Drywall, Tile and Carpet Disposal for DIY Remodels in Arlington
A weekend of demolition produces a pile that looks small and weighs a great deal. Where it can go in Arlington depends on what it is, who you are, and how it is bundled.
Call (682) 226-7611
The short answer
In Arlington, TX, curbside collection refuses construction debris, so drywall and tile go to the Arlington Landfill, where homeowners get three free visits a year, or to a hauler. Carpet can go curbside cut under 4 feet, rolled, bundled and under 50 pounds. Junk Koala Arlington quotes mixed construction debris by hand. Test older flooring for asbestos first.
- Curbside
- No construction debris; carpet only cut, rolled, bundled and under 50 pounds
- Landfill
- Three free visits a year for Arlington homeowners; contractors pay standard rates
- Crew price
- Mixed construction debris quoted by hand from photos and square footage
- Asbestos
- Test suspect older material first; this branch does not handle asbestos
Why remodel debris weighs more than it looks
Drywall is a layer of gypsum, which is rock, pressed between sheets of paper. Tile is fired clay that comes up with its thinset mortar, and often a cement backer board, still attached. Old carpet is lighter on its own, but carpet rolled up with its pad holds years of grit, and any of the three gets heavier again once it is rained on. A pile that fills one corner of the garage can outweigh a roomful of furniture.
Weight matters because that is how disposal is charged once a load gets past the smallest size. Arlington's own landfill rate card prices passenger vehicles and trailers 8 feet or longer by the ton, with a one-ton minimum, and a hauler's disposal costs follow the same logic. Weight also limits what a pickup or a trailer can safely carry, which is easy to forget while the bed still looks half empty.
So the useful questions on a DIY remodel are what each material is, where Arlington lets it go, and how much of it there will be. The answers differ more than people expect between drywall, tile and carpet.
Where drywall, tile and carpet can go in Arlington
| Material | Curb, landfill or crew |
|---|---|
| Drywall and plaster offcuts | Not at the curb: construction debris is on the city's prohibited list. The landfill page does not mention drywall by name, so call the scale house before loading. Crew pickup is quoted by hand. |
| Tile, thinset and backer board | Not at the curb, for the same reason; the city also keeps heavy materials such as brick and concrete out of carts. Same phone call before a landfill run. Dense, so tell any hauler the square footage. |
| Carpet | Allowed as curbside bulky waste if cut into pieces less than 4 feet, rolled and bundled, each bundle under 50 pounds, within the 2-cubic-yard weekly allowance. The page says nothing about pad. |
| Old concrete | The landfill takes old concrete for recycling free of charge. |
| Paint, adhesives and solvents | Not at the curb or the landfill. Arlington residents can take household hazardous waste to Fort Worth's Environmental Collection Center free. The branch does not take wet paint or solvents. |
Curbside and landfill rules that apply to a DIY job
Arlington's curbside page lists construction debris among the items its crews will not collect, and its trash-cart rules separately exclude construction materials and heavy materials such as dirt, brick, concrete and shingles. Setting drywall or tile out on bulky day earns an Oops tag, and the city expects tagged material off the curb within 24 hours to avoid penalties or fines.
Carpet is the exception, because the city names it as bulky waste. Cut it into pieces less than 4 feet, roll and bundle them, keep each bundle under 50 pounds, and stay within the 2 cubic yards a week the city collects. A whole house of carpet takes several weeks of bulky days that way, which is fine for a slow project and useless for one with an installer booked.
The Arlington Landfill at 800 Mosier Valley Road is the self-haul option, open to the public Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Homeowners whose permanent residence is in Arlington get three free visits a year plus a discounted rate after that, in a passenger vehicle or a trailer up to 16 feet, and the name, address and driver license have to match the water utility account. The free visits reset each January.
Renters, landlords and contractors pay standard rates, so debris your contractor hauls goes at their rate, not on your free visit. And tarp the load: the rate card lists a charge for vehicles that arrive improperly tarped.
Staging debris between trades
On a DIY remodel you are the general contractor, so the debris plan is yours too. Staging it well keeps the next phase moving and makes every disposal route cheaper.
- 1
Pick one staging spot before demolition starts
A garage bay or the side of the driveway, on a tarp, not the street and not the lawn you want to keep. One pile is easier to price and to load than four.
- 2
Bag and box the dense material small
Tile and broken drywall go in sturdy bags or boxes filled only as far as one person can lift. An overfilled contractor bag splits on the way to the truck.
- 3
Keep drywall dry
Gypsum soaks up rain, gains weight and turns to paste. Stack it flat and cover it.
- 4
Cut carpet as it comes up
Strips under 4 feet wide, rolled and taped, keep the curb open as an option and make every carry easier. Keep the pad separate, and box the tack strip so nobody grabs a nail.
- 5
Keep hazardous leftovers out of the pile
Paint, adhesive, primer and solvent containers go to household hazardous waste, not in with the drywall.
- 6
Clear before the next trade arrives
The flooring installer needs a bare subfloor and the painter needs empty rooms. Book the pickup or the landfill run for the gap between phases, not for the end of the job.
Before you pull up old flooring or scrape a ceiling, test it
EPA's guidance to homeowners is blunt: you generally cannot tell whether a material contains asbestos by looking at it. Its list of places asbestos may be found includes vinyl floor tiles, the backing on vinyl sheet flooring and its adhesives, and the textured paint and patching compounds used on walls and ceilings, which are exactly the layers a DIY remodel disturbs.
EPA suggests an inspection by a trained and accredited asbestos professional when you are planning to remodel, and advises against taking samples yourself, since sampling done badly can be more hazardous than leaving the material alone. Have suspect material tested by a licensed asbestos professional before the scraper comes out, not after.
Junk Koala Arlington does not handle asbestos-containing material in any form, tested or not. If a test comes back positive, removal is a job for an abatement contractor, and the branch can clear everything else once that work is done.
- Vinyl floor tiles and sheet-flooring backing
- Flooring adhesives
- Textured ceiling paint and wall patching compound
- Test before disturbing, not after
- No asbestos material on the truck
Pricing a crew pickup for remodel debris
The Junk Koala price book quotes a handful of things by hand rather than from a list (pianos, hot tubs, safes, mixed construction debris and loads over one truck), and mixed construction debris is the one most DIY projects produce. How much a pile of tile weighs depends on how much thinset and backer board came up with it and whether it got wet, and a photograph cannot weigh anything.
For scale, the same price book charges $249 for a quarter truck, $419 for a half truck and $699 for a full truck of ordinary household junk, before sales tax. Those figures assume furniture-weight loads. A truck of tile reaches its weight limit long before it looks full, which is why debris is not priced from that table.
Homeowners usually book one pickup per phase, timed for the gap before the next trade. Contractors running several jobs set it up as an account through the contractor program, so each pickup is a message rather than a fresh quote.
Square footage plus a photo
Tell us the material and the area it came from, add a photo of the pile, and the quote comes back in writing before anything is booked.
FAQ
Related questions
- Will Arlington pick up drywall at the curb?
- No. Construction debris is on the city's list of items curbside collection will not take, and setting it out earns an Oops tag with 24 hours to clear it. Homeowners can use the Arlington Landfill instead, where three visits a year are free.
- Can I put old carpet out for bulk pickup in Arlington?
- Yes, if it is cut into pieces less than 4 feet, rolled and bundled, with each bundle under 50 pounds. It counts toward your 2-cubic-yard weekly bulky allowance and has to be at the curb by 7 a.m. on collection day.
- Is it free to take remodel debris to the Arlington landfill?
- For Arlington homeowners, up to three visits a year are, in a passenger vehicle or a trailer up to 16 feet, with a discounted rate after that. Renters, landlords and contractors pay standard rates, and the landfill does not take paint, liquids or chemicals.
- Do I need to test old vinyl flooring for asbestos before I pull it up?
- Yes, if there is any doubt about what it is made of. EPA lists vinyl floor tiles, sheet-flooring backing and flooring adhesives among materials that may contain asbestos, says you cannot tell by looking, and advises leaving sampling to a trained, accredited professional. Junk Koala Arlington does not take asbestos-containing material.
- How much does it cost to haul away tile and drywall in Arlington?
- It is quoted by hand, because mixed construction debris is priced on weight and a photo alone cannot show that. Send photos, the material and the square footage. For scale, a full truck of ordinary household junk is $699 in the Junk Koala price book, before sales tax.
Sources
- City of Arlington: Residential Curbside Collections — checked
- City of Arlington: Arlington Landfill — checked
- City of Arlington: Garbage and Recycling Rates and Fees — checked
- City of Arlington: Recycling and Sustainability Programs — checked
- US EPA: Protect Your Family from Exposures to Asbestos — checked
- US EPA: Learn About Asbestos — checked
Ready when you are
You point. We haul. That is the whole arrangement.
Choose a window from the live Arlington calendar, or send a few photographs and get the number first. Homes or businesses, one item or a whole property.
Or call (682) 226-7611
The Arlington branch
Junk Koala Arlington
1140 W Pioneer Pkwy, Ste 1144E
Arlington, TX 76013