If you are planning a major home renovation, such as a remodeling a kitchen or bathroom you should consider the rental of a dumpster, as shown in Figure 1, in order to dispose of your waste material.
Figure 1 - 40 cu. ft. dumpster
Before you contact a local dumpster rental facility there are some things that you should be aware of:
Dumpsters are measured in cubic yards (cu. yds.), the most common being 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40. The number of cubic yards is the volume of the material that the dumpster will hold. Items such as kitchen cabinets, that have not been demolished down to pieces of wood, take up a large amount of space, but actually weight very little compared to their volume. Items such as concrete and ceramic tile weight a lot when compared to the volume of space that they consume.
The rental of a dumpster is based on how much material it will hold in volume and how much that material weighs. The types of material you are disposing of may also have an impact on the fee charged for renting the dumpster.
Most dumpster rentals will allow you to have the dumpster at your location for a period of 7 consecutive days in order to fill it. After the seven days there will be a nominal charge per day, $10 is common. It is important that you plan your remodeling project in order to keep the dumpster at your site for as short a period as possible.
The dumpster rental will come with a maximum weight of waste material and usually this depends on the size of the dumpster. The larger the dumpster the more weight you will be allowed. If you exceed the weight within the volume of the dumpster, you will usually be charged an additional fee based on the excess tonnage of the material over the allowed tonnage of material.
Prices of dumpster rentals vary dramatically, depending on your location. The dumpster rental company must pay for dumping the waste material and every municipality has its own fee structure for dumping waste material.
It is important that you advise the dumpster rental company of the types of materials you are planning on placing in their dumpster. In most cases dumpster rental facilities will not accept the following materials or they will charge a hefty premium to accept them.
- Biohazard, Medical Waste,
- Paint,
- Batteries,
- Tires,
- Propane Tanks,
- Liquids, Solvents, Freon, Chemicals,
- Gas, Oil.
Table 1 provides a guideline of dumpster rental rates in different cities within the USA.
Table 1 - A Guideline Of Dumpster Rental Rates |
|||||
| State | City | Size cu. ft. |
Weight Included Tons |
Additional Cost/Ton |
Rental Cost $ |
| AZ | Phoenix | 20 | 3 | 45 | 350 |
| 40 | 4 | 415 | |||
| CA | Los Angeles | 15 | 2 | 55 | 300 |
| 30 | 4 | 395 | |||
| San Jose | 20 | 2 | 50 | 335 | |
| 40 | 3 | 415 | |||
| FL | Tampa | 20 | 3 | 45 | 385 |
| 30 | 4 | 435 | |||
| IL | Chicago | 20 | 3 | 50 | 340 |
| 30 | 4 | 390 | |||
| LA | New Orleans | 15 | Unlimited | 0 | 405 |
| 20 | 410 | ||||
| MA | Boston | 20 | 3 | 100 | 485 |
| 30 | 4 | 575 | |||
| NJ | Newark | 20 | 3 | 85 | 415 |
| 30 | 4 | 495 | |||
| NV | Las Vegas | 30 | Unlimited | 0 | 385 |
| 40 | 475 | ||||
| NY | Albany | 20 | 3 | 80 | 425 |
| 30 | 4 | 500 | |||
| Buffalo | 20 | 2 | 45 | 325 | |
| 30 | 3 | 370 | |||
| New York | 20 | 3 | 95 | 560 | |
| 30 | 4 | 650 | |||
| OH | Cleveland | 20 | 2 | 50 | 310 |
| 30 | 3 | 360 | |||
| PA | Philadelphia | 15 | 2 | 90 | 395 |
| 20 | 3 | 490 | |||
| Pittsburgh | 20 | 3 | 45 | 370 | |
| 30 | 4 | 445 | |||
| TX | Dallas | 15 | 3 | 30 | 330 |
| 30 | 4 | 355 | |||
| Houston | 30 | 4 | 425 | ||
| WA | Seattle | 20 | 0 | 95 | 230 |
| 30 | 0 | 235 | |||
You should also keep in mind that most dumpsters have a maximum height with respect to the material that is placed in the dumpster. In almost all cases it cannot exceed the top edge of the dumpster and in some cases there is a line below the top edge of the dumpster that cannot be exceeded.
Note: Damage to your property, your driveway or landscaping due to the placement and removal of the dumpster is your responsibility.