Dump fee calculator
Landfills and transfer stations weigh your truck on the way in and out and charge by the ton. This turns what you can see (a pickup bed, a trailer, a few cubic yards) into an estimated weight and price.
How the estimate works
- Volume: the cubic yards you enter, or the yards in the load size you pick.
- Weight: volume times the pounds-per-cubic-yard factor for each material (table below), divided by 2,000.
- Price: tons times the per-ton rate of the facility you pick, or the national reference rate when you pick none.
| Load | yd³ | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup, 5.5-ft bed, level with the rails | 1.96 | Ford F-150 5.5-ft box: 52.8 cu ft published cargo box volume / 27 source |
| Pickup, 6.5-ft bed, level with the rails | 2.31 | Ford F-150 6.5-ft box: 62.3 cu ft published cargo box volume / 27 source |
| Pickup, 6.5-ft bed, heaped about 1 ft above the rails | 3.33 | Assumption: 62.3 cu ft box plus a 12-in layer over the floor area between the wheel wells (78.9 in x 50.6 in = 27.7 cu ft); total 90.0 cu ft / 27 source |
| Pickup, 8-ft bed, level with the rails | 2.87 | Ford F-150 8-ft box: 77.4 cu ft published cargo box volume / 27 source |
| 5x8 utility trailer, loaded 2 ft deep | 2.96 | Assumption: 5 ft x 8 ft floor x 2 ft load depth = 80 cu ft / 27 |
| 6x10 dump trailer, 2-ft sides, level full | 4.44 | Assumption: 6 ft x 10 ft floor x 2 ft sides = 120 cu ft / 27 |
| 6x12 dump trailer, 2-ft sides, level full | 5.33 | Assumption: 6 ft x 12 ft floor x 2 ft sides = 144 cu ft / 27 |
| 7x14 dump trailer, 2-ft sides, level full | 7.26 | Assumption: 7 ft x 14 ft floor x 2 ft sides = 196 cu ft / 27 |
| 7x14 dump trailer, 3-ft sides, level full | 10.89 | Assumption: 7 ft x 14 ft floor x 3 ft sides = 294 cu ft / 27 |
| One 42-gallon contractor bag, full | 0.21 | 42 gal x 231 cu in = 9,702 cu in / 46,656 = 0.208 yd3 |
| Ten 42-gallon contractor bags, full | 2.08 | 10 x 0.208 yd3 |
| 10-yard roll-off dumpster, level full | 10 | Nominal container size |
| 15-yard roll-off dumpster, level full | 15 | Nominal container size |
| 20-yard roll-off dumpster, level full | 20 | Nominal container size |
| 30-yard roll-off dumpster, level full | 30 | Nominal container size |
| 40-yard roll-off dumpster, level full | 40 | Nominal container size |
Reference rate: $62.28/ton (2024), Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF), 2024 Analysis of MSW Landfill Tipping Fees (351 landfills), as reported by Waste Advantage Magazine, July 24, 2025.