Debris weights / Household junk and trash
EPA conversion factor · read 2026-10-20
Household junk and trash: weight per yard and dumpster size
EPA puts a loose cubic yard of household junk and trash at 250 to 300 pounds (0.2 tons at the high figure). A full 10-yard stays inside its published weight capacity, but the 15-yard size would pass its before it was full.
- 1One cubic yard 300 lb
- 2Per 32-gal bag about 50 lb
- 3Fills level 10-yard and some larger
- 410-yard limit 10 of 10 yd
How much household junk and trash fits in each dumpster
| Size | Full box | Republic capacity | Yards before the low limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 yard | 1.3–1.5 t | 2–3 t | all 10 |
| 15 yard | 1.9–2.3 t | 2–3 t | 13 yd |
| 20 yard | 2.5–3 t | 4–5 t | all 20 |
| 30 yard | 3.8–4.5 t | 6–7 t | all 30 |
| 40 yard | 5–6 t | 8–9 t | all 40 |
Up to the 10-yard the box fills before the weight does; past that, weight takes over, so a larger box of household junk and trash should be loaded only partway. It weighs 1.6 times less per yard than mixed construction debris.
Worked loads of household junk and trash
| Loose yards | Weight | Smallest size that takes it | Fill |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 600 lb (0.3 t) | 10-yard, volume-limited | 20% |
| 5 | 1,500 lb (0.8 t) | 10-yard, volume-limited | 50% |
| 10 | 3,000 lb (1.5 t) | 10-yard, volume-limited | 100% |
| 20 | 6,000 lb (3 t) | 20-yard, volume-limited | 100% |
"Takes it" means the volume fits and the weight stays at or below the low end of Republic Services' published capacity for that size.
Taking household junk and trash 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 750 lb of household junk and trash. At the 36 towns on this site that price construction debris, that load would cost from $0 in Merrimack, NH to $300 in Brookline, NH.
| Town | Published rate | One pickup bed |
|---|---|---|
| Merrimack, NH | $185 per ton (loads of 1,000 lb or less free) | free |
| Davis County, UT | $46 per ton (loads of 10,000 lb or less $10) | $10 |
| Greenville County, SC | $5 per cubic yard | $13 |
| Lexington County, SC | $35 per ton | $13 |
| Shelby County, AL | $14 per pickup load | $14 |
| Forsyth County, NC | $15 per pickup load | $15 |
| Wilson County, NC | $43 per ton | $16 |
| Polk County, FL | $46 per ton ($10 minimum) | $17 |
| Bismarck, ND | $50 per ton ($6 minimum) | $19 |
| Chautauqua County, NY | $65 per ton ($20 minimum) | $24 |
| Strafford, NH | $25–$40 per pickup load | $25–$40 |
| Henderson County, NC | $70 per ton (loads of 320 lb or less $10) | $26 |
| Danbury, NH | $30 per pickup load | $30 |
| Durham, NH | $30 per pickup load | $30 |
| Delaware Solid Waste Authority, DE | $80 per ton ($7.50 minimum) | $30 |
| Dane County, WI | $63 per ton (in 500-lb steps up to a ton) | $32 |
| Kern County, CA | $89.86 per ton | $34 |
| Larimer County, CO | $37 per pickup load | $37 |
| Fairfax County, VA | $109 per ton ($49–$109 minimum) | $49–$109 |
| Thurston County, WA | $136 per ton | $51 |
| Raymond, NH | $0.077 per pound | $58 |
| Laconia, NH | $170 per ton | $64 |
| Pierce County, WA | $195.32 per ton ($39.06 minimum) | $73 |
| Stratham, NH | $30 per cubic yard | $75 |
| Sudbury, MA | $32 per cubic yard ($16 minimum) | $80 |
| Derry, NH | $0.11 per pound | $83 |
| New Boston, NH | $0.14 per pound ($5 minimum) | $105 |
| Wellfleet, MA | $290 per ton | $109 |
| Milton, NH | $0.15 per pound | $113 |
| Sugar Hill, NH | $45 per cubic yard | $113 |
| Newton, NH | $120 per pickup load | $120 |
| Marblehead, MA | $320 per ton | $120 |
| Canterbury, NH | $50 per cubic yard | $125 |
| Scituate, MA | $340 per ton | $128 |
| Kitsap County, WA | $113 per cubic yard | $283 |
| Brookline, NH | $120 per cubic yard | $300 |
Most transfer stations take residents only and need a sticker; each town page lists the rules.
Materials of similar weight
Drywall (467 lb) · Glass bottles (380 lb) · Plywood and engineered wood (268 lb) · Mixed yard waste (250 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 "Municipal solid waste · Mixed MSW (residential, institutional, commercial), uncompacted" (EPA source note 14), read 2026-10-20. Size capacities: Republic Services size pages. Methodology.