Ada County Landfill: Hours, Fees and What You Can Bring

The public entrance is at 10300 N Seamans Gulch Rd, Boise, ID 83714. The county's office takes questions on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The phone number is on the county's hours page linked below.

• Weekdays: 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Saturdays: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Sundays: closed.

The landfill is closed on New Year's Day (closing at 4:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve), Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day (closing at 4:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve). It stays open on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day and Juneteenth.

Verify before you go. Hours and fees change. Check the county's own page, Ada County Landfill location and hours, which lists the phone number.

Ordinary waste is what the county says goes straight into the landfill: household trash, construction and demolition waste, and yard waste. Large items that do not fit in your curbside cart can be deposited there too. Mattresses are accepted, though the county says it cannot recycle mattresses and box springs. Metal frames go to the scrap metal pile.

Past the scales there is a Recovery and Diversion Area for items the county keeps out of the buried waste. The county lists these:

• Clean household cardboard, with no wood or foam.
• Landscaping debris such as branches, trees and brush. No thorns or bamboo.
• Clean wood such as pallets, lumber and plywood. Not stained, painted, burned or pressure-treated.
• Clean concrete and asphalt rubble.
• Scrap metal, including appliances (refrigerated ones carry a fee), workout equipment and grills.
• Extension cords and holiday lights, in the green metal bin.
• Lawn mowers, weed eaters and tillers, with the gas and oil drained.
• Bicycles, tires, and e-waste such as TVs, monitors, printers, microwaves and phones.

Campers, trailers, boats and anything else that needs registration must come with the title or registration, matching the name on the driver's license of the person dropping it off. Call ahead for instructions.

Every load has to be secured or covered under an Ada County ordinance. The county says the Sheriff's Department monitors the road to the landfill and you can get a ticket for an unsecured load. If you lose part of a load and the road needs cleanup, the county may bill you for it.

• Cover small and loose items, such as leaves, branches and general household waste, with a tarp, and strap or rope the tarp down so it stays put.
• Strap or rope furniture, appliances and other large items to the truck or trailer.

The county's other site rules: wear high-visibility clothing, no smoking or vaping anywhere on the property, no pedestrians or bicycles, no handheld cell phone use, obey the speed limits and the spotter, and keep children and pets in the vehicle. No scavenging.

Plenty of loads are a fine do-it-yourself trip. Some are not. Here is how we would think about it.

Hauling it yourself makes sense when

• You have a truck or trailer and a free half day, and the load is small enough that you would owe little more than the county's minimum fee.
• It is one kind of material the landfill sorts for you, such as clean wood, clean concrete or household cardboard.
• You are already making the trip for something else.

Having a crew haul it makes sense when

• There is furniture, a mattress or an appliance that is heavy or has to come down stairs.
• You would need more than one trip, or you do not own a truck. Add your gas, your time, and the line at the scales to the ton rate.
• It is a whole garage, estate or remodel, where loading is most of the work.

The crew gives free estimates, with no-obligation written quotes and volume-based pricing, so you only pay for the space your items take up in the truck. Same-day or next-day service is on offer, and usable items get donated or recycled before anything goes to the landfill. Start with the junk removal cost guide or the dumpster rental versus junk removal comparison if you are still deciding, or just call.