For that novice builder - the person remodeling a bathroom or fixing a roof - the city is building a new and safer place to dump that waste.

The current system for demolition and construction waste isn't ideal, according to Solid Waste Division Manager Cynthia Langston.

Right now, contractors, both commercial and residential, bring their demolition and construction waste to the landfill.

Industrial materials like shingles, glass, Sheetrock and bricks can't go in the normal balefill area, which requires builders to drive to the landfill.

According to Langston, the system leaves people who are inexperienced with the landfill open to possible injury.

Recently, as a bulldozer moved and crushed garbage, a PVC pipe accidentally flew into a woman unloading her waste from a flat-bed trailer, Langston said. The accident broke one of her ribs.

As a result of that and other possible incidents, Langston asked the city to allow the landfill to build a second demolition-waste drop-off area.

The area would be for nonprofessionals and those who don't go to the landfill on a consistent basis.

"Residential is like you or me," Langston said. "If we did our own roof and hauled it out here, we would haul it to the landfill and kick it out the back. In the future, you bring out your roof and drop it off in the bins."

As he finished dumping one of many truck loads from a demolished trailer, Donny Williams - owner of This and That - said the open landfill isn't the safest place for the inexperienced.

"For amateurs," he said, "no, it's not safe. A lot of people out here don't know what they're doing."

The new area will be similar to the metal drop-off location, and use roll-off containers for residential users to safely dump their singles, lumber, glass and cement.

It will be near the bailer and hazardous materials buildings and is estimated to cost about $430,000, Langston said. The funds are part of an overall $14 million allocated by the State Loan and Investment Board to improve, update and expand the landfill for future use.

Contact city reporter Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@trib.com