Hi

I just bought my first home in South Philly. It is what the real estate folks call a "fixer upper". The main parts of the house could probably just use a fresh coat of paint, but the kitchen and bath need to be totally redone. I signed on Friday, and by Sunday night, I had amassed a pretty large amount of debris (old sheetrock, plaster, and wood lathe) that I need to get rid of.

I know this can kind of be a top-secret topic, but what is the best way to get rid of debris from your own house? I have a truck, but i don't really want to pay by the pound to take it to a transfer station. Will the city take any of this stuff if it is from your own home and not a commercial job? will they take this kind of stuff at the south philly dump? Anybody have any advice, besides dumping it in the river?

Thanks!
bjd

http://www.phila.gov/STREETS/illegal_dumping.html

I don't know what they mean by "clean" debri can be recycled, but it sounds like that's the first thing you should try. Either way, recycling or trashing, it seems like you need to bite the bullet and pay to dump your stuff. If you illegally dump it, I wish you have a very painful life.

Why don't you want to pay by the pound for the construction debris you are generating from your house? What makes you think the cost of getting rid of it is anyone's responsibility but your own? Man up and pay the $80 a ton.

www.1800gotjunk.com

a great service.

800gotjunk is awesome but you'll definitely pay more than $80/ton. I used them after I did some demo, cost almost $900. If it's not alot of stuff, fill up 5-6 contractor trash bags and put it out, the trash men are usually pretty good about taking it. Just make sure that everything is neatly bundled and bagged.

I used 1-800 Got Junk twice in the past and they were very fast & efficent....I had them haul away plaster & lathe amongst other things. Last time I had them haul away more debri along with my old wrought iron fence that I had replaced. I think the 2nd run was less then 350....not bad IMO.

Also I work in construction so 99% of the jobs I am on already have large dumpsters so I can easily toss some away....just one of the perks!

__________________
"Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though." ~Obama: Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

Call Citizens Alliance for a better neighborhood, they picked up almost an entire trash truck of stuff and did not charge a thing. It's what they do. http://www.citizensalliance.us/ I know it sounds too good to be true but that is how it worked, I called, they came, the trash was gone.

And yes I realize this post will cause the Fumo haters to get all flamey, but may I repeat, I called, they came, the trash was gone.

I had the same experience with Citizen's Alliance. It is a great organization.

When I rehabbed my So. Philly house I did the math and found it cheaper to rent a dumpster than to use the dump. Plus with a dumpster you don't have to go to the dump! I used Gold Medal and they were great. You will have to get a permit from the city but if you call Gold Medal they give you the number of who to call at the streets department and you just fax them a form and they fax you back the permit. Good luck!

It was cheaper to rent a dumpster? Really? How much did it cost for a dumpster rental, and how many tons of material could you put in? I am not an expert on it, but from the minimal research into dumpsters that I have done, once you factor in the flat cost for the rental, and then the cost for weight over the base allowance per container (depending on the size) it was not cheap. Plus, with a dumpster you need to have all your debris ready to go at one time, whereas with the dump, you can take a small load here and there. But for a big job (not DIY) obviously dumpsters are the way to go.