What Can’t Go in a Dumpster in Georgia

Published 2026-09-30 by Garden City Dumpsters

Why the list exists

Most of what comes out of a house or a job site goes straight into one of our containers: furniture, wood, drywall, roofing, carpet, concrete, brick, yard trimmings. Georgia keeps a specific set of things out of landfills because they are hazardous, recyclable by law, or both, and the Augusta landfill will reject a container that has them in it. Georgia is less restrictive than many states: it publishes no landfill ban on electronics, for instance, and the Augusta landfill accepts TVs. Here is what does stay out and where it goes instead.

Lead-acid batteries

O.C.G.A. § 12-8-28 bars lead-acid batteries from municipal solid waste anywhere in Georgia; retailers must take them back, and the sign in every parts store says it in capitals. The Augusta landfill lists them among its prohibited items. Rechargeable and lithium batteries are not covered by the statute but are a fire risk in a load, so take them to a retailer drop-off too.

Tires

O.C.G.A. § 12-8-40.1 keeps scrap tires out of landfills unless they are shredded or chipped, and haulers need a tire-carrier permit. An individual may bring fewer than five tires with personal waste to the Augusta landfill, which charges a small per-tire fee, and the City runs resident tire-collection days on the third Saturday of February, May, September and November on Deans Bridge Road. Tires do not go in a roll-off.

Yard trimmings

O.C.G.A. § 12-8-40.2 bans yard trimmings from lined municipal landfills, so the Augusta landfill takes them as inert material instead, at a lower rate than mixed debris. That is good news rather than a ban: a green-waste-only container is the cheaper way to move a big pile, and stumps and limbs are fine. Our yard-waste page explains how we split it.

Liquids, paint and household chemicals

State rules and the landfill both prohibit liquids, hazardous waste, radioactive material and PCBs. Latex paint can go in the trash once it is dried solid with kitty litter or a hardener; oil-based paint, solvents, pesticides, pool chemicals, fuel and propane cylinders go to a household hazardous waste programme. Augusta publishes an HHW guide through its 311 line rather than a standing drop-off, and its curbside carts refuse oil, car batteries, oil-based paint, refrigerants, propane and tires. Fluorescent lamps are universal waste for a business and cannot go in a commercial load.

Refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners

Anything that still holds refrigerant needs the gas recovered under section 608 of the Clean Air Act before it is scrapped, and the Augusta landfill requires a technician’s certification with the appliance. Our junk removal crew handles the recovery and disposal; a fridge does not go in a dumpster with the gas still in it.

Asbestos

Asbestos goes to the Augusta landfill only sealed, labelled and by arrangement, never in a mixed load. Georgia EPD applies the federal asbestos rules to every demolition, whether or not asbestos is present: an inspection first, a notification ten working days before the work, and for renovations a notification once the asbestos exceeds ten linear or square feet; the EPD duty officer is on 404-363-7026. Older houses in Olde Town, Harrisburg and Summerville can have asbestos in floor tile, siding, pipe insulation and plaster, so have suspect material tested before a gut renovation.

What the City will not collect either

If you were thinking of skipping the dumpster and using the City service: Augusta’s weekly bulk collection takes up to ten cubic yards of hand-loadable items but no construction or demolition debris, and its carts refuse concrete and soil. Columbia County’s recycling centers in Grovetown and Evans take no wood, yard waste or mattresses; construction debris there goes to the Sample and Son landfill in Grovetown by dump trailer only. Everything else is what a roll-off is for.

What does go in

Household junk, furniture, mattresses, carpet, wood, drywall, plaster, roofing shingles, concrete, brick, tile, siding, windows, yard trimmings, cabinets and fixtures. Which is nearly everything. Call (706) 843-6059 if you are unsure about a specific item and we will tell you before you load it.

Garden City Dumpsters · Augusta, GA · (706) 843-6059, answered 24/7.