Dump Nearby

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Dump fee estimator

A load of household trash costs about $62 per ton at the gate, the 2024 national average tipping fee reported by the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) from 351 landfills. This estimator turns that figure into a dollar range for your load. Enter a material (trash, construction debris, yard waste, tires or mattresses), a quantity as pounds, tons or a vehicle load, and your state, and it multiplies weight by rate. Weights for vehicle loads come from EPA's published pounds-per-cubic-yard factors, so a level-to-heaped pickup of mixed trash is roughly 500-900 lb and costs about $16-$28 at the average rate. Beside the average, the tool shows the spread across cited county schedules ($46-$98 per ton for trash) and the minimum charge that replaces the per-ton math on small loads ($8-$39 at the cited counties). EREF's regional averages are not shown here; the estimate uses the national figure, and your state's facility pages show posted rates where we have them. Rates checked 2026-10-21.

Quantity

How the estimate is calculated

  1. Weight. If you enter pounds or tons, that is the weight. If you pick a vehicle load, the tool multiplies an assumed volume by EPA's conversion factor for the material: mixed household trash, uncompacted (EPA: 250-300 lb/cu yd); construction and demolition debris (EPA: 417-484 lb/cu yd); mixed yard waste and leaves, uncompacted (EPA: 250-500 lb/cu yd). Passenger tires are counted at 22.5 lb each (EPA, light-duty tire).
  2. Volume assumptions are ours, not a source. A full-size pickup bed is about 6.5 x 5.3 x 1.6 ft, or 2 cubic yards level and about 3 heaped; a car trunk is 0.5-1; a 5x8 to 6x10 ft single-axle trailer with 2 ft sides is 3-5; a small dump truck or 10-yard roll-off is 8-12. Change the load type if your vehicle differs.
  3. Rate. Weight in tons times $62.28, EREF's 2024 national average MSW tipping fee as reported by Waste Advantage Magazine. The same rate is applied to C&D and yard waste for the headline figure, with the county spread shown beside it because C&D is often priced higher (Loudoun County, VA $85 to Fairfax County, VA $109 per ton) and yard waste is sometimes lower (Fairfax County, VA brush $59 to yard waste $96 per ton).
  4. Minimum charge. If the per-ton math comes out below a facility's minimum, you pay the minimum. Cited examples: Loudoun County, VA and Garfield County, CO $8; Erie County, OH $10 for loads up to 400 lb; Larimer County, CO $20 per car load; Fairfax County, VA $39 small weighed load.
  5. Per-item materials. Tires and mattresses are usually a flat fee each rather than by weight: Garfield County, CO $6 to Fairfax County, VA $14 per passenger tire; Garfield County, CO $8 to Larimer County, CO $40 per mattress or box spring.

Worked examples at the national average

LoadWeight (EPA factors)At $62.28/ton
Car trunk of bagged trash125-300 lb$4-$9, so the minimum charge usually applies
Pickup of household junk500-900 lb$16-$28
Pickup of C&D debris834-1452 lb$26-$45 (county C&D rates run higher)
Trailer of brush and leaves750-2500 lb$23-$78
4 passenger tires90 lb$24-$56 per-item at cited counties

Why your gate price will differ

The national average hides a wide spread: among the cited counties alone, household trash runs from $46 to $98 per ton, and Larimer County, CO skips the scale for small vehicles with flat fees of $20 per car and $37 per pickup. Out-of-county loads often pay more (Garfield County, CO charges $100 per ton against $46 in-county). State surcharges, private versus public ownership and distance to the nearest permitted landfill all move the number. The reliable way to know is the facility's own fee page, which is what the state directories on this site link to.

Related guides and tools

Browse posted fees by state

Sources