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If you live in the San Francisco area, you probably enjoy a busy and dynamic lifestyle. However, you may also find yourself with various projects to do around the home. San Francisco homeowners commonly renovate their homes, update their décor, and convert spaces for new purposes. The number of projects you can undertake to revitalize your property is astounding—but so is the amount of waste material that those projects can produce. If you are about to start a personal project that will create significant amounts of leftover junk, you’ll need a way to dispose of it responsibly. Roll off dumpster rental is one potential solution, but many people have questions when it comes to choosing a dumpster and need more information before they settle on one.
Some of the questions that we face most often at Junk King are regarding dumpster size. People aren’t sure what size container they will need to accommodate the waste removal needs of their project. This situation is especially true in areas like San Francisco, where deceptively compact-looking homes can still contain multitudes of personal possessions. The unique nature of the city and its properties can certainly complicate matters, so we’ve put together a guide that we hope will help you choose an adequately-sized container next time you want to rent a skip. Keep reading to see what we recommend for San Francisco dumpster hunters, so that you can choose a container suited to the requirements of your next project.
First Things First: Why Choose a Roll Off Dumpster for Your Project
The first question that anyone should ask when they have waste to dispose of is: what method will be most effective? It’s important to note that dumpster rental is not the only way to rid yourself of materials you no longer need. In addition to rental companies, there are plenty of organizations that can send a team to your location for full-service waste removal. You may also be able to remove junk from your property by bagging it up yourself and taking it to the nearest landfill in the back of your vehicle. However, a more detailed analysis of the pros and cons of each method normally shows that rental is more convenient and cost-effective.
Consider the logistics of hiring a company to come and clear away junk from your property. You’ll have to make sure that you’re around to let them in, and since many companies only operate during regular business hours that could mean missing a day of work. On the other hand, taking junk to the landfill by yourself is certainly more flexible—but it can also require a lot of physical labor on your part. You might also find that you must pay public dumping fees, and that’s to say nothing of the interior repairs your vehicle might need if you aren’t careful loading everything into the bed, trunk, or backseat. There’s also the matter of paying for the gas that multiple trips to and from the landfill could cost you. Renting a dumpster is almost certainly going to take less of your time and money than these options.
Factors that Complicate Dumpster Rental in San Francisco
Of course, that’s not to say that dumpster rental in San Francisco is a magic solution to your waste disposal needs. It can certainly be easier than other methods, but for best results, it helps to consider certain factors ahead of time. It’s also important to remember that San Francisco is not like other cities. A high-density urban area with narrower streets and buildings than many other US municipalities, it poses several specific challenges for those who rent waste skips there.
San Francisco is like most cities in that you are not legally allowed to obstruct a public right of way without first obtaining a permit from the Public Works office. In San Francisco, Public Works issues permits related to numerous private or public projects, including excavations, borings, and sidewalk repairs. They also have special permits for dumpsters and debris boxes, which must be applied for if those items are going to occupy streets, sidewalks, paths, or other public access zones. The bond for a debris box permit is $5,000, so this can be an inconvenience for some renters.
You may be in luck if your home happens to have a driveway. Driveways on your property are not considered public right of way areas, and you can place a dumpster on your driveway without applying for a permit beforehand. However, since many San Francisco residents live in compact homes or apartment complexes, you will have to make sure the container you rent can fit on your driveway (or elsewhere on your property) without causing a major inconvenience to you and the other occupants.
Advantages of Smaller Dumpsters
One of the most vital ways in which small dumpsters assist renters is by being versatile. While it is true that they have less storage capacity than larger containers, they are rarely too small for domestic projects such as renovations or spring cleanups. In fact, even a dumpster with a volume of 12 cubic yards holds more than three pickup trucks’ worth of material, which means you don’t always need to rent the biggest container you can find. In fact, you almost never do.
Better yet is the fact that small dumpsters take up much less physical space. A small debris box will often fit in a driveway without preventing access to the street and the garage, even in cities like San Francisco—where driveways tend to be tighter than in most other cities. As such, renting a small dumpster may allow you to complete your project without needing to apply for a permit, or even find another place to park your car during the process.
Choosing a Dumpster Rental Company
Choosing a specific company in the San Francisco area from which to rent your dumpster should depend on the following criteria: what sizes do they offer, how long will you have the container for, and how much will it cost? After all, a company that offers excellent rates but inconveniently sized units or problematic scheduling will hardly provide you with much in the way of value.
At Junk King, we offer mini dumpster rentals for homeowners and professionals who need flexibility from their rental companies and are concerned about green disposal tactics. Our containers have a volume of 12 cubic feet, which gives them plenty of storage space but prevents them from being overly large or bulky. As such, it is easy to store them on your property for the duration of your rental period, which makes it easier to avoid permit applications and other inconveniences if you want to streamline the process. With standard rental periods of three days, we also give you plenty of time to fill your unit, so that you can create your own schedule and work around your office hours or other commitments.
Whether you rent a roll off dumpster for your San Francisco junk removal needs will ultimately be up to you. We don’t know exactly what’s best for your specific project, but we hope this information helps you make an informed choice so that you can clean up with as little fuss as possible. If you’re curious to learn more about easy junk removal, give us a call anytime during business hours. One of our pros will be happy to explain more about packing dumpsters, sorting their contents responsibly, or anything else that piques your curiosity.
