What We Can't Haul in Colorado, and Where It Goes

Almost everything people want hauled is a yes. Furniture, mattresses, appliances, carpet, remodel debris, yard waste, the entire contents of a garage — all of it rides out on the trailer.

A short list doesn't, and a few items are actually illegal to send to a Colorado landfill. Putting them on a load doesn't just risk a rejected or surcharged trip; for some of them it breaks state law. Here's the list, why each one's a problem, and where it actually goes.

Household hazardous waste

Anything corrosive, flammable, toxic, or reactive is household hazardous waste (HHW) and can't ride on a general load.

• Paint, stains, and solvents. Wet paint is the classic one. Colorado runs a paint stewardship program — PaintCare, created by the state's Architectural Paint Stewardship Act (SB14-029) — that takes leftover architectural paint free at drop-off sites around the state, many of them hardware and paint stores, regardless of where you bought it. It's already funded at the point of sale, so don't pay anybody to move it. Latex paint can also be dried out completely with hardener or kitty litter and, in many jurisdictions, thrown away once solid — but PaintCare is the clean answer.
• Automotive fluids — motor oil, antifreeze, brake fluid. Auto parts stores and HHW facilities take these.
• Pool chemicals, pesticides, and household cleaners. HHW facility.
• Propane tanks and other pressurized cylinders. Never on a load — they're an explosion risk in a truck. Many exchange programs and HHW sites take them.

Most Front Range counties run a permanent HHW facility or regular collection events. Check your county's program before you set any of this out for us.

Electronics — banned from Colorado landfills

This one surprises people: since July 1, 2013, Colorado law has prohibited disposing of electronic devices in landfills (the Electronic Recycling Jobs Act, SB12-133). It isn't a guideline — it's a statewide landfill ban.

"Electronic devices" is broad: TVs, computers and monitors, laptops, tablets, printers, fax machines, DVD players, VCRs, radios, stereos, game consoles, and display devices with a screen larger than four inches.

We do take them. They just go to an e-waste recycler instead of a transfer station, which is a separate stop on our route. So the tube TV in the basement and the dead desktop in the closet aren't a problem for you — they're a different destination for us. It's also why a city bulk pickup program will usually leave them at the curb: most of them exclude electronics outright, precisely because of this ban.

Appliances with refrigerant

Refrigerators, freezers, window air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and heat pumps contain refrigerant, and federal law — Clean Air Act Section 608 — requires that refrigerant be recovered by a certified technician before the appliance is disposed of. You can't just landfill a fridge.

We still take these. We route them to a facility that handles recovery properly. Tell us there's a fridge, freezer, or AC unit in the job so it goes on the right truck path — and if the unit still works, check whether your utility runs an appliance-recycling pickup first, because several of them do and some pay a rebate.

Tires

Waste tires are regulated separately in Colorado and most disposal facilities won't take them on a mixed load, because whole tires trap gas and work their way back up through a fill. Tire retailers take old tires back, usually for a small per-tire fee, and there are dedicated waste-tire recyclers. Set them aside and we'll tell you where they go.

Batteries

• Lead-acid (car and truck) batteries are fully recyclable, and retailers that sell them are set up to take them back — most charge a core deposit you get back with the old one.
• Rechargeable and lithium batteries from power tools, laptops, and phones are a fire hazard in a truck bed and need proper battery recycling. Many hardware and electronics stores have drop-off boxes.

The rest of the "no" list

• Asbestos. Any suspected asbestos material — old floor tile, mastic, popcorn ceiling, pipe wrap, some plaster assemblies — needs licensed abatement in Colorado. We won't knowingly haul it, and on a house built before the late 1970s the honest move is a test before demo.
• Medical and biohazard waste, and ammunition or explosives.
• Contaminated soil and anything from a site with a known environmental issue.

Heavy material isn't banned — but it's priced differently

Concrete, brick, tile, dirt, and rock are perfectly legal to haul. They're just dense enough that a trailer hits its legal weight while it still looks half empty, which is why that's a heavy debris job priced on weight rather than volume, with a load cap so the truck leaves legal.

Keeping a heavy load clean — no wood, drywall, plastic, or trash mixed in — usually lets it be recycled instead of landfilled. Crushed concrete becomes road base; clean fill dirt gets reused.

The simple version

If it's toxic, pressurized, or asbestos, it doesn't go on the load at all. If it's electronic or has refrigerant in it, it goes with us but to a different place. Almost everything else is an ordinary yes.

When in doubt, ask. Get a quote and tell us what's in the pile — we'll separate the ordinary from the special-handling before anything moves, and we'd rather point you at a free program than charge you to carry something PaintCare would take for nothing.