How to Prepare for a Dumpster Delivery

Delivery day goes wrong in a small number of predictable ways, and all of them are settled before the truck leaves the yard. Twenty minutes of preparation is the difference between a container in the right place and a $150 return trip.

1. Pick the spot, then look up

Ground level first: a flat, firm, reasonably level surface long enough for the box. Every size we run is the same 14 feet by 8 feet on the ground, so this does not change with the container you booked.

Then look up, because this is the step that gets missed. The truck raises the container considerably higher than its own roofline to set it down, so low tree branches, service drops and carport edges all matter even when the ground-level spot is perfect. A spot that works for a parked car does not automatically work for a roll-off.

2. Clear the approach, not just the spot

The truck has to back in, and it needs roughly twice the container's length of clear run to do it. Move the cars — including the one belonging to whoever is helping you. Unlock the gate. If the route crosses a lawn that has had two days of rain, say so when you book rather than letting us find out with a loaded truck.

A blocked approach is what turns a delivery into a return trip, and it is the one thing on this list with a price attached.

3. Decide what the surface can take

Wood goes under the wheels on every drop as standard, which spreads the load instead of concentrating it on the few small patches where the rails touch. That is included rather than an upgrade.

If the driveway is new asphalt, if it is midsummer, or if you would simply rather nothing sat on it, that is a normal request — a flat spot on the lawn with plywood down, a paved area to the side, or in some cases a garage bay on a short job. Why driveways get marked, and what we do about it.

4. Work out which way the door should face

Worth thirty seconds of thought. The back door swings open so you can walk heavy things in rather than lifting them over the wall, which matters more the taller the container — the 20-yard has 6-foot walls.

Point the door towards where the debris is coming from, and make sure it has room to open without meeting a fence, a hedge or the garage.

5. Say what is going in before it does

Two categories are worth a sentence at booking.

Banned items. Mattresses, televisions, fridges and AC units, tires and propane tanks are all handled separately — the first four because the state bans them from ordinary disposal. Declared in advance they are a modest fee; discovered in the container they cost considerably more, because the load has to be opened and the item re-routed. The mattress case, with the numbers.

Heavy material. Concrete, soil, tile, plaster and shingles are dense enough to exhaust the included weight allowance while the container still looks half used. If that is your load, we will point you at the right size rather than letting you find out from a weight ticket. How the allowance works.

6. Know the two loading limits

Nothing above the rail. Debris cannot sit above the top rail, because the load has to be tarped to be hauled legally. This one is absolute rather than chargeable — if you reach the rail with material left over, call and we will swap the container.

Keep it spread. Distribute the weight along the box rather than piling it at one end. A container loaded heavily at the back is harder and slower to pick up, and on a bad day it is a reason a truck cannot take it at all.

The short version

Clear the spot and the approach. Look up. Decide the door direction. Tell us about the mattress and about the concrete. Everything else on delivery day is our problem.

Delivery and pickup are included inside 20 miles of Tyngsborough, and $5 a mile beyond that. Book a container · which rental term costs least · everything else