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What Can Go In the Container

Illinois bans a specific list from landfill by statute, and it is not the same list as the states next door. Electronics are the one that surprises people.

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The short version

Most of what you are clearing is fine

Furniture, carpet, mattresses, plaster, lath, drywall, lumber, cabinets, roofing, flooring, bagged household rubbish — all of it goes straight in. The banned list is short, specific and written into Illinois law, and almost every job contains two or three items from it.

Goes in without a second thought

Furniture, mattresses, carpet and padding
Plaster, wood lath, drywall and trim
Lumber, plywood, cabinets and countertops
Roofing — shingle, tar and gravel, membrane
Flooring, tile, subfloor
Bagged household rubbish and general clutter
Toilets, tubs, sinks and non-refrigerant fixtures
Bottles and cans — Illinois has no deposit scheme

Banned from Illinois landfill

Landscape waste — grass, leaves, brush, clippings
Covered electronics — TVs, monitors, computers, printers and more
Whole used tyres
Lead-acid batteries — car, truck, marine
Used motor oil and other bulk liquids
White goods with their regulated components still in them
Potentially infectious medical waste

Illinois is different

Electronics are banned here

If you have cleared a property in Michigan or Indiana you may have been told that a television can go in the container. In Illinois it cannot, and has not been able to since the start of 2012.

Illinois took the disposal-ban route rather than the manufacturer-take-back route its neighbours chose. Covered devices — televisions, monitors, computers, printers, and under a later amendment keyboards, portable music players, scanners, video recorders, games consoles and others — are barred from landfill and have to go to electronics recycling.

This is the single most common banned item we find in Chicago clear-outs, because an old television is bulky, heavy and exactly the thing people want gone. Set them aside before we arrive.

The flip side is the one that surprises people coming the other way: Illinois has no bottle deposit. Cans and bottles can go in the container here, which is not true a short drive north or east.

Stacked whole tyres, which Illinois bans from landfill

Item by item

The things that turn up in nearly every Chicago clear-out

Item	In the container?	What to do instead
Televisions, monitors, computers	No	Banned since 2012. Electronics recycling drop-off, and the city runs collection events.
Grass, leaves and brush	No	Landscape waste has been banned since 1990. It needs a composting route.
Car or truck tyres	No	Tyre retailers take them back. A visible set will get a load turned away.
Fridge, freezer, window AC	Only after components are removed	Refrigerant, mercury switches and PCB components have to come out first, by someone qualified.
Washer, dryer, stove, dishwasher	Generally yes	No refrigerant, but check for mercury switches in older units. Heavy — count them.
Paint	Dried latex yes, wet or oil-based no	Leave latex tins open until solid. Oil-based goes to household hazardous collection.
Motor oil, antifreeze, fuel	No	Bulk liquids are banned outright. Auto shops take oil.
Car batteries	No	Banned since 1990. Any parts shop will take them.
Bottles and cans	Yes	No deposit scheme in Illinois. Recycle them if you can, but they are not banned.
Asbestos — tile, pipe wrap, siding	No	Licensed abatement only. Common in pre-1980 Chicago buildings.
Medical sharps, pharmaceuticals	No	Pharmacy take-back. Never loose in a container.
Propane cylinders	No	Exchange points, or hazardous collection for the rusted ones.

Older buildings

Asbestos and lead in pre-war Chicago

An enormous share of Chicago's housing stock predates 1940, and a great deal of it predates 1900. That matters for two materials, and both come up constantly on rehab work here.

Asbestos turns up in nine-inch floor tile and the black mastic under it, in furnace and pipe insulation in basements, in some plaster skim coats, in cement-board siding, and in the tar-based products on old flat roofs. It is legal to leave in place and dangerous to demolish. If you open a floor, a boiler room or a roof and are not certain what you are looking at, stop — licensed abatement is the only correct next step, and no container can take it. It is also excluded from the city's recycling calculation entirely.

Lead paint is effectively universal in this stock. The debris itself is not banned from a container, but the dust is a genuine hazard. Wet surfaces before scraping, keep the material contained, and do not sand dry. The federal renovation rules apply to anyone doing this work for hire in a pre-1978 building, which in Chicago is most buildings.

Common questions

What people ask when they call

Can I really not put a TV in?

Correct. Illinois has banned covered electronic devices from landfill since 1 January 2012, and televisions are squarely on the list. They need an electronics recycling route.

What happens if a banned item ends up in the load?

The facility can reject the whole container, which means it comes back to the property until it is sorted — and in an alley that is a far bigger problem than it sounds.

Do bottles and cans need separating?

Not by law. Illinois has no deposit scheme, so returnables are not a thing here the way they are in Michigan. Recycle them if it is easy, but they are not banned.

Can I put a little yard waste in with everything else?

No. Landscape waste has been banned since 1990 and there is no small-quantity allowance. It sits on top of a load and gets spotted immediately.

Is my old refrigerator really a problem?

Only until its regulated components are out. Refrigerant, mercury switches and PCB-containing parts have to be removed by someone qualified before it can be landfilled. Mention it when you book.

I think there is asbestos tile under my kitchen floor.

Leave it alone and have it tested. If it is asbestos it needs licensed abatement and documented disposal, we cannot take it, and it is excluded from the city's recycling percentage as well.