Dumpster Permits in Norton, MA and Nearby Towns

The short version

Driveway or private lot in Norton: we found no Town permit, time limit or surface rule for a roll-off on private property. Norton street: written permission from the Select Board before using a public way for rubbish or building material during building work, with lights, a railing or guard, and an agreement to indemnify the Town (Bylaw §135-7). State highways such as Route 123 (Old Colony Road), Route 140 and Route 1: MassDOT has no permit for a container, so never there. Neighbouring towns: several regulate the dumpster itself through the Board of Health — Taunton, Easton, North Attleborough, Sharon, Seekonk, Foxborough and Plainville among them — and Attleboro's Fire Department issues a dumpster permit. Who may haul: in Massachusetts every town's Board of Health permits anyone who hauls rubbish through its streets (M.G.L. c. 111 §31A), and we found no exclusive roll-off franchise anywhere we serve. We're licensed and insured.

Norton streets and sidewalks

Norton's General Bylaws say that anyone erecting, repairing or taking down a building on land next to a public way, who wants to use part of that way for rubbish or building material, must first get written permission from the Select Board (the bylaw still says Board of Selectmen). The permit comes with four conditions: keep the spot lit from sunset to sunrise, keep a railing or guard around it while it is there, put the way back the way it was, and sign an agreement to indemnify the Town against damages (§135-7). The bylaw states no fee and no time limit, does not use the word dumpster, and we found no online form for it; the Select Board office at Town Hall is on 508-285-0200.

Around that sit the general rules. No obstruction may be left in a street or on a sidewalk so as to block travel, or for more than 24 hours after the Town, a highway officer, a constable or a police officer gives notice to move it (§135-8), and nothing may be dropped from a vehicle onto a public way that could create a hazard (§135-9). Many Norton streets are narrow: our own street, Pleasant Street, is a town road with about 24 feet of pavement in a 30-foot layout and no sidewalk or curb. Read together: the driveway comes first, and the street is the fallback with the Select Board's written permission.

Your driveway, and the Norton Board of Health

We found no Norton bylaw or Board of Health rule setting a time limit or a surface for a roll-off on your own driveway. The Board of Health does set rules for dumpsters in town: any company providing dumpsters must mark each one with its name and phone number and a unique identification number, keep it free of nuisance and big enough for the waste, keep it closed, secured and leak-proof, and refuse on the ground is not allowed (Reg. Ch. 11 §11.4). Dumping rubbish or debris in a public way, within 150 feet of one, or within 100 feet of an abutting property is banned (Reg. Ch. 12). If your home is in an HOA, its rules can still limit how long a container sits or where it goes, so check before delivery day.

Tearing a building down is its own process. Before a demolition, the Board of Health wants written proof from a licensed pest control contractor that the building has been treated and rodent- and insect-free for 10 days, notice of where the debris will be disposed of, debris removed within 15 days of finishing, and a signed disposal receipt within five days of removal (Reg. Ch. 13). If you need disposal paperwork for the Board, tell us when you book.

State highways — MassDOT

Some of the busiest roads around Norton are state highways, not town streets. Route 123 (Old Colony Road) runs about 165 meters from our yard and is MassDOT's; along West and East Main Street, Route 123 switches between MassDOT and town-accepted segments, so a Route 123 address is not automatically state-owned. Route 140 (Mansfield Avenue and Taunton Avenue) is MassDOT's in Norton, and Routes 1, 1A, 44 and 140 in the towns around us are state highways too. State law bars placing any obstruction on a state highway "without the written permit of the department" (M.G.L. c. 81 § 21), and MassDOT's access-permit rules list parking or storing personal property on its layout as an impermissible use unless a permit allows it, with no right to such a permit (700 CMR 13.00).

No MassDOT page or rule names dumpsters, roll-offs or containers, so we treat a state highway as off limits. The driveway or the lot is the answer. If you are not sure who maintains your street, give us the address and we will help you work it out before delivery day.

Who may haul in Massachusetts

State law is the starting point: "No person shall remove or transport garbage, offal or other offensive substances through the streets of any city or town without first obtaining a permit from the board of health of such city or town", and those permits expire at the end of each calendar year (M.G.L. c. 111 §31A). Boards of Health also write their own rules for removal and disposal, with fines of up to $1,000 (§31B). Norton's Board licenses haulers per vehicle, each year, and its application asks for at least $1,000,000 in liability insurance, workers' compensation, proof of a state-approved disposal site, quarterly tonnage reports and a written pledge to follow MassDEP's waste bans (Reg. Ch. 11).

Every town in our area runs its own Board of Health hauler permit, and several add a dumpster permit on top. We found no exclusive franchise covering roll-offs in any of them — town contracts cover household curbside trash, and construction debris is left out everywhere. Near homes, several towns set collection hours, so we plan drop-offs and pickups for the daytime and do not promise night or Sunday service. We're licensed and insured.

Taunton, Easton and North Attleborough

Taunton's Board of Health Dumpster Regulations (adopted 2019) require a Waste Haulers Permit for any company supplying dumpster service (§2A), and they apply to every dumpster in the city, residential, commercial or industrial (§3I). Dumpsters in residential areas must be enclosed by a 6-foot stockade fence or a 6-foot chain-link fence with privacy slats (§3A), the location must be approved by the Board (§3B), lids stay closed when not in use (§3C), and nothing may block the view of traffic (§3E). There is no roll-off or temporary exemption on the face of the rule, though the Board can grant variances. Putting materials in a Taunton street takes a permit tied to the street department, with a bond or deposit and paid police details (Ch. 383 §§383-19, 383-21, 383-25). We check the Taunton Board of Health rules before booking a container there.

Easton's Solid Waste chapter requires a permit to operate a dumpster service (§355-11A) and a permit for each dumpster, taken out by the user (§355-12A). A temporary dumpster for construction, demolition or similar needs is permitted for up to 30 days (§355-13A) with one more 30-day renewal (§355-13B); the Board approves each location, which must be at least 5 feet from any lot line and 15 feet from a building, without blocking a public way, a sidewalk or sightlines (§355-15). Easton ended its town trash program on June 30, 2026. We check the Easton Board of Health rules before booking a container there. North Attleborough requires a Board of Health permit to supply a container in town (§397-5A); open containers for construction and demolition debris are allowed for up to 30 days on site unless a variance is granted (§397-4A), containers stay off public ways except on pickup days (§397-4), and collection runs from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. only (§397-7K).

Attleboro, Seekonk, Rehoboth and the Bristol County towns

Attleboro requires haulers to be licensed with the city Health Department (§7-8.2). Its Fire Department fee schedule lists an annual dumpster permit — $10 per location for residential dumpsters over 6 yards and $25 for commercial ones (§6-5) — and occupying a sidewalk or street costs $150 for up to three days, then $20 a day (§16-3.2). Seekonk's Board of Health lists a $25 temporary dumpster permit, and its regulation 9.2.2, as cited by the Board, limits emptying dumpsters to between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. in residential areas. Leaving a structure on a Seekonk street overnight needs written consent from the Superintendent of Public Works or the Select Board (Cat. 21). Rehoboth's Board of Health has a written dumpster policy that we could not read online; we check it before booking a container there.

Dighton requires a written permit from the Selectmen, or whoever has charge of the streets, before anything — building material, boxes, rubbish or any obstruction — is placed in a street or on a sidewalk, and the Board may ask for an indemnity agreement (Art. VII §5). Mansfield's Board of Health requires a hauler's permit for any commercial trash container service, and we found no container street permit in its bylaws. Raynham's Select Board, acting as Board of Health, permits haulers, and we found no Board dumpster regulation; dumping rubbish in a public way or within 150 feet of one is banned (§290-2). Berkley's Board of Health permits rubbish haulers; we did not find its street rules.

Foxborough, Sharon and the Norfolk County towns

Foxborough says all trash haulers must be licensed with its Board of Health, including companies providing a dumpster to homeowners for cleanouts. No hauler may install, maintain or empty a dumpster in town without the permit (§4A), construction dumpsters must sit at least 10 feet from a habitable building and not block drivers' view of a road (§5J), and the Health Department may limit work to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. if early pickups cause a nuisance (§4B). Anything placed in a public place needs the Select Board's say-so (§180-14). Sharon requires a dumpster licence for any company providing dumpster service, roll-offs included, a construction and demolition dumpster permit (§300-3.5), a hauler permit as well, and name, address and phone on each box (§300-3.10). Dumpsters go on concrete, asphalt or another impervious surface, with some location items waived for construction dumpsters (§300-3.11), and outside business zones material may not be collected before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. (§300-3.13). Some Sharon roads are county layouts, so ask the DPW before using one.

Plainville's Board of Health rules have a temporary roll-off category (Ch. 712): no container within 5 feet of the edge of a public road or a property line except on pickup days, no blocking public ways at any time, and collection only from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (§VI.D); using a street for material needs a written permit from the Select Board or the street official, with lanterns and barriers at night (§398-8). Wrentham licenses rubbish removal per truck through its Board of Health, and anything left in a street overnight needs lights and guards (§326-15). Norfolk's Board of Health dumpster rules do not apply to construction or demolition dumpsters with a valid building or demolition permit, which must be removed when the project is done; the town DPW no longer rents containers. Middleborough requires 14 days' notice to the Select Board before using a town way for building materials or rubbish, and the permit lasts no longer than 90 days (§239-5), so a same-day street drop is not possible there.

What this means when you book

Tell us the address and where you want the box. A driveway or private lot is the simplest case — in Norton we found no permit for it. A Norton street spot needs the Select Board's written permission, and a state highway means the driveway. In Taunton, Easton and Rehoboth we check the Board of Health rules before booking; in Easton the customer permit lasts 30 days with one renewal, and in North Attleborough an open construction container is capped at 30 days without a variance. Attleboro's Fire Department and Seekonk's Board of Health each list a dumpster permit, and Middleborough needs 14 days' notice for a street. Near homes, Seekonk allows emptying from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sharon and Plainville from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call (508) 952-9763 — the phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.