By The Junk Lord · Updated
The demo took a weekend. The pile takes longer.
The tile came up in an afternoon. The drywall came down by Sunday. Now there's a stack of contractor bags in the garage, a vanity on the porch and a pile of lath by the side door, and you're wondering where to dump construction debris in York County without losing another weekend to it.
Short version: not at the curb, only in small amounts at the county drop-off, and some of it not there either. Here's the longer version.
Why the weekly trash won't take it
Curbside programs around here say no to building material, almost word for word. One contracted hauler's York Township page puts it in a single line: no construction debris will be collected curbside.[1]
- York Township: dirt, rocks and construction materials aren't collected.[2]
- Springettsbury: drywall, brick, block, treated lumber, shingles, ceiling tiles, concrete, doors and windows are all refused.[3]
- Windsor Township: no drywall, tile, shingles, bricks or treated lumber.[4]
- East Manchester: building and flooring materials, garage doors, PVC pipe and concrete items are off the bulk list.[5]
- York City: lumber, brick, block and dirt have to be handled privately. The one small exception: lumber cut to 3 feet or shorter and tied in bundles under 40 pounds can go with the regular trash, with each bundle counting as one bag.[6]
- Hanover: the borough won't handle construction waste at all, and its 2026 notice tells residents to confirm their contractor can dispose of it.[7]
What the county drop-off takes
Homeowners in York County can haul their own remodel debris to the Resource Recovery Center on Blackbridge Road and unload it at the Small Load Drop-Off. Stop at the scale house first. It's open 8 to 4 on weekdays and 8 to noon on Saturdays, and you should expect a disposal fee.[8][9][10]
Taken without a stated quantity limit: tubs, showers, sinks and toilets, doors, fiberboard, flooring, house wrap, joint compound, PVC pipe and tar paper.[8]
Taken in limited amounts:[8]
- Drywall, plaster, tile, insulation, ceiling tile, cement board, duct board and glass: two 42-gallon contractor bags per trip.[8]
- Lumber, including pressure-treated, and siding: 6 feet or shorter.[8]
- Carpet: rolled to 6 feet or less, and one person has to be able to carry it.[8]
- Fencing: 6 by 6 feet or smaller, with no concrete left on the posts.[8]
- Shingles of asphalt, metal, vinyl or wood shake: a pickup bed or small trailer's worth each visit.[8]
Where the drop-off falls short
Two bags of drywall and tile per trip is fine for patching a wall. For a full bathroom gut, it can mean a lot of trips.[8]
Some material isn't accepted there at all: concrete, cement, brick, macadam, sand, soil, stone, gravel, railroad ties, metal beams and metal siding, solar panels, and asbestos in any form, including asbestos, clay, concrete or slate shingles.[8]
If you think something you pulled out might contain asbestos, stop and set it apart from everything else. The county drop-off refuses it, and so do we.[8]
Over the line in Lancaster County, LCSWMA's waste-to-energy facility only accepts residential pickup-truck loads or smaller of C&D, and open loads have to be tarped and secured.[11][12]
Two ways to skip the dump runs
If the project is going to stretch over a few weekends, rent our 14-yard dump trailer. We drop it in your driveway, you toss debris in as it comes out, and we haul it off when you're done. No borrowed pickup, no scale house line, no counting bags.
If the demo is finished and the mess is already piled up, book a pickup instead. Two of us carry it out of the house or garage, load it, sweep up, and take it to a licensed transfer station. Either way, the price is confirmed before we start, and it's based on how much room the debris takes up.
Hiring a contractor for the next room? Take Hanover's advice and ask how they plan to get rid of the debris before the work starts.[7]