Asbestos & Hazardous Materials

Most prohibited items are an inconvenience. You put a can of paint in the container, we find it, there is a fee, life goes on. Asbestos is not like that. It is the one thing that can stop a job dead, and it is worth five minutes of reading before you start swinging a hammer at an old house.

The short version

We cannot accept asbestos in any form, and neither can anybody else in ordinary construction debris. There is no landfill in Massachusetts currently accepting asbestos waste, and construction-debris processors and waste-to-energy plants are barred from taking it by regulation. It is not a question of paying more. There is nowhere for a mixed load to go.

If your building dates from before 1980 and you are about to disturb siding, roofing, floor tile, pipe insulation or old plaster, have it tested first. A licensed inspector and a lab will tell you in a couple of days for a modest fee. Finding out afterwards costs a great deal more.

A newer building is not automatically clear. It is a common belief that anything built after 1980 is safe, and MassDEP says plainly that it is not true. The state identifies suspect material by what it is — corrugated cement sheet, 9×9 floor tile and the black mastic under it, pipe wrap, transite board, vermiculite — and not by the year on the deed. Under Massachusetts law, suspect material that has not been tested has to be handled as though it were asbestos. If you are unsure about something, that uncertainty is itself the answer: test it.

Everything that cannot go in the container

These are refused at the disposal facility regardless of who hauls them, so they are not something we can wave through as a favor.

• Asbestos-containing material of any kind, in any condition
• Paint, solvents, thinners, chemicals, pesticides and herbicides
• Oil, gasoline, diesel, antifreeze and oil filters
• Propane tanks, gas cylinders and any pressurized container
• Refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners that still hold refrigerant
• Televisions, monitors, computers and other electronics
• Tires, with no exceptions
• Medical, biological or radioactive waste
• Liquids of any kind, including sludge
• Mattresses and box springs
• Leaves, grass clippings, brush and other yard waste
• Clothing, shoes, bedding, towels, curtains and other textiles
• Dirt, soil, concrete, brick, gravel and stone, which need a separate run to a different facility and are priced separately

Dried-out latex paint cans with the lid off are fine. If you are unsure about anything else, call 617-459-7536 before it goes in. That call is free and it is always cheaper than the alternative.

Where asbestos actually hides

Asbestos was used in building products into the 1980s, and a great deal of the housing we serve is older than that. You cannot identify it by looking, which is the entire problem. It is worth knowing the usual places so you know when to stop and test:

• Cement siding and shingles, the hard brittle kind, often on houses from the 1940s through the 1970s
• Roofing felt, and some asphalt shingles and flashing cement
• Floor tile, especially nine-inch tile, and the black mastic underneath it
• Pipe lagging and boiler insulation, including the white wrap on old heating pipes in a basement
• Some plaster, joint compound and textured ceilings
• Vermiculite loose-fill insulation in attics and wall cavities

A material in good condition, left alone, is generally not the hazard. The hazard is created when it is broken up, which is exactly what a renovation does. Massachusetts treats material that has been sanded, cut, crushed or hit with heavy equipment as friable, and an excavator turns a non-issue into a serious one in about ten seconds.

What to do if you suspect it

1. Stop and leave it alone. Do not break it up, sweep it, or put it in a bag to have a look. Disturbing it is what creates the problem.
2. Have it surveyed. Massachusetts requires a licensed asbestos inspector to survey a building before renovation or demolition work, and only a certified laboratory can confirm what a material is.
3. If it is positive, a licensed contractor removes it. The state licenses asbestos contractors, requires advance notification before the work starts, and sets how the waste must be wetted, sealed, labeled and transported.
4. Then book your container. Once the asbestos is gone, the rest of the demolition debris is ordinary work and we are glad to take it.

We are a container company, not an abatement contractor, so we cannot test it or remove it for you. We would much rather tell you that on the phone than discover it in a container.

If it turns up in a container anyway

Our drivers photograph every drop-off and pickup. If a driver sees something that looks like asbestos or another hazardous material, they will stop, leave the container where it is, and call. Nothing gets hauled on a hunch, because moving it is what turns a contained problem into a spread one.

At that point the container is out of service until the material is dealt with properly, and under our rental agreement the costs of testing, removal and disposal fall to the customer. That is the honest reason this page exists. Nobody wants that phone call.

What we are glad to take

Almost everything else. Household junk, furniture, wood, drywall, plaster, roofing, siding, flooring, metal, carpet, cabinets and fixtures. Most renovations, roof tear-offs, cleanouts and demolition jobs never come near any of this.

See what fits, and what it will weigh ›

Where to find the official guidance

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection publishes the asbestos rules and the notification forms, and the Department of Labor Standards licenses inspectors and abatement contractors. Search mass.gov for asbestos notification, or ask your inspector which forms your job needs. This page is a plain-English summary of how it affects your container, not legal or environmental advice.