How to start a junk removal side business in Massachusetts
Facts checked October 29, 2026 · by JUNKRUN, Melrose MA
To haul junk for pay in Massachusetts, file a business certificate with your city or town clerk if you use a name other than your own. Buy insurance that covers hauling for pay. Know where you can dump and what it costs. An LLC is optional, and the state filing fee is $500. Learn the state mattress and TV bans before your first job.
Register the business
If you do business under any name other than your own legal name, Massachusetts law (G.L. c. 110, s. 5) says you file a certificate with the clerk of every city or town where an office of the business is situated. You sign it under oath with the clerk. The certificate is in force for four years from the date of issue, then you renew it. The fine for skipping it is not more than three hundred dollars for each month the violation continues.
An LLC is a separate step. You file with the Corporations Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The Division's LLC information page lists $500 for an LLC certificate of registration and $500 for the yearly annual report. You do not need an LLC to haul junk. Many solo haulers start with a business certificate and add an LLC later. Ask an accountant which fits you.
Get an EIN from the IRS. It is free. The IRS says you never have to pay a fee for an EIN. You will want it for a business bank account and for hiring help.
Insurance for a hauling business
Insurance is the step that stops many new haulers. Talk to an agent who writes commercial policies before you buy anything. Ask about these coverages:
- General liability. Pays if you damage a customer's home or hurt someone on the job.
- Commercial auto. Many personal auto policies do not cover hauling for pay. Ask your agent and get the answer in writing.
- Inland marine or cargo. Optional. It can cover your tools and equipment.
- Workers' compensation. The state says all employers must carry it for their employees, regardless of the number of hours worked. Massachusetts also presumes a worker is an employee unless you can show otherwise. If you plan to hire a helper, ask your agent how to cover them.
Dump and transfer fees near Boston
Disposal is a real cost, and many town transfer stations are for residents only. Check the rules before you drive a load there. A fee that a resident pays does not mean a business can use the station. If a town says residents only, do not bring customer junk.
These are the rates posted on each town's own page when we checked. Rates change, so call before you go. Ask if they take commercial loads, what permit you need, and how they take payment.
- Who can use it
- Private haulers and contractors with an annual commercial disposal sticker (sticker price not listed on the page)
- Published fees
- Trash $220 per ton. Weighed in and out. Trash must be free of banned items.
- Who can use it
- Page says residents only, and also lists commercial permits. The first commercial trash hauler permit is $300.
- Published fees
- Commercial trash $210 per ton. Building and demolition debris $260 per ton. Mattress $40 each (commercial). Appliances $15 each. TVs from $10, up to $25 for TVs over 36 inches.
- Who can use it
- Residents only. The page says no contractors or businesses.
- Published fees
- Mattress $50 each. TV $25. Construction debris $32 per cubic yard.
Massachusetts waste bans
MassDEP bans some items from disposal, and from being transferred for disposal. The bans are in 310 CMR 19.017. The state's list includes:
- Mattresses (ban started November 1, 2022)
- Textiles such as bedding, clothing and curtains (also November 1, 2022)
- Cathode ray tubes, which are the old tube TVs and monitors
- White goods, which are large appliances
- Metals, asphalt, brick and concrete, clean gypsum wallboard, and recyclable paper and cardboard
- Leaves and yard waste, lead acid batteries, and wood (wood is banned from landfills only)
What the bans mean when you load a truck
You cannot toss these items into a mixed trash load. Sort them as you load. Mattresses, appliances and TVs go to a place that accepts them, and many stations charge a per-item fee, as the table above shows.
MassDEP's waste ban page links Generator & Hauler Compliance Assistance. Read it before your first job.
Pickup truck or dump trailer
A pickup is the cheapest way to start. You may own one already. It fits small jobs: a couch, a few appliances, a load of yard waste. Sudbury's transfer station says a level 8-foot pickup bed holds about 2.5 cubic yards of debris. Treat that as a rough guide for loose material. Furniture packs worse.
A dump trailer holds more and unloads itself. As plain arithmetic, a trailer with a 6 foot by 10 foot floor and 3 foot sides holds 180 cubic feet, about 6.7 cubic yards. Your trailer will differ, so measure it.
Weight limits matter more than space. Find your trailer's gross weight rating on its plate and your truck's tow rating in the owner's manual. Do not load past either number. Wet debris, concrete and shingles are heavy.
Register the trailer. The Massachusetts RMV says all motor vehicles and trailers must keep a valid registration. Fees depend on plate type, so check the RMV fee schedule before you buy.
Quick answers
Do I need an LLC to start hauling junk in Massachusetts?
+
No. You can start as a sole proprietor. If you use a name other than your own, file a business certificate with your city or town clerk. An LLC adds a $500 state filing fee and a $500 annual report fee, so ask an accountant if it is worth it for you.
Can I take customer junk to my town transfer station?
+
Only if the town allows it. Needham sells commercial stickers to haulers. Sudbury says no contractors or businesses. Call the station before you go.
Can I put a mattress in the trash in Massachusetts?
+
No. Mattresses have been banned from disposal since November 1, 2022. Take them to a recycler or a station that accepts them, and expect a per-item fee.
Does my personal auto insurance cover hauling junk for pay?
+
Ask your insurer. Many personal policies do not cover business use. Get the answer in writing before your first paid job.
Sources
- G.L. c. 110, s. 5: business certificates (Massachusetts Legislature): “Any person conducting business in the commonwealth under any title other than the real name of the person conducting the business ... shall file in the office of the clerk of every city or town”
- G.L. c. 110, s. 5: business certificates (Massachusetts Legislature): “shall be in force and effect for four years from the date of issue”
- G.L. c. 110, s. 5: business certificates (Massachusetts Legislature): “a fine of not more than three hundred dollars for each month during which such violation continues”
- Corporations Division: Limited Liability Company information: “fee for filing a certificate of registration ... ($500.00)”
- Corporations Division: Limited Liability Company information: “filing fee for an annual report is five hundred dollars ($500.00)”
- Apply for an EIN online (IRS): “You never have to pay a fee for an EIN”
- Who is covered by workers' compensation insurance (Mass.gov): “All employers are required to carry workers' compensation for their employees”
- Who is covered by workers' compensation insurance (Mass.gov): “regardless of the number of hours worked”
- Who is covered by workers' compensation insurance (Mass.gov): “workers are presumed to be employees”
- Needham: contractor and landscaper information: “Private Haulers, Contractors and Landscapers may use the Needham Recycling and Transfer Station”
- Needham: contractor and landscaper information: “after they have purchased an annual commercial disposal sticker”
- Needham: contractor and landscaper information: “Disposal Rates $220 per ton”
- Needham: contractor and landscaper information: “Vehicles will be required to weigh in and weigh out with each load delivered”
- Needham: contractor and landscaper information: “All trash must be free of all Waste Ban Items”
- Winchester Transfer Station / Recycling Center: “The Transfer Station is for WINCHESTER RESIDENTS ONLY”
- Winchester Transfer Station / Recycling Center: “First Permit for Commercial Trash Haulers $300”
- Winchester Transfer Station / Recycling Center: “Commercial solid waste: $210 per ton”
- Winchester Transfer Station / Recycling Center: “Building and demolition debris: $260 per ton”
- Winchester Transfer Station / Recycling Center: “Commercial mattress: $40 each”
- Winchester Transfer Station / Recycling Center: “Appliances: $15”
- Winchester Transfer Station / Recycling Center: “Television: $25 (TVs, monitors over 36 inches)”
- Sudbury transfer station fees: “This service is for residents only”
- Sudbury transfer station fees: “No contractors or businesses allowed”
- Sudbury transfer station fees: “Mattresses – ALL $50.00”
- Sudbury transfer station fees: “Television Set $25.00”
- Sudbury transfer station fees: “Construction Debris: Sheetrock, Shingles, $32.00 per cu. yd.”
- MassDEP: Waste disposal bans: “Mattresses (effective November 1, 2022)”
- MassDEP: Waste disposal bans: “Textiles (effective November 1, 2022)”
- MassDEP: Waste disposal bans: “Cathode ray tubes”
- MassDEP: Waste disposal bans: “White goods (large appliances)”
- MassDEP: Waste disposal bans: “Ferrous and non-ferrous metals”
- MassDEP: Waste disposal bans: “Asphalt pavement, brick and concrete”
- MassDEP: Waste disposal bans: “Clean gypsum wallboard”
- MassDEP: Waste disposal bans: “Recyclable paper, cardboard and paperboard”
- MassDEP: Waste disposal bans: “Leaves and yard waste”
- MassDEP: Waste disposal bans: “Lead acid batteries”
- MassDEP: Waste disposal bans: “Treated and untreated wood and wood waste (banned from landfills only)”
- MassDEP: Waste disposal bans: “Generator & Hauler Compliance Assistance”
- Sudbury transfer station fees: “One 8-ft. pickup truck bed (level) is approx.. 2.5 cubic yards”
- Renew your vehicle or trailer registration (Mass.gov RMV): “All motor vehicles or trailers must maintain a valid registration with the Registry of Motor Vehicles”