Debris weights / Asphalt shingles
EPA conversion factor · read 2026-10-20
Asphalt shingles: weight per yard and dumpster size
EPA puts a loose cubic yard of asphalt shingles at 731 pounds (0.4 tons at the figure). That is heavy enough that no roll-off size can be filled level without passing the low end of its published weight capacity, so loads of asphalt shingles are sized by weight, not by yards.
- 1One cubic yard 731 lb
- 2Per 32-gal bag about 122 lb
- 3Fills level No size
- 410-yard limit 5.5 of 10 yd
How much asphalt shingles fits in each dumpster
| Size | Full box | Republic capacity | Yards before the low limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 yard | 3.7 t | 2–3 t | 5.5 yd |
| 15 yard | 5.5 t | 2–3 t | 5.5 yd |
| 20 yard | 7.3 t | 4–5 t | 11 yd |
| 30 yard | 11 t | 6–7 t | 16 yd |
| 40 yard | 14.6 t | 8–9 t | 22 yd |
Even the 10-yard reaches 2 tons at 5.5 cubic yards of asphalt shingles, so the practical rule is to fill a small box partway. Republic lists heavy materials such as concrete, brick and dirt only for its 10 and 15-yard sizes, and Dumpsters.com offers a heavy-debris dumpster with a limit of up to 10 tons. It is 1.5 times as heavy per yard as mixed construction debris.
Worked loads of asphalt shingles
| Loose yards | Weight | Smallest size that takes it | Fill |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1,462 lb (0.7 t) | 10-yard, weight-limited | 20% |
| 5 | 3,655 lb (1.8 t) | 10-yard, weight-limited | 50% |
| 10 | 7,310 lb (3.7 t) | 2 hauls of a 10-yard, weight-limited | 50% |
| 20 | 14,620 lb (7.3 t) | 4 hauls of a 10-yard, weight-limited | 50% |
"Takes it" means the volume fits and the weight stays at or below the low end of Republic Services' published capacity for that size, using only the sizes Republic lists for heavy materials.
Taking asphalt shingles to a town transfer station instead
For a small amount, a pickup run to the transfer station can cost less than a rental. One 8-ft pickup bed holds about 2.5 cubic yards (the conversion Stratham, NH and Sudbury, MA publish), or 1,828 lb of asphalt shingles. At the 18 towns on this site that price asphalt shingles, that load would cost from $32 in Lexington County, SC to $625 in Brookline, NH.
| Town | Published rate | One pickup bed |
|---|---|---|
| Lexington County, SC | $35 per ton | $32 |
| Greenville County, SC | $15 per cubic yard | $38 |
| Bismarck, ND | $50 per ton ($6 minimum) | $46 |
| Dane County, WI | $65 per ton (in 500-lb steps up to a ton) | $65 |
| Sudbury, MA | $32 per cubic yard ($16 minimum) | $80 |
| Larimer County, CO | $36 per cubic yard | $90 |
| Fairfax County, VA | $109 per ton ($49–$109 minimum) | $100–$109 |
| Danbury, NH | $100 per pickup load | $100 |
| Raymond, NH | $0.077 per pound | $141 |
| Laconia, NH | $170 per ton | $155 |
| Merrimack, NH | $185 per ton (loads of 1,000 lb or less free) | $169 |
| Canterbury, NH | $75 per cubic yard | $188 |
| Derry, NH | $0.11 per pound | $201 |
| New Boston, NH | $0.14 per pound ($5 minimum) | $256 |
| Wellfleet, MA | $290 per ton | $265 |
| Kitsap County, WA | $113 per cubic yard | $283 |
| Stratham, NH | $175 per cubic yard | $438 |
| Brookline, NH | $250 per cubic yard | $625 |
Most transfer stations take residents only and need a sticker; each town page lists the rules.
Materials of similar weight
Concrete (860 lb) · Asphalt paving (773 lb) · Sawdust (275–530 lb) · Leaves (250–500 lb). Mixed loads take on the weight of their heaviest part, so a remodel load with shingles or tile in it should be sized as if it were mostly those. The guide to what you cannot put in a dumpster covers the items haulers refuse.
Source: U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Volume-to-Weight Conversion Factors (April 2016), row "C&D · Roofing · Composition roofing / other asphalt roofing" (EPA source note 18), read 2026-10-20. Size capacities: Republic Services size pages. Methodology.