What Can't You Put in a Dumpster What the Rubbish Sites Refuse

The landfill's list becomes your list

A roll-off from a Biloxi job usually ends up at a Class I rubbish site, such as the one on Hudson Krohn Road in north Biloxi. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality publishes what those sites may and may not accept, and it puts the burden on the operator: anything prohibited that slips in has to be pulled out and disposed of properly at the site's expense. That is why haulers inspect loads, why a refused item can come back to you as a charge, and why the state list is the practical answer to this question.

The MDEQ list of prohibited wastes at a Class I site includes:

• household garbage, and food or drink waste;
• liquids, sludges and contaminated soils;
• paint, paint buckets, oil containers and chemical containers;
• engines and motors;
• refrigerators;
• whole tires, and cut or shredded tires without specific approval;
• batteries;
• toxic or hazardous waste;
• asbestos and anything containing it;
• medical waste.

The same list adds a few that surprise people. Metal, glass, plastic and paper containers, loose fabric and bulk paper waste are all barred unless the state's Office of Pollution Control approves them case by case. Appliances are allowed only once the motor is out, and refrigerators not at all.

Food waste, Coast style

Biloxi's collection guide lists crawfish and shrimp hulls among the things its curbside haulers will not pick up, and they are just as unwelcome in a roll-off. Food waste is prohibited at rubbish sites, and a box of construction debris that smells like last weekend's boil after three days in August heat draws flies, gulls and complaints. Keep the shells out of the box entirely.

Tires

State law bars landfilling waste tires in any form, whole, split or shredded, unless the environmental commission grants an exception, under Miss. Code Sec. 17-17-407. Biloxi's 2021 guide said the household hazardous waste collection took up to 25 tires per household; a D'Iberville collection day in April 2026 capped them at five per resident. Tire shops also take old tires when they sell new ones.

Batteries

Under Miss. Code Sec. 17-17-429, a lead-acid battery from a car, boat or golf cart may not go into mixed municipal solid waste. It goes back to a retailer, a wholesaler or an authorized recycler. Lithium-ion batteries from tools, scooters and phones are a fire risk in a steel box full of dry lumber, and even the April 2026 D'Iberville collection day refused them, so ask a battery retailer or recycler instead.

Refrigerators, freezers and window units

These carry refrigerant, and federal rules under 40 CFR 82.155 require it to be recovered before the appliance is scrapped or disposed of. Biloxi's guide says refrigerators with Freon still inside will not be collected, and that a licensed contractor must remove it and tag the unit. A rubbish site will not take a refrigerator even then, so plan on a scrap dealer or the county's hazardous waste route.

Paint, oil and household chemicals

Harrison County runs the Rocko-McFarland Household Hazardous Waste Site at 10076 Lorraine Road in Gulfport, open the second Saturday of every month from 8 a.m. to noon, according to an April 2026 WLOX report. The city's 2021 guide listed what the county program accepted: latex and oil-based paint, used cooking and motor oil, antifreeze, car and marine batteries, aerosol cans, flammable liquids such as gasoline, fluorescent bulbs, computers, phones and televisions. Hours have changed over the years, so check before loading the car.

Even a dried-out paint can is still a container under the state list, so the collection day is the cleaner route.

Asbestos

Old floor tile, pipe wrap, textured ceilings and some siding can contain asbestos. It is banned at both classes of rubbish site, so a remodel of an older Biloxi house should have suspect material tested before it is torn out. If it tests positive, removal and disposal follow their own rules and never involve a standard roll-off.

Heavy but allowed

Concrete, brick, block and asphalt are welcome, and a box of nothing else can go to a Class II site as well as a Class I. They are limited by weight rather than by rules, which is covered on How Much Weight Can a Dumpster Hold? and on the concrete and heavy debris dumpsters page.

A quick sort before the box arrives

Goes in: drywall, lumber, cabinets, flooring, carpet, shingles, fencing, furniture, cardboard, and appliances with the motor removed. Stays out: the household trash, the seafood shells, anything that pours, anything with a battery, tires, refrigerators and anything that might be asbestos. Remodel debris is covered on construction and renovation dumpsters, house contents on cleanout dumpster rental, and sizes and published rates on the pricing page.