before they go in.

Yes. San Bernardino County requires an asbestos certification before its landfills and transfer stations will accept demolition debris from a structure built before 1984, or from any burned structure, whatever its age. Tell us the building's age and history before you load demolition debris.

Yes, yard waste can go in. Cut branches to 4 feet or shorter, which is the County transfer stations' length limit. If the whole load is green waste, tell us when you book: green waste is recyclable under California's organics law, so it's worth keeping separate from trash when you can.

Never hot or smoldering ashes. County disposal sites reject hot ashes and burning materials, and a smoldering load is a fire risk in your driveway and on the road. If you have ash to get rid of, ask us first.

Because disposal is billed by the pound. After your load is dumped, its scale weight times a rate of 6 to 9 cents per pound sets your disposal fee. A load of dirt or shingles weighs far more than the same space of cardboard and old furniture, so it costs more to dispose of. Loading only what needs to go keeps the bill down.

Level with the top rim. Nothing should stick up above the rim or hang over the sides. County code requires refuse containers to be covered or secured so nothing blows out, whether they're moving or parked, and a heaped load can't be secured for the drive.

San Bernardino County requires a Construction Waste Management Plan showing that at least 65% of the project's construction and demolition debris is recycled or reused. Mixed loads taken to the County's mountain transfer stations earn 27% credit toward that, so separating clean wood, metal, concrete and cardboard is how most projects get to 65%.

Keep your weight tickets and receipts, and ask us before you load if you need paperwork for your plan.