01The short answer
Nothing that is liquid, pressurised, burning, poisonous or has refrigerant in it. In practice that means: paint, fuel, oil, antifreeze, pesticides, pool chemicals, batteries, propane and gas cylinders, tires, electronics, fridges and freezers with their gas still in, and asbestos. Almost all of it has a free drop-off within half an hour of you.
Two reasons to care beyond the rules. First, a load with the wrong thing in it can be rejected at the gate, which means it comes back to you. Second, some items are not banned but are charged at a much higher rate, and that is where surprise costs come from.
02The three items that quietly cost you money
These are allowed. They just are not free, and people routinely bury them under a load of drywall assuming nobody will notice. The scale notices.
| Item | What happens |
|---|---|
| Fridges & freezers with refrigerant | Polk charges $50 a ton instead of $27.50 — nearly double |
| Tires | Polk charges $300 a ton. The most expensive thing per pound you can hide in a load |
| Mixed loads, Hillsborough | Double the posted rate. A clean yard-waste load tips at $65 a ton; mix building material into it and the whole load reprices |
There is no penalty for having a fridge, a stack of tires or a mixed pile. Tell us at booking and it gets priced properly. The only expensive version is the one we find out about at the scale.
03Polk County — Lakeland, Davenport, Winter Haven
Refused at the North Central Landfill: bulk liquids, pressurised tanks, ammunition and explosives, biological waste, asbestos and radioactive material. Batteries are not accepted at the scale at all.
Where it goes instead — free
Household Hazardous Waste facility, 5 Environmental Loop South, Winter Haven. Friday 8 AM–noon and Saturday 7:30 AM–12:30 PM. Free, Polk residents only, no commercial waste.
- Car and boat batteries, motor oil and filters, antifreeze
- Fuel up to five gallons, flares
- Pesticides, pool chemicals, household chemicals
- Fluorescent tubes and CFLs
- Paint, capped at 20 gallons a year
- Cooking oil
- Electronics, capped at five components a visit
Not accepted: biohazard waste, sharps, medications. There is a separate paid programme for small businesses.
City of Lakeland customers get four free bulk collections a year, up to 20 cubic yards each — but the city excludes large construction and demolition debris, contractor waste and “renovation materials requiring permits.” Unincorporated Polk curbside excludes construction debris, eviction and move-out clearances, trees, stumps and land-clearing debris. The couch is covered. The bathroom you just took out is not.
04Hillsborough County — Tampa
Hillsborough is the strictest of the three and the one where a mistake is charged as a penalty rather than a rate.
Refused at the Southeast County Landfill: construction and demolition debris, concrete, asphalt, liquid waste, yard waste, hazardous materials, containerised waste, biohazardous waste, PCBs and radioactive material. Asbestos and animal carcasses need pre-approval.
Refused at McKay Bay: wet drywall, bricks, rocks, dirt, tires, electronics, hazardous material and liquids.
Where it goes instead — free
Community Collection Centers take tires, appliances, scrap metal, electronics, paint and batteries: Alderman's Ford, Hillsborough Heights, Northwest, South County and Wimauma.
Household hazardous waste runs on a Saturday rotation, 8 AM–2 PM: Sheldon Road on the first Saturday, South County on the second, Hillsborough Heights on the third.
If you are renovating pre-war housing stock in Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights or Ybor, this one is not optional. The Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County — not the city, not the state — enforces the federal asbestos rule. Demolition and renovation work needs a survey and notification at least 10 working days in advance. It applies to commercial buildings, to more than one single-family home, and to residential buildings over four units.
We are a hauling company, not an abatement contractor, and we will not knowingly take asbestos in a can.
05Manatee County — Bradenton
Refused outright at the Lena Road Landfill: car parts and vehicles. Advance approval required: asbestos, on 24 hours' notice; soils and dredge material. Scheduled and charged separately: tires, appliances and white goods, yard waste.
Where it goes instead — free for Manatee residents
Two drop-off points: Lena Road Landfill (Monday–Friday 8 AM–5 PM, plus every third Saturday 9 AM–3 PM) and the Utilities building, 4520 66th Street West.
- Aerosols, cleaning compounds, weed killer, pesticides
- Antifreeze, motor oil, diesel, gasoline
- Batteries, propane tanks
- Paint — note that only empty, dry paint cans may go in regular trash
Electronic scrap, also free: phones and cords, DVD players, hard drives and CPUs, printers, TVs, small appliances. Not taken as e-scrap: toasters, vacuums, mixers and blenders — those are regular waste.
Manatee also runs a “Waste Wizard” item lookup on mymanatee.org if you want to check something specific before it goes in.
During Hurricane Helene the county waived Lena Road tipping fees for residents' storm debris — but required plant material and construction material to be kept unmixed. A mixed pile loses the waiver and gets charged. Two cans instead of one is not an upsell after a storm; it is the difference between free and $65 a ton.
How the free curbside pickup works, county by county: hurricane debris pickup rules.
06The short list to keep by the pile
If you remember nothing else:
| Never in the can | Tell us first | Fine, no question |
|---|---|---|
| Paint & solvents | Fridges, freezers, AC units | Furniture, mattresses |
| Fuel, oil, antifreeze | Tires | Drywall, timber, flooring |
| Batteries of any kind | Concrete, brick, dirt | Roofing shingles |
| Propane & gas cylinders | Appliances generally | Yard waste, branches |
| Pesticides, pool chemicals | Electronics in quantity | Household clutter, boxes |
| Asbestos | Anything you are unsure about | Cabinets, doors, fixtures |
Not sure about something specific? Send a photo. It is quicker than reading a list and we would much rather answer the question than reject the load.