Madison County

Renting a dumpster in Anderson and the rest of Madison County

Anderson has a short, cheap street permit, one permitted transfer station, and a housing stock that is older than Indianapolis's. Each of those changes how you plan a cleanout or remodel.

The Anderson Dumpster Permit

The City Engineer's Office handles it. Two city pages say the same thing: placing a dumpster in the street, an alley or the sidewalk area takes a Dumpster Permit. The form itself reads "Permit is required whenever dumpster is to be placed within City Right-of-Way."

• Fee on the form: $10.00.
• How long it lasts: 10 days from the date of application. A longer rental means asking the office how to renew before day 10.
• What it asks for: your name, street address, phone number and the dumpster leasing company. It is signed by you and by the city's traffic engineer.
• Where: Anderson City Hall, 120 E. Eighth St., Anderson, IN 46016.

The form posted on the city's site is a file created in December 2013. The fee may have changed since then, so confirm it with the City Engineer's Office when you apply.

Why so few Anderson listings are in Anderson

On Nov 4, 2026, a Yellow Pages search for dumpster rental in Anderson returned 29 businesses. One showed an Anderson street address. Eleven were in Ohio, from Dayton to Cincinnati, and most of the rest were in the Indianapolis area. Angi listed 32 companies for the same search. A separate database of 4,816 roll-off listings, compiled from public sources in October 2026, had no company with an Anderson address at all.

So most boxes that land in Anderson driveways come from a yard somewhere else. When you compare quotes, ask where the truck starts and whether delivery distance is built into the price.

Where Anderson debris can go

Indiana's environmental agency (IDEM) keeps a list of permitted solid waste sites. On the version dated Dec 12, 2023, Madison County has one transfer station and no municipal landfill:

• Madison Avenue Transfer Station, 1128 W. 66th St., Anderson, IN 46013. The same address is listed by the city for Best Way Disposal, which collects Anderson's residential trash. Office hours on the city page: Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m. to noon. Phone 765-649-7272.
• Anderson Yard and Garden Recycling Center, 2000 W. Eighth St. Open Wednesday and Saturday, 8 to 11 a.m. and noon to 2 p.m. Leaves and grass are free; woody debris carries a small fee. No dirt and no plastic bags. Phone 765-648-6399.

Larger loads from the county often go to sites in Marion or Hancock counties. Those are on the disposal sites page.

What Anderson's city pickup will and will not take

Best Way runs Heavy Pick-Up for items too big for the cart. You call 765-649-7272 to arrange it, and it comes the day after your trash day. Furniture and appliances are fine, except anything that ever held Freon (refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners). The city page is direct about the rest: remodeling debris and excess move-in or move-out trash are not covered. That gap is where a roll-off usually makes sense.

Yard waste goes out in biodegradable paper bags from October 1 to December 15, picked up the day after trash day. Limbs must be cut and tied in bundles no more than 3 inches thick and 4 feet long, at 35 pounds or less.

Older houses, heavier loads

Census figures (ACS 2024, 5-year) put Anderson's median home at 1961. Almost half of its 27,483 housing units, 48%, were built before 1960, and 24% before 1940. In Indianapolis the pre-1960 share is 33%. Seven in ten Anderson homes are single detached houses. Plaster walls, old roofing layers and basement contents weigh more per cubic yard than modern drywall, so ask each hauler what tonnage is included before you pick a size.

Pendleton, Alexandria, Elwood, Lapel and Ingalls

Pendleton: town rules say any work in a right-of-way, street, alley, sidewalk or curb needs a Right-of-Way Activity Permit from the Town Planning Department. The rules do not mention dumpsters by name, so ask the Planning Department whether a container in the street counts before you schedule it there.

Alexandria, Elwood, Lapel, Ingalls: we found no published dumpster or container rule for these places. We searched each town name with "dumpster permit" and checked for posted code; nothing came up. Call the town or city hall before putting a box on a public street. On a private driveway, the question usually does not come up.