4 Ways to Make the Most Out of Your Dumpster Rental Space

Admin • March 1, 2018
Skip loaded with old wood

Cleaning out your house or backyard is made a lot easier with a dumpster rental. Filling up countless bags of garbage takes time and can be extremely tedious. With a dumpster rental, you have the space to toss out the trash and not worry as much.

When renting a dumpster, you want to get full value for every square inch inside the dumpster. Using up the most space will ensure you get rid of the items you need to with just a single rental.

By following our tips, you can help conserve space inside a dumpster and clear out as much as possible from any clean-up tasks you need to complete.

1. Leave the Door Open

A majority of dumpster rentals come with a large metal door that swings open and allows you to walk inside. Naturally, you may feel compelled to shut the dumpster and fill the whole thing up like a box, but doing this with the door closed is not always the best method.

For the start of your clean-up project, you should leave the dumpster door open and walk in with the items you are throwing away. By walking inside the dumpster, you can place down items, set them in an orderly fashion, and fill up less space by keeping things organized.

Once the dumpster is about half-filled, you can shut the door and continue to fill the dumpster as needed. Even though you filled the dumpster with trash, organized trash will take up a lot less space.

2. Wood Pieces and Debris

Some of your home and backyard clean-up may include material piles with long nails and screws. Not only is handling these objects dangerous, but the nails poking out can be a huge waste of space inside the dumpster. Pieces of wood and material like roofing cannot lay flat down if a nail is poking straight out of it.

Hammer out and remove nails from wood and other materials. Removing the nails allows you to lay the items flat inside the dumpster and save as much space as possible. Place the nails in an old coffee jar and stick the jar in the dumpster to dispose of it as well.

3. Get a Better View

Seeing inside the dumpster will help you decide the best places to place items. The typical height of a dumpster may make looking over the sides harder. You can get a better view of the dumpster by placing a ladder or step ladder on the side of it.

While on top, you can have a better view of the angles and places where you want to throw away items. Finding extra spots and open areas can help you dispose of as many items as possible.

4. Break Down Items

Breaking down items into their basic form can help you save a lot of space in a dumpster rental. No matter how big or small the item is, taking apart a few pieces can make a big difference. For example, if you're throwing away a flat-screen television, remove the bottom stand so the TV can lay completely flat and the stand can lay flat on top of it.

Bed frames, furniture, and other bulky items should be broken down into individual pieces. Take the extra time to break items down, and you can fit a lot more into a dumpster rental than you realize. Have a collection of tools ready for all different types of screws and bolts.

Plan out your full home cleaning by starting with a dumpster rental from Pro-Star Roll-Off Dumpsters. We have multiple sizes to accommodate your needs and using these tips you will be able to fill it up completely.

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New ParagraphRenting a roll-off dumpster is one of the easiest ways to manage waste during a big project. Whether you’re tackling a kitchen remodel, clearing out an estate, replacing a roof, or running a construction site, having a container on-site keeps everything organized and efficient. But many customers run into the same roadblocks, mistakes that can cause delays, extra costs, or even safety risks. The good news? With a little planning, these issues are easy to avoid. Here are seven of the most common mistakes people make when renting a dumpster — and how to make sure your project goes smoothly from delivery to pick up. Mistake 1: Choosing the Wrong Size One of the most common frustrations is renting a dumpster that’s too small or too large. A container that’s too small fills up quickly, forcing you to order a second one. On the other hand, a container that’s much bigger than you need means paying for unused space. How to avoid it : Think through your project before booking. A garage cleanout might only need a 20-yard dumpster, while a full home renovation or roofing project could require 30 yards or more. When in doubt, ask Pro Star, we’ll walk you through options and help size your container correctly. Mistake 2: Placing the Dumpster in the Wrong Spot Where you put the dumpster matters. If it’s placed on a soft yard, the container can sink or leave deep ruts. If it’s too close to a garage door or sidewalk, it can block access. And if there isn’t enough clearance overhead, delivery trucks may struggle to set it down safely. How to avoid it : Choose a flat, stable surface like a driveway, concrete pad, or compacted gravel. Leave room above for the truck’s lifting arms and make sure there’s space for people to move debris without tripping over obstacles. Mistake 3: Ignoring Weight Limits and Fill Lines It’s tempting to keep piling debris until you’ve used every inch of space. But dumpsters have fill lines for a reason and going over them creates risks. Overfilled dumpsters can spill debris during transport, cause damage to the container, or even make it illegal for the hauler to drive away with it. How to avoid it: Always keep debris below the top rail of the container. Place heavier items at the bottom and distribute weight evenly so the load stays stable. If you expect a lot of heavy materials like concrete or shingles, ask about weight allowances when you book. Mistake 4: Tossing In Prohibited Items Not everything belongs in a dumpster. Customers sometimes throw in items like paint cans, propane tanks, car batteries, or electronics without realizing they’re prohibited. These items can create fire hazards, environmental damage, or fines at the landfill. How to avoid it: Review the list of restricted items before you start loading. Common prohibited items include chemicals, fuel, asbestos, and certain electronics. If you’re unsure, ask Pro Star for guidance — we’ll point you toward safe alternatives for disposal. Mistake 5: Forgetting Safety Basics Cuts, scrapes, and slips are among the most common injuries on job sites and home projects. Many of these accidents happen when customers load dumpsters without proper gear or let clutter pile up around the container. How to avoid it: Protect yourself with gloves, boots, and eye protection when handling sharp or heavy materials. Keep the area around the dumpster clear of tripping hazards and never let children or pets play near the container. Treat the loading zone as a work area, not a storage space. Mistake 6: Misjudging Rental Timeframes It’s easy to underestimate how long a project will take. Customers often book dumpsters for just a few days, only to realize halfway through that they need more time. On the flip side, keeping a dumpster longer than planned can lead to extra fees. How to avoid it: Be realistic about your timeline. If you’re cleaning out an entire house, give yourself more than a weekend. Built in a buffer in case projects run long, it’s easier to schedule a longer rental upfront than to scramble for an extension later. Mistake 7: Waiting Until the Last Minute to Schedule During busy seasons like spring cleanups and fall renovations, dumpster availability can be limited. Waiting until the day before your project to book may leave you without a container when you need it most. How to avoid it: Schedule early. Booking a week or two ahead ensures you’ll have the right size delivered on time. Pro Star makes scheduling easy, so you can line up your dumpster with the start of your project and avoid unnecessary delays.  Make Your Rental Simple and Stress-Free A roll-off dumpster should make your project simpler, not more stressful. By avoiding these common mistakes, choosing the wrong size, poor placement, overfilling, tossing in restricted items, skipping safety precautions, misjudging timeframes, or booking too late, you’ll save time, money, and headaches. At Pro Star Roll-Off Dumpsters, we’ve helped thousands of customers across Central Texas keep their projects running smoothly. From the first phone call to final pickup, our team is here to make sure your rentals safe, simple, and stress-free.
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Owning rental properties can be a significant investment, but maintaining them can sometimes be problematic as trash removal can be challenging. If you provide a way for people to dispose of their trash easily, however, it can be less of a burden. Installing trash compactors for your tenants is one solution that has some benefits for both you and the tenets. 1. Improved Aesthetics Residential apartments often attract the public. When a prospective tenant comes to see the property, or someone comes to visit, you want the property to look good. That first impression can make or break the property’s reputation. Once that happens, it is tough to turn around and can affect the properties potential to attract future residents. Installing trash compactors can help keep the property clean, and if you install the compactor inside a fence or wall so they are harder to see, the trash around them is at least out of site. The enclosure has to be accessible to the truck that comes to change the compactor, but that does not mean the compactor needs to be in the center of the complex. It can still be out of direct view if you plan for it. 2. Reducing Liability Dumpsters can attract people looking for free things to them. If the dumpster has an open top that someone can get into, they might climb in to try and retrieve something they see in it. A problem occurs when the person who jumps into the dumpster gets hurt. In many cases, they will want to hold you responsible. Having the dumpster posted might not be enough to protect you if the court sides with the dumpster diver. When you install compactors on the property, the trash is pushed into the container making it harder to access from the outside. There is less temptation to see what is inside the container and, with it, less likelihood that someone is going to climb into the dumpster. Running the compactor is essential to keep trash from being visible in the compactors hopper. 3. Reducing the Risk of Rodents and Animals Anytime you have trash in an exterior area, you run the risk of having rodents and small animals looking for food scraps. They are not looking for trouble, just a free meal. The problem is, they bring diseases with them, and they make a mess pulling things out of the dumpster or trash containers. Once the trash is compacted, it is much harder for them to get at and may even discourage them from coming back. 4. Cost Savings Loose trash fills a dumpster very quickly, and once it is full, it can blow out of the dumpster. I can become necessary to have the dumpster emptied daily, and with the services comes additional costs for dumping and hauling. The additional costs can quickly become too much to handle, and if the dumpsters sit full for a day or two, people will start putting trash on the ground. It can create a significant problem in a short time. Installing compactors will reduce the problem of full dumpsters. Once the trash is inside the compactor, the ram minimizes the size and volume of waste using high pressure. The amount of trash inside the container will depend on the compactor you choose, but a standard option is a 4:1 ratio or a compactor that holds 75 percent more waste than a dumpster of the same yardage. At Pro-Star Roll-Off Dumpsters in San Antonio, we can provide the compactors for your property and service them for you. Give us a call, and we can help you determine how large a compactor you need and set up a service schedule that works for your needs.
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As the organizer of your neighborhood cleanup project, you are in the right position to make a difference in your community. Once you've put together a team of volunteers, your next step is to figure out what to do with all of the trash that your group removes from the public areas. Depending upon the focus of your project, you should expect to clean up general garbage, landscaping debris, and household items that are all too big for your normal trash container to hold. Roll-off dumpsters provide a simple way to dispose of almost all waste, so you should use them and the following tips to improve your cleanup project. 1. Assess the Scope of the Project Your first step is to determine how much trash you think the cleanup project may generate. Gather some information about your project, such as the areas where the volunteers will focus, along with a list of any large items that you know need to be disassembled and removed. For large lot cleanups, get a measurement of the square footage of the property, and take note of special debris such as fencing. Then, give this information to the customer service team when you arrange for the dumpster rental so that they can help you determine the size and number of dumpsters you need. 2. Choose the Right Dumpster Location The dumpster should be located in a central area that is easily accessible to all of the volunteers. However, the placement may be restricted by laws for safety and access purposes. For instance, you should never place a dumpster below power lines, and it should be put on level ground. When choosing a good location, be sure to adhere to local laws, while also keeping the dumpster in a convenient location for your volunteers. 3. Acquire Any Necessary Approvals Dumpster permits are sometimes required if you plan to place them on public areas such as the road. However, you may not need one if you plan to place the dumpster on a private driveway. Keep in mind that the HOA and other community planning boards may still need to give their approval before you can set one up. 4. Advise Volunteers of Prohibited Items When multiple people are working on a project, someone can easily mistakenly toss something that is not approved into the dumpster. Hold a meeting before the event to discuss what cannot go into the container, such as flammable liquids. You may also include these prohibited items on any volunteer flyer materials to reinforce the concept. 5. Make Plans to Dispose of Hazardous Waste Although the dumpster is perfect for holding old building materials and organic trash such as branches, you need to plan to dispose of hazardous items. Identify the hazardous items that you expect to accumulate and find community resources for their disposal. For instance, many auto supply stores and repair shops have programs that allow people to safely dispose of oil, antifreeze, and car batteries. You can also check with the local office supply or electronics store to find out if they accept old batteries and devices that cannot go to the landfill. 6. Enforce Basic Safety Rules Once the cleanup operation is up and running, appoint a member of the crew to stay near the dumpster for safety purposes. For instance, they can remind people not to smoke near the dumpster and help to keep debris picked up around the sides so that no one trips and falls. At Pro-Star Roll-Off Dumpsters, we love helping our customers keep their communities clean. Give us a call today to get an estimate on dumpster rental that makes your neighborhood cleanup project a breeze.
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Whether you're working on a small or large construction project, you will inevitably produce waste. You could just dump it all, but construction businesses must show more responsibility when it comes to construction waste. Figuring out responsible ways to deal with your construction waste can take some effort, but it's worth it. Here is how you can start. 1. Know Your Construction Debris The type of construction debris produced by your activities will vary depending on the nature and scope of the work. Most forms of construction will produce waste consisting of one or more of the following: Wood Masonry Drywall Metal Tile Plastic Wiring Anything found in most homes or buildings can become construction waste. Other than the larger materials, construction waste can also include smaller things like packaging, tape, nails, or shingles. Make sure you know what materials you have present on the site at any given time. Knowing what you have will help you to better plan what to do with it. 2. Separate Your Construction Debris Separating your construction debris can help a lot if you plan to do other things with the debris after you complete the job. Separation can also help if you're using a debris removal service to collect the debris. Some removal services won't pick up certain types of debris. Some others may need to know precisely what you're dumping. Texas has laws concerning what a waste removal service can dump. These companies must also adhere to certain federal regulations. Separating your debris can help you and the company. You may come up with a separation system of your own, especially if you or your company does many regular jobs. However, you should make a plan and find responsible solutions for your construction waste even if you work alone. 3. Have a Plan for Your Construction Debris Always have a plan in place specifically for your construction debris. Your plan can also help you figure out how best to deal with your construction debris. Include what you plan to do for each type of material you have at the site. For example, you can separate things by: What you can recycle What you can reuse What you can sell Recycling your debris benefits both the local and global environment. Recycling also adds a level of sustainability to your business that people will respect. You can search for local buyers who purchase the types of debris you create. Some recyclers and a number of private businesses will pay for particular types of construction debris. Reusing materials can make sense and even save you money. You can even establish another arm of your business dedicated to selling materials left over after you complete a job. You can reuse things like doors, fixtures, and anything you can keep intact. Other people can use these things as well. So keep them for yourself, sell them, or give them away. This kind of activity gives your business another layer of sustainability. 4. Use an Experienced Service for Your Construction Debris Even with a plan for your debris, you will still likely need to throw a good deal of it away. When choosing a debris removal service, or ordering a roll-off dumpster, choose a service that can properly dispose of construction debris. Using a service with responsible practices is also part of dealing with your construction waste the right way. Not all dumpster services know how to navigate construction sites. Some non-professional services don't adhere to waste and recycling regulations. Pro-Star Roll-Off Dumpsters can handle your construction debris responsibly so you don't have to worry. If you need dumpster rentals or professional debris removal services, contact us for your next job.
Three dump trucks are parked next to each other in a field.
By Admin June 28, 2018
If you need to clean up your home or property, rent a roll-off dumpster to dispose of junk, trash, and unneeded items. Most homeowners know that they can use a dumpster to get rid of old household items, including worn-out clothing, old papers, and broken electronics. However, you can put additional items in your roll-off dumpster. Here are just a few lesser-known household items you can put in your roll-off dumpster. 1. Yard Waste How to dispose of yard waste poses a quandary for homeowners. Even seemingly small projects can have significant waste, and most cities have laws that dictate how and when you can throw away leftover landscaping project materials. For example, the city of New Braunfels has strict regulations regarding green disposal and refuses to accept some types of yard waste at all. Green waste includes plant trimmings, small tree branches, and grass. New Braunfels does not permit homeowners to dispose of green waste in the regular trash, as green waste can damage the processing equipment. Instead, homeowners must adhere to the green waste pickup schedule and follow specific guidelines when packaging the waste. Green waste collection will not accept soil, rocks, and certain types of plants. A much more convenient option to dispose of your yard waste is to place it in your roll-off dumpster. Many roll-off dumpster companies accept your landscaping waste as is so that you don't have to worry about following a bunch of rules or holding onto the waste until it is your green waste pickup day. Many dumpster companies also have no restrictions concerning the type of landscaping waste that you can put in your roll-off dumpster. 2. Most Appliances Appliances are another tricky item for homeowners to get rid of, especially if they are no longer working. Though you can haul them to the landfill, this option is time-consuming, costly, and requires access to a truck or spacious vehicle. Some cities do have a bulky item trash collection day, but this service typically costs extra and only occurs on certain dates. You don't want to worry about where you are going to store an old stove or dishwasher while you wait for your scheduled pickup date. As long as your appliance does not contain Freon, you can throw your old appliances away in your rental roll-off dumpster. This eliminates the need to haul away these heavy, bulky items and prevents them from becoming eyesores. 3. Project or Storm Debris When tackling home improvements, many homeowners choose to do some or all of the project themselves to save money. One notable area where homeowners can trim expenses during a project is by tackling the demolition. However, you must then figure out how to dispose of the old materials, and this can quickly eat into your project savings. Instead, rent a roll-off dumpster to rid your property of your project debris. Not only is renting a roll-off dumpster a convenient alternative to hauling the debris away yourself, but renting a dumpster also helps you maintain a tidy work area because you can throw items away as you work. Check with your dumpster company for any guidelines concerning building materials. Some may not accept materials with asbestos. Storms are notorious for destroying trees, damaging your home, and wrecking outside structures. Fortunately, a roll-off dumpster holds debris and trash from all these damaged items so that you can restore order to your property as quickly as possible. Don't delay cleaning out your garage or tackling that next landscaping project. Instead, contact Pro-Star Roll-Off Dumpsters today to rent a roll-off dumpster perfect for your cleanup needs.