How to Get Rid of Concrete, Brick, Asphalt and Dirt

Published volume-to-weight factors for these materials vary because broken pieces leave gaps of different sizes. The figures below come from a California Integrated Waste Management Board table republished by Los Angeles County Public Works and from a Kansas Department of Health and Environment policy. They describe loose material, not solid slabs. The pickup column uses a 6.5-foot bed filled level with the rails, about 2.31 cubic yards from Ford's published 62.3-cubic-foot box.

Other tables report lower numbers. EPA's 2016 conversion memo lists 860 pounds per cubic yard for concrete measured within mixed construction loads, and Minnesota's Pollution Control Agency measured an average of 1,453 pounds per cubic yard in scaled truckloads of mixed concrete and dirt. Plan around the higher figures and let the scale ticket settle it.

Concrete and aggregate recyclers crush clean rubble into base and fill material. Asphalt plants and some recyclers take broken asphalt for reuse in new pavement. Construction and demolition landfills and many municipal landfills accept these materials too, usually by weight. Clean-fill sites accept uncontaminated soil, rock and rubble for grading projects, and some landowners actively look for fill.

In some states disposal is restricted. Massachusetts bans asphalt pavement, brick and concrete from disposal. Kansas exempts clean rubble such as concrete, bricks and dirt from its state solid waste tonnage fee when it arrives unmixed with other C&D waste, which gives facilities there a reason to keep it separate and price it differently. Wherever you are, call recyclers before the landfill: material a recycler can sell may cost less to drop off than the same weight in a mixed load.

Recyclers and clean-fill sites only want material they can use, and state definitions explain why they are strict. Oregon DEQ defines clean fill as soil, rock, concrete, brick, building block, tile or asphalt paving that does not contain contaminants that could harm waters of the state or public health. In its guidance, asphalt must be weathered pavement in large intact chunks (ground-up asphalt is not clean fill), and concrete, brick, block and tile must be unpainted unless tested.

Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection treats brick, block and concrete from construction and demolition as potential clean fill after environmental due diligence. Its guidance notes that the main concern with painted brick and block is lead: if the paint went on before 1978, it should be tested. Fill with free liquids cannot be used as clean fill, and fill with a strong odor can be rejected if it would create a nuisance.

Clean soil is often the easiest of these materials to place, because grading and landscaping projects need it. Depending on the area, a clean-fill site may take it free or for a small fee. Screened soil free of rock, roots and debris is the easiest to place.

Contaminated soil is a different matter. Pennsylvania requires due diligence on where fill came from, with testing if there is evidence of a release of a regulated substance, and other states have similar rules. If you are digging near an old fuel tank, a garage floor drain or a known spill, contact your state environmental agency before hauling the soil anywhere.

Using clean fill on your own land is often allowed but has limits. Oregon does not treat a site where an owner places soil, rock or concrete on their own premises as a disposal site unless the public uses it, and Pennsylvania says using clean fill does not require a waste permit when the use meets the permit exceptions in its waste regulations. Oregon adds that clean fill must still be managed so it does not harm groundwater, surface water or public health. Local zoning, grading and floodplain rules still apply.

Check the Tire and Loading Information placard on the driver's side door pillar, which states the maximum combined weight of occupants and cargo, and the trailer's own rating on its certification label. A 6x10 dump trailer with 2-foot sides holds about 4.4 cubic yards, which in broken concrete is more than 8,000 pounds, so heavy debris usually means filling a trailer only partway.