Are you looking for a garbage dumpster rental in Pittsburgh? The good news is that Steel City is a big town with lots of dumpster rental companies from which to choose. The bad news is that picking the right dumpster rental business when there are so many options is never an easy task. Read on for tips on how to find the right dumpster rental and how to prepare for the arrival of your container.

Choosing Your Garbage Dumpster Rental

The tempting thing to do, when looking for a garbage dumpster rental in Pittsburgh, is to head straight to Google. Certainly, a search along the lines of “dumpsters for rent in Pittsburgh” is going to yield a slew of results. However, before you do a Google search, it’s a better idea to start with some planning on your end. The fact is that not all dumpsters (and not all dumpster-for-rent businesses) are the same. If you want to book the right container through the right establishment, you need to start out by thinking about what you need.

Start with waste type. What kind of project are you undertaking? Is it a cleanout you’re doing in preparation for a move, or because everyone else on the block is buzzing about “spring cleaning”? Is it a building or renovation project that will produce a large quantity of construction debris? Is it a landscaping project that will involve yard waste? All these projects produce different kinds of junk. Some dumpster rental companies have restrictions you must follow or specific bins you should rent depending on the variety of waste you will be throwing away. For instance, if you are renting a bin for a construction or renovation project, you might have to rent a dumpster explicitly meant for construction debris. Having your specific project in mind as you shop for a dumpster will help you find the right container (and the right rental company) for your needs.

Restrictions aren’t just governed by the type of project you are doing, either. Say you are renting a dumpster because you want to clean out your basement and need a place to toss the junk. Most dumpster rental companies won’t require you to rent a specific type of bin for this purpose since you’re likely just disposing of ordinary household waste. However, there are still some items that you may or may not be allowed to put in your container, depending on the policies of the garbage dumpster rental company you choose. Typically, the restricted items tend to be the larger ones: mattresses, other furniture, appliances, old TVs. Electronic waste, in general, is subject to some of these restrictions.

Before you start your cleanout, take a stroll through your basement and note any items that fall into these categories. If you are planning on throwing away a cathode ray TV or an old mini-fridge, make sure to find out whether a dumpster rental company accepts those items before you make a reservation. You don’t want to end up with a dumpster in your driveway that you can’t use for the bigger, more unwieldy junk items in your house.

Also, try to get a sense of how much junk you actually have. Many dumpster rental companies book rentals based on dumpster size. They have a variety of bin sizes (such as ten cubic feet, 20 cubic feet, 30 cubic feet, and so on) and require customers to pick the bin size that best suits your needs. For many customers, this step is the hardest part of renting a dumpster. How can you know how many cubic feet of trash you have before you even start your cleanout? Estimating junk capacity is even more difficult when you are dealing with a renovation or a yard project. Worst of all, if you book a 20-foot dumpster and only end up with ten cubic feet of junk, you still pay for those extra ten feet. Dumpster rentals tend to bill on a flat-rate scale, which means you pay for the bin capacity regardless of whether you use up all that capacity.

If you want a more logical option, look for a dumpster rental company in Pittsburgh that offers a space-based billing system. With this kind of dumpster rental, there is usually only one bin size, and you pay for the amount of space you use. So, if you rent a 12-cubic foot bin but just end up with four cubic feet of junk, you’ll only pay for those four cubic feet of space. You won’t pay the same amount as you would if you had filled the dumpster to the brim. Especially because estimating the amount of dumpster space you need is so tricky; this alternative method is a great way to control your budget and avoid wasted cash.

Finally, spare a thought for sustainability. By definition, most garbage dumpster rental companies are in the business of hauling garbage—not recycling. In other words, most (if not all) of what you throw in your bin will go to the nearest garbage dump. This way of doing things can be a problem if you are dedicated to protecting the environment or if you have items in your bin (refrigerator, TV, mattress) that shouldn’t be in a landfill.

Luckily, there are dumpster rental companies out there that bill themselves as “green junk removal services.” Typically, these companies will let you throw just about anything in your bin—not because they don’t care if it ends up in the landfill, but because they process and sort every container of junk after pickup. The sorting process involves pulling out any items that can be donated, repurposed, reused, or recycled. If there are old toys or pieces of furniture in your bin, the company will figure out how to donate them to local charities. If there are appliances or electronics in your container that don’t work anymore, the company will figure out how to take them apart and dispose of the components in a safe, ethical fashion. In short, a green dumpster rental service helps keep your junk removal project environmentally friendly but saves you from having to do the work yourself.

Preparing for Your Dumpster Rental

Once you’ve picked out a dumpster rental company that makes sense for your project, call and make the booking. Here are a few steps you can take to prepare for your project before or after you’ve made the call.

• Call for reinforcements: Are you going to need help hauling bulky items out of your house? Call a few friends or family members to see if they can lend a helping hand.

• Sketch out a basic plan of attack: Dumpster rentals are temporary, which means you’ll only have a few days to finish your project and fill your bin before pickup time. Devising a basic plan of attack for how you are going to go about your project will limit wasted time and ensure that you get the job done on time.

• Clear out space for your bin: The best place for a rental dumpster is in the driveway right outside your house. That way, you can easily haul items out of the garage or out the front door and won’t have to go far to reach the bin. For renovations, it’s often helpful to position the bin right out the window, so you can toss pieces of drywall or flooring as you go about a demolition.

Taking these steps now will help guarantee a positive garbage dumpster rental experience. So long as you’ve found the right Pittsburgh business to serve your needs, the rest of your project should proceed smoothly.

As you compare dumpster rental costs, though, try to find companies that will give you concrete estimates or quotes. Services that are cagey about price quotes will often try to hit you with unexpected fees after the fact. Reading online customer reviews should also help you spot—and avoid—these dumpster rental companies Call us for more information at (888) 888-JUNK.