What Can and Can't Go in a Dumpster in Illinois

Yes — load it

• Household junk and furniture: sofas, tables, chairs, mattresses, boxes and general clutter.
• Construction and renovation debris: drywall, lumber and plywood, doors, trim and windows, cabinets, countertops and vanities, carpet, pad, laminate and tile, pallets and packaging.
• Roofing: shingles, tar paper and underlayment, heavy, so mind the weight allowance.
• Concrete, brick, asphalt, rock and dirt — within the weight limits of a smaller box, ideally kept as a clean load.
• Cardboard — flattened and kept together, so it can be recycled.
• Yard waste: branches and limbs, leaves and grass clippings, shrubs and hedge trimmings, soil, sod and mulch, weeds, roots and small stumps — as its own load.
• Small appliances that hold no refrigerant — ask if you are unsure.

Illinois sorts construction waste by type rather than banning it. General construction or demolition debris covers bricks, concrete and other masonry, soil, rock, wood (including painted, treated and coated wood), wall coverings, plaster, drywall, plumbing fixtures, non-asbestos insulation, roofing shingles, asphalt pavement, glass and incidental cardboard, piping or metal; clean construction or demolition debris is uncontaminated broken concrete without protruding rebar, bricks, rock, stone, asphalt pavement or soil (415 ILCS 5/3.160). A clean load of concrete or brick can go straight to recycling.

What Illinois keeps out of landfills

These are the state rules that matter for a roll-off, and where each item goes instead:

Three common myths. On the statutes we read, Illinois does not ban mattresses, clothing, shingles, drywall, wood or cardboard from landfills, so those can go in a roll-off. Fluorescent bulbs are not under a blanket landfill ban either (the state rule bars them from incinerators, and household lamps are exempt), but keep bulbs out of the dumpster anyway. And the general battery ban is not in force yet: it starts January 1, 2028, while car and truck batteries are banned now.

Our no list, and why

Our own no list: paint, solvents and oils, fuel and other hazardous liquids, tires, batteries, hazardous chemicals, gas cylinders, propane tanks and other pressurized tanks, medical waste, asbestos, and appliances containing refrigerant unless properly prepared. For a yard waste box, also leave out treated and pressure-treated wood, plastic planters, fertilizers, chemicals and bagged household trash. If you are unsure about something, call (309) 893-1463 before you load it, as it is far cheaper than finding out at the facility.

The landfill bans are the hauler's business too. Normal's code says neither the Town nor any private refuse hauler may collect refuse that state or federal law bars from a landfill (§ 21.1-6(G)), and the Illinois rules on electronics, tires, batteries and white goods are written against anyone who knowingly mixes them in. So consider this our notice: banned items stay out of the box.

No — and where it goes instead

We could not confirm a fall 2026 Illinois EPA collection event in McLean County, so check the Illinois EPA event list before you plan around one. If you are outside Bloomington-Normal, check your own city or village page too.

Appliances and refrigerant

Federal law puts the duty on "The final processor—i.e., persons who take the final step in the disposal process (including but not limited to scrap recyclers and landfill operators)" of a small appliance, who must either recover any remaining refrigerant or verify, with a signed statement or contract naming who recovered it and when, that it has been recovered (40 CFR 82.155). On top of that, Illinois says no one may knowingly offer or collect white goods, such as refrigerators, ranges, water heaters, freezers and air conditioners, for landfilling unless their refrigerant, mercury switches and PCB parts have been removed (415 ILCS 5/22.28). So fridges, freezers, ranges, water heaters and window units stay out of our boxes, and only small appliances go in. If you would rather not deal with a fridge or an A/C unit yourself, our junk removal service takes appliances with the Freon removed when required and recycles and donates whenever possible.

Asbestos in Illinois

Illinois EPA enforces the federal asbestos rules (NESHAP) for demolition, renovation and disposal. Owners and operators must send a Demolition/Renovation/Asbestos Project Notification Form with a $150 fee at least 10 working days before a regulated asbestos demolition or renovation starts, by mail, as electronic filing is not available. The notice applies when the regulated material to be removed is more than 160 square feet, 260 linear feet or 1 cubic meter. A privately owned home or an apartment building with four or fewer units is exempt, unless the building has had or will have commercial or public use, and some municipalities add their own permits or fees.

Illinois EPA says asbestos waste should be containerized and labeled for disposal at an approved landfill, and the state's definition of construction and demolition debris covers only non-asbestos insulation (415 ILCS 5/3.160), so asbestos is not construction debris. Never put asbestos in a roll-off.

Sorting: construction debris, clean loads, yard waste and household junk

It pays to sort the way the Illinois rules do. A clean load of broken concrete, brick, rock or asphalt can go straight to recycling as clean construction or demolition debris. Mixed remodel and tear-out debris is a different load: it goes to a recovery facility that must recycle at least 40% of what it receives and pull out drywall before processing (415 ILCS 5/22.38). Yard waste is a third load, because landscape waste may not be mixed with landfill-bound waste (415 ILCS 5/22.22). Household junk from a cleanout is a fourth, and the one most likely to hide an old TV, a car battery or a set of tires.

So keep brush and leaves in their own load, keep heavy concrete and brick apart from everything else, flatten cardboard, and do not mix a household cleanout into a remodel box without telling us. Whenever possible we send metal, concrete, asphalt, cardboard and yard waste to recycling. If you are not sure where something belongs, call before you load it.