How to get rid of a bunch of old landscaping rock
Landscaping rock is often too heavy and voluminous for regular trash pickup, and uncertainty over whether it counts as construction waste leaves homeowners stuck. Trying to clear it out by hand is extremely slow, while renting heavy equipment like an excavator risks digging up too much underlying soil.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 41.2× more often in r/Landscaping than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1renting a small dumpster from a local companyDid this help you?
- 2checking with a local landfillDid this help you?
- 3listing the rocks for free on Facebook MarketplaceDid this help you?
- 4Digging the river rock out by handDid this help you?
- 5Considering renting an excavatorDid this help you?
- 6picking up rocks by handDid this help you?
- 7aerating the soilDid this help you?
- 8adding topsoilDid this help you?
- 9Digging out the material by hand and hauling it to the dumpDid this help you?
- 10Installing artificial turf instead of real grassDid this help you?
- 11Switching to hardscaping to adapt to the existing site conditionsDid this help you?
- 12Listing them for free onlineDid this help you?
- 13Creating a dry stream bedDid this help you?
- 14Putting them in the bottom of planters for drainageDid this help you?
- 15Using them as a base layer for pathsDid this help you?
- 16Shoveling them under a porch or deckDid this help you?
- 17Filling in potholes or low spots along the roadDid this help you?
- 18Bury itDid this help you?
- 19Keep that soil because it will settleDid this help you?
- 20Post it for free or spread itDid this help you?
- 21Raised bedsDid this help you?
- 22Soak it with a hose or wait for the rainDid this help you?
- 23Call local dirt removal companiesDid this help you?
- 24Using a power broom to push rocks back into the roadDid this help you?
- 25Spreading dirt over the stones and seeding it with grassDid this help you?
- 26Hiring someone or a neighborhood kid to pick them up using bucketsDid this help you?
- 27Leaving the gravel alone as part of the public right-of-wayDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have leftover landscaping stone from a project. It’s been piled up in my backyard for a couple of years and I am sick of looking at it. I’ve tried listing it for free but haven’t had any takers.”source ↗
“We recently had to get a new sewer line for our house. Can I spread this dirt across the yard and plant grass seed or should I have it removed?”source ↗
“I want to replace these with something more appealing but idk how to dispose of these? Would these be considered construction waste or can I just put in the trash?”source ↗
“We’ve tried digging it out by hand but it’s way too slow. Put in probably 10hrs now and only gotten a 2x5ft section done.”source ↗
“We originally thought about renting an excavator but weren’t sure if that was the way to go since we just wanna remove the top few inches and not really any soil.”source ↗
“just wondering if that’s the right first move if there is some type of landscaping I could do that’s not turf.”source ↗
“I've got the same problem of too many rocks--from sifting garden soil and lawn reno in Massachusetts; we live on a glacial moraine-- and nowhere to put them.”source ↗
“now that there’s 3”-5” or so of compacted class 5 material underneath, I don’t know exactly what to do next. How do I remove this layer?”source ↗
“I tried using a power broom to push the rock back up into the road so I could easily pick it up, but unfortunately the broom isn't able to move much of the larger pieces that are mixed in (about 2in stones).”source ↗
“Open to any ideas that won't make this a job where I rake and shovel 300+ ft of curb.”source ↗
“Every time it rains, it just shows more”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 17How to get rid of grass and yard waste without municipal pickup
- 2How to fill deep holes in the yard from removed structures
- 21How to clean up acorns from loose gravel without losing stones
- 5Cracked polymeric sand and weeds in a new paver patio
- 2How to talk to neighbors about lawn care debris without starting a fight
- 2Should I cut down overgrown foundation bushes?