Debris removal after the remodel, the storm or the cleanup

Construction and remodel debris

Remodels make more debris than people expect: old cabinets and counters, drywall, tile, flooring, doors, lumber and the boxes and packing from everything new. We load it, sort what can be recycled, and haul it away.

California’s green building code, CALGreen, requires 65 percent of construction and demolition debris to be kept out of landfills on covered projects. In unincorporated Ventura County, those projects file a recycling plan through the county’s Citizen Access system and turn in recycling receipts when the work is done (Ventura County C&D debris program). The county says to ask for a receipt at every sorting facility, because without one you can’t show where the material went.

Tell us when your permit needs recycling receipts, and we keep the receipt from each drop for you. Cities inside the county run their own versions of the rule, so check with your building department which form your permit needs.

Yard and storm debris

After a windstorm or heavy rain, the mess is usually branches, palm fronds, fence boards, a tipped-over shed, mud and whatever blew in from next door. We clear it and haul it, and green waste goes to composting.

Our phone is answered around the clock, so a tree limb across the driveway at night or a fence down before a dog gets out is a call we take.

For brush and weeds that grew back over the year, see brush clearing. For a lot that needs to be cleared to the dirt, see land clearing.

What isn’t debris we can take

Some debris needs a specialist before it can be hauled. Material that may contain asbestos (old pipe wrap, some popcorn ceilings, some old floor tile and siding) needs testing and a licensed abatement company. The City of Ventura’s demolition procedure, for example, asks for a permit from the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District for asbestos (City of Ventura demolition procedure).

Paint, solvents, treated wood preservatives and other chemicals are household hazardous waste, which the county collects through its own programs (Ventura County hazardous waste).