Renting a dumpster saves you time and lifting once the debris passes a couple of pickup truck loads or the material turns heavy. Below that, a few trips in your own truck may cover it. Family Trash is a family-owned Charleston, SC dumpster service on James Island, and this is how to think it through for your project.
When does a dumpster make sense?
Your trash cart holds household garbage and gets emptied once a week. A bathroom remodel, a roof, a garage you've meant to clear for years, or a storm that drops a large limb in the yard makes more than the cart holds. Once the debris won't fit in your truck bed in one or two loads, a roll-off is the simpler way to go.
Kitchen and bath remodels produce old cabinets, tile and drywall. A roof tear-off leaves a pile of shingles, which are heavy. House and garage cleanouts before a move or after an estate produce furniture, boxes and years of storage. Flooring jobs, deck demo and fence removal produce long, awkward pieces that are hard to tie down in a truck bed. Yard work produces brush and limbs past what curbside collects. Those jobs often run more than a day, and a dumpster on the driveway lets you load as you go.
When does curbside pickup cover it?
If your project fits in a few trash bags, or one old chair is going out, your regular collection may cover it. The City of Charleston says on its trash and yard waste collection page that "Junk, furniture and other bulk items can be placed in their own pile at the curb on your collection day." In Mount Pleasant, the town's garbage page says "Customers needing more than two carts should contract out their dumpster services." Check your own town's rules before the pile goes to the curb.
How do light and heavy debris change the plan?
The size depends on weight as well as volume. Each size comes with an included weight: 1 ton on the 7-yard and the 13-yard, 1.5 tons on the 17-yard and 2 tons on the 22-yard.
Soil, dirt and concrete are heavy, and they go in the 7-yard dumpster. A clean load of concrete or dirt goes to a recycle plant, so Tony charges no overweight on it. The concrete and dirt dumpster page covers that size in full.
Lighter remodeling and cleanout debris goes in the bigger sizes. For one or two rooms, a garage, a bathroom or a small shingle roof, the 13-yard dumpster fits. A full kitchen or several rooms goes in the 17, and a bigger roof goes in the 17 or the 22. The dumpster size guide compares all four sizes.
A pickup bed holds about 2 to 3 cubic yards as a general rule. That puts a 13-yard at roughly four to six pickup loads, and a 22-yard at roughly seven to eleven.
What does hauling it yourself involve?
Each trip means loading the truck, tying the load down, driving to a disposal site, unloading by hand and driving back. Use a tarp and straps to hold the load in the bed on the road. Plan the trips around the site's hours, and weigh what your truck and trailer are rated to carry before you load heavy material like tile or wet drywall.
Before you plan trips, check where your material can go. Charleston County's landfill and garbage page notes that Bees Ferry "does not accept construction and demolition waste from private or commercial haulers." The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services has a page on construction and demolition debris for residents, and Charleston County lists its recycling and convenience center locations for household recycling and smaller drop-offs.
With a dumpster, disposal is part of the rental. You load at home, and Tony picks it up when you call.
How do you compare the two for your job?
Write down three things. First, the material: light and bulky, or heavy. Second, the amount, in rooms or in pickup loads. Third, the time: one afternoon, or several days. A single afternoon of light material in a truck you own is a short job. Several days of remodel debris, a roof, or anything with concrete is a dumpster job. If the work runs over several days, a dumpster also keeps the pile off the lawn and out of the garage while you work.
How does getting a dumpster work?
Book online or call or text with the address, the job and the date. The price shows in the online booking, and our page on dumpster rental cost in Charleston explains what sets it. Delivery, pickup and disposal are included. A fuel fee applies only past 25 miles from James Island. Tell us what's going in when you book, and we'll tell you when we can be out. You can check the towns we serve before you book.
Questions about whether a dumpster is worth renting
What is the rough point where renting makes more sense than hauling?
When the debris is more than a couple of truck loads, or the material is heavy. Below that, with light material and your own truck, a few trips may cover it. Above it, a dumpster lets you load once at home.
Will my weekly trash cart hold remodeling debris?
No. The cart is for household trash. A couch, a box spring or a pile of contractor bags from the garage is more than it holds. Check your city's bulk pickup rules for one or two items.
Should I check with my HOA before a driveway dumpster is delivered?
If your neighborhood has an HOA, read your covenants before delivery, then tell us the dates you need.
What if I can't picture how many yards of debris I have?
Describe the rooms or the job on the phone, or text a photo to (843) 800-0689. That works better than guessing at cubic yards.
Can I keep adding debris after I think the job is done?
Yes, as long as the load stays level with the top of the dumpster and you're within the rental days.
If the debris won't fit in your cart or your truck, and you'd rather load on your own time, book a roll-off. When you're ready, call or text (843) 800-0689.
Need a dumpster in Charleston? Call or text Tony at (843) 800-0689, or order online.
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