Roll off dumpster rental in Ithaca, Tompkins County, a city of 32,108 people in the 2020 Census. College turnover cleanouts, older home renovation, estate cleanouts, and roofing tear offs, with sizes, permit guidance, and delivery notes for Ithaca homes and hillside streets.
Ithaca is a college town built on hills, and both facts shape dumpster rental here. Cornell University and Ithaca College drive a turnover cycle that peaks every May through August, when students move out and landlords across Collegetown, South Hill, East Hill, and the West End face the same job at the same time: furniture, mattresses, carpet, and household junk coming out of apartments in volume. Book early for that window, because every property manager in town is calling in the same weeks.
The housing stock adds a second layer of demand. Fall Creek, Belle Sherman, and the older neighborhoods near downtown hold nineteenth and early twentieth century homes with plaster and lath walls, old kitchens and baths, and worn roofs. New York State has the oldest housing in the country, with the median home built in 1959, and Ithaca's older neighborhoods fit that pattern. Renovation debris here is the heavy kind, and the steep grades on the hillside streets mean delivery planning matters more than it does on flat ground.
Ithaca's geography is the third thing to know. The city sits at the southern end of Cayuga Lake, cut by gorges and climbing steeply from the lakefront to the Cornell campus. Some streets are steep enough that a truck needs a careful approach, and some driveways are short or sharply sloped. Tell us about the street and the driveway when you book and we will confirm the placement works before delivery day. Call (833) 748-4153 and describe the project, and we will match you to a size that fits both the debris and the lot.
Ithaca lots vary from flat lakefront parcels to steep hillside driveways, so measure before you order. A 10 or 15 yard box fits most city driveways comfortably, while a 20 yard fits the roomier lots. Tell us about the slope and the space when you call and we will match the container to the spot.
| Size | Typical dimensions | Capacity | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 yard | 14 ft long, 7.5 ft wide, 3.5 ft high | About 3 pickup loads | Small cleanout, half bath remodel, garage junk, heavy debris such as concrete and dirt |
| 15 yard | 16 ft long, 7.5 ft wide, 4.5 ft high | About 4 to 5 pickup loads | Basement finish, deck removal, downsizing cleanout |
| 20 yard | 22 ft long, 7.5 ft wide, 4.5 ft high | About 6 to 8 pickup loads | Whole room remodel, roofing tear off, full house cleanout |
| 30 yard | 22 ft long, 7.5 ft wide, 6 ft high | About 9 to 12 pickup loads | Whole home renovation, estate cleanout, large construction project |
| 40 yard | 22 ft long, 7.5 ft wide, 8 ft high | About 12 pickup loads | Full demolition, commercial cleanout, multi unit renovation |
A 10 yard fits a small cleanout, a half bath remodel, or a load of heavy debris like concrete or brick, and it is the safest pick for a short or steep driveway. A 15 yard suits a basement finish, a deck removal, or a single apartment turnover. The 20 yard is our most popular size statewide and handles most whole room remodels, roofing tear offs, and full house cleanouts, and it is the usual choice for a multi bedroom student rental turnover. A whole home renovation or an estate cleanout usually needs a 30 yard, and the 40 yard is for full demolition and large commercial work.
Turnover loads and renovation loads behave differently. Student move outs are light but bulky, with furniture and mattresses filling a box fast, while renovation debris from an older Ithaca home is heavy, with plaster, tile, and masonry weighing far more per load than household junk. A large container full of heavy material cannot legally be hauled, so tell us what is going in when you call and we will match the box to the load.
Here is the rule that applies across New York State, and it applies in Ithaca too. A dumpster placed entirely on private property, such as your driveway, your yard, or a private lot, generally needs no permit. A dumpster placed on a public street, in a parking lane, or on a sidewalk usually needs a permit from the municipality, and the details vary from one city, town, or village to the next.
We do not publish permit fees or application details for Ithaca because we have not verified them against an official city source, and guessing at a rule that affects your project would be worse than no answer at all. The safe move is simple: if your dumpster can sit in the driveway, you are almost certainly fine with no permit. If it has to go on the street, call us at (833) 748-4153 before you book and we will walk through what your address needs. For comparison, New York City street container permits are issued by NYC DOT, not DSNY, which is a detail plenty of websites still get wrong.
One more statewide rule worth knowing: call 811 before any ground disturbance. Dig Safely New York is state law, it is free, and it protects you from hitting a buried utility line. That matters most when a project involves digging, grading, or fence and deck post holes alongside the dumpster rental.
Most of the debris a Ithaca project produces can go straight in the box. Household junk, furniture, mattresses, carpet and padding, drywall, wood, siding, roofing shingles, concrete, brick, dirt, and yard waste are all fine. If it came out of a house, a garage, a yard, or a job site and it is not on the banned list below, it almost certainly belongs in the dumpster.
New York law keeps some things out of landfills entirely, and some things are simply unsafe to haul in an open container. Do not load any of these:
Not sure about an item? Call (833) 748-4153 before you load it. A two minute call beats a rejected load or a return trip.
Delivery in Ithaca is usually a driveway drop, but the hills deserve a mention on the booking call. The driver needs about 60 feet of clear space to set the container and roughly 23 to 25 feet of vertical clearance, and steep grades, tight turns, and low branches on the hillside streets can all affect the approach. Mention the slope and any tight corners when you book, and move parked cars out of the way before the truck arrives.
If the driveway cannot take a container, a street placement may be possible, but street placement usually needs a municipal permit, so call us first and we will walk through what applies to your address. The standard rental period is 7 days, with longer rentals available. When the box is full or the job is done, call us and we will pick it up, and if the project needs a second container we can arrange a swap so the work keeps moving.
Ready to book? Call (833) 748-4153 and tell us about your Ithaca project. We will help you pick the right size and set a delivery day that works for you.
A single apartment turnover usually fits a 15 or 20 yard dumpster, depending on how much furniture is coming out. A whole house or multi unit turnover often needs a 20 or 30 yard. Book early for May through August, when Cornell and Ithaca College move outs overlap.
A dumpster placed entirely on your driveway or private property generally needs no permit. A dumpster placed on a public street usually needs a municipal permit, and the details vary by municipality. Call (833) 748-4153 before you book a street placement and we will walk through what applies.
Often yes, but steep grades and tight turns matter for the truck. Tell us about the street and the driveway slope when you book and we will confirm the placement works before delivery day.
A single room remodel usually fits a 20 yard dumpster, while a whole home rehab in an older Ithaca house often needs a 30 yard. Plaster and masonry debris are heavy, so tell us what is coming out and we will size the box to the weight as well as the volume.
Yes. Mattresses and box springs are generally accepted in a dumpster. They are bulky, so a turnover with several mattresses fills a box faster than you might expect. Tell us how many there are when you call and we will size the container accordingly.
Yes. We serve Ithaca and the surrounding Tompkins County communities. One call covers the whole county and the Finger Lakes beyond it.
One call books your dumpster in Ithaca and anywhere in New York State.
