Driveway vs street
Driveway: No City permit is needed if the dumpster sits entirely on private property (driveway, yard, private parking lot). The permit trigger is occupying the public right-of-way - street, sidewalk, alley, or parkway. The bin must not overhang or block the sidewalk or parkway; if any part rests in the right-of-way, the LAMC 62.45 Building Materials Permit is required. Practical driveway guidance: protect the surface with plywood, and keep gates/clearance for the roll-off truck (roughly 60 ft of straight approach and 23-25 ft of overhead clearance for delivery).
Street / right-of-way: Yes - in the City of Los Angeles (which includes Chatsworth and the West San Fernando Valley), placing a roll-off dumpster on any public street, sidewalk, alley, or parkway requires a Building Materials Permit from StreetsLA (Bureau of Street Services) under LAMC Sec. 62.45. The code states no person shall deposit or maintain 'building material of any kind, debris from any building or building excavation, or any kind of material or equipment' in the public right-of-way without first filing a written application, receiving a permit, and paying the fee. Apply online at bsspermits.lacity.org (Building Materials > New Application); the City states applications take 3 to 5 business days to be approved or denied, and approved permits can be printed online. Applications need the applicant's name/address/phone and the name, location, and area (square footage) of street occupied. StreetsLA may attach special conditions to protect the public and the street, and most street-placement permits are issued for up to 7 days (renewable with a new application). Contact: Street Services Investigation & Enforcement Division, (213) 847-6000, 1149 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90015. No permit is required when the container sits entirely on private property.
Office: StreetsLA - Bureau of Street Services, Investigation & Enforcement Division, 1149 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90015; phone (213) 847-6000; online applications at bsspermits.lacity.org (Automated Permit Applications > Building Materials). The Bureau of Engineering references this as the 'Building Materials Permit (BSS Permit).'
Fee: LAMC 62.45(d) sets the fee 'by square foot occupied,' subject to a minimum permit fee established by the Board of Public Works, plus a Bureau of Engineering processing surcharge per LAMC 61.16 (amended eff. 12/7/25); exact dollar amounts are set administratively (per the LAMC 12.37 I.1 fee process) and are not published as a flat rate in the code - BSS quotes the fee at application. Third-party published estimates for a standard roll-off footprint run about $65-$150 for a 7-day permit (older sources cite $64-$85; LA dumpster companies commonly cite $75-$150 for 7-14 days). Budget roughly $100-$150 and 3-5 business days of lead time; overtime/after-hours inspections are billed separately at 1.5x a Senior Inspector's hourly wage per LAMC 62.45(d)(3).
Where debris legally goes
| Facility | Gate fees |
|---|---|
| Sunshine Canyon Landfill (Republic Services) 14747 San Fernando Rd, Sylmar, CA 91342 - (818) 362-2124 | Posted rates (eff. 7/1/2024, per sunshinecanyonlandfill.com): MSW $120/ton; clean green waste $125/ton; asphalt $150/load; contaminated soil $200/load (pre-approval required); environmental fee $19.71/load; monthly fuel-recovery fee (DOE index); one-ton minimum on ALL materials; untarped-load penalty $175; appliances/AC units $115 each; computers/monitors $85 each. LA County Public Works reports the MSW rate rose to $130/ton as of 7/1/2025. No hazardous waste or liquids (no paint, oil, batteries, asbestos). Rates subject to change - confirm at the scale house. |
| Calabasas Landfill (LA County Sanitation Districts) 5300 Lost Hills Rd, Agoura, CA 91301 - (818) 889-0363; scale house (562) 908-4288 x4515 | $75.40/ton for municipal solid waste as of 7/1/2024 (up from $60.32/ton), per LA County Public Works landfill fee survey; commercial/industrial loads run ~10% less than the residential rate. Rates include the $1.40/ton CA Integrated Waste Management Fee, $1.50/ton LA County SWM fee, and $0.41/ton LEA fee. Clean dirt is NOT free - charged the MSW/inert tipping fee. A new rate ordinance took effect 9/1/2025 - call or check lacsd.org tipping-fee page for the current number. |
| Crown Recycling Services / Community Recycling & Resource Recovery (Athens Services) 9189 De Garmo Ave, Sun Valley, CA 91352 - (800) 633-9933 | Not published online; priced per ton by material (mixed C&D, green waste, MSW) - call for the current rate sheet. |
| Angeles C&D Public Dump 11401 Pendleton St, Sun Valley, CA 91352 | Not published; advertises short lines and competitive per-load rates for contractors and the public - call for pricing. |
| Sun Valley Recycling Park / Bradley East Transfer Station (WM) 9081 Tujunga Ave, Sun Valley, CA 91352 | Commercial transfer pricing; not published - arranged through WM (wmsolutions.com). |
| Valley Recycling Center 20220 Plummer St, Chatsworth, CA 91311 | Pays customers for CRV beverage containers, metals, cardboard; no tipping. |
Local rules worth knowing
- AB 939 Compliance Permit (a.k.a. Solid Waste Hauler/Contractor Permit) is MANDATORY: LAMC Sec. 66.32.1(a)(1) - any person who collects, removes, or transports solid waste 'including Construction and Demolition Waste' generated within the City of LA must hold an AB 939 Compliance Permit from LA Sanitation (LASAN). Even parties who merely ARRANGE C&D removal without using a permitted hauler must get the permit (66.32.1(a)(2)). Apply through LASAN's Hauler Permit Section, 1149 S. Broadway, 5th Fl, MS 944, LA 90015, [email protected]. Source: codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/lamc/0-0-0-163821; sanitation.lacity.gov/services/apply-commercial-waste-hauler-permit.
- KEY LEGAL FINDING - recycLA does NOT lock out third-party roll-off companies for C&D: recycLA (the exclusive commercial franchise launched July 2017 under Ord. No. 182,986, LAMC 66.33 et seq., with 11 zones serving ~66,000 commercial and 5+ unit multifamily accounts) grants exclusivity only over regular collection service. LAMC Sec. 66.33.2(b) expressly carves out of the franchisee's exclusive right: (1) self-hauled waste, (2) CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTE, (3) City-collected waste, and (4) on-location filming waste. Temporary C&D roll-off/lowboy boxes therefore remain an OPEN, competitive market that any AB 939-permitted private hauler may serve. Source: codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/lamc/0-0-0-285179.
- Scope caution: the C&D carve-out is material-based, not container-based. A temporary bin filled with ordinary trash/junk at a commercial or multifamily (5+) property falls inside the recycLA franchise (recycLA providers like Athens offer that temporary service). An independent dumpster company stays legal by servicing construction/demolition/renovation debris and inert loads anywhere, and general cleanout loads at single-family (non-franchise) homes - with its AB 939 permit in hand.
- No LA program named 'RENU' exists in any official City source - searches of LASAN, LAMC, and City records surface only the AB 939 Compliance Permit / Waste Hauler Permit Program (and the pre-2017 non-exclusive franchise system it replaced). Treat 'RENU' as a misnomer; the operative credential for an independent C&D roll-off operator is the AB 939 Compliance Permit.
- AB 939 compliance fee: LAMC Sec. 66.32.2 - permitted haulers pay 10% of gross receipts, due quarterly (within 30 days of quarter end), and file quarterly tonnage/financial reports through LASAN's Solid Resources Haulers and Facilities Portal. Haulers moving under 1,000 tons/year are exempt from the fee (but not the permit). Source: codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/lamc/0-0-0-163829.
- C&D routing mandate: LAMC 66.32.1(b) - every permitted hauler must deliver City-generated C&D waste to a CITY-CERTIFIED Construction & Demolition Waste Processing Facility (LASAN publishes the certified list and an interactive map, updated 2026), unless at least two certified facilities refuse the load and issue rejection slips (keep slips 3 years). Weight tickets and project documentation must be retained 3 years.
- Bin marking rule: LAMC 66.32.1(d) - bins used to collect or transport solid waste or C&D generated in the City must be clearly marked with the hauler's name and phone number.
- Homeowner self-haul exemptions: LAMC 66.32.1(a)(4) and (b)(3) - residence owners hauling C&D from work personally performed at their own homes, in their own vehicles, need no AB 939 permit and are exempt from the certified-facility routing rule.
- LASAN Bulky Item Pickup (the dumpster-rental trigger): City of LA residents in LASAN-serviced buildings (1-4 units and other City-collected households) get FREE, unlimited curbside bulky-item collection on their regular trash day - schedule via MyLA311, 311, or 1-800-773-2489 at least one business day ahead. Takes: furniture, mattresses, appliances (including Freon units), carpeting, e-waste. EXCLUDES: construction and demolition/remodeling debris (lumber, drywall, roofing, concrete, tile), dirt, automotive parts, hazardous waste, and commercial waste - so any renovation, even DIY, needs a private roll-off or self-haul. Source: sanitation.lacity.gov/services/schedule-bulky-item-pickup.
- CALGreen / LA Green Building Code diversion: California's CALGreen code (ยงยง4.408/5.408, adopted into the LA Building Code and enforced via LADBS + LASAN's C&D recycling program) requires at least 65% of construction and demolition debris from covered projects to be recycled or reused - in the City of LA this is operationalized by the certified-C&D-processor routing rule, so using an AB 939-permitted hauler that tips at a certified facility keeps contractors compliant.
- Street placement: LAMC 62.45 Building Materials Permit from StreetsLA required for any right-of-way placement (fee per square foot occupied, Board minimum, 3-5 business day processing via bsspermits.lacity.org); private-property placement needs no permit.
- Honest note on nearby Ventura County cities: Simi Valley, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, and Camarillo maintain exclusive waste franchises, so roll-off containers there must come from each city's franchised hauler - we do not place containers inside those city limits. Everywhere we do serve is open-market and fully legal.
Asked constantly
Do I need a permit in Chatsworth?
Yes - in the City of Los Angeles (which includes Chatsworth and the West San Fernando Valley), placing a roll-off dumpster on any public street, sidewalk, alley, or parkway requires a Building Materials Permit from StreetsLA (Bureau of Street Services) under LAMC Sec. 62.45. The code states no person shall deposit or maintain 'building material of any kind, debris from any building or building excavation, or any kind of material or equipment' in the public right-of-way without first filing a written application, receiving a permit, and paying the fee. Apply online at bsspermits.lacity.org (Building Materials > New Application); the City states applications take 3 to 5 business days to be approved or denied, and approved permits can be printed online. Applications need the applicant's name/address/phone and the name, location, and area (square footage) of street occupied. StreetsLA may attach special conditions to protect the public and the street, and most street-placement permits are issued for up to 7 days (renewable with a new application). Contact: Street Services Investigation & Enforcement Division, (213) 847-6000, 1149 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90015. No permit is required when the container sits entirely on private property.
Who handles it?
StreetsLA - Bureau of Street Services, Investigation & Enforcement Division, 1149 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90015; phone (213) 847-6000; online applications at bsspermits.lacity.org (Automated Permit Applications > Building Materials). The Bureau of Engineering references this as the 'Building Materials Permit (BSS Permit).'
What does it cost?
LAMC 62.45(d) sets the fee 'by square foot occupied,' subject to a minimum permit fee established by the Board of Public Works, plus a Bureau of Engineering processing surcharge per LAMC 61.16 (amended eff. 12/7/25); exact dollar amounts are set administratively (per the LAMC 12.37 I.1 fee process) and are not published as a flat rate in the code - BSS quotes the fee at application. Third-party published estimates for a standard roll-off footprint run about $65-$150 for a 7-day permit (older sources cite $64-$85; LA dumpster companies commonly cite $75-$150 for 7-14 days). Budget roughly $100-$150 and 3-5 business days of lead time; overtime/after-hours inspections are billed separately at 1.5x a Senior Inspector's hourly wage per LAMC 62.45(d)(3).
Last updated August 2026 · local rules and rates checked for Chatsworth and nearby cities.