Kern County landfills and transfer stations · gate fees effective July 1, 2024
Kern County, CA construction debris fees
Kern County charges $89.86 per ton for construction debris at the Kern County landfills and transfer stations, according to its published schedule (gate fees effective July 1, 2024). One 8-ft pickup bed of mixed debris, about 2.5 cubic yards and 1,210 lb, comes to $54, number 14 from cheapest of the 18 places outside New England on this site.
- 1Construction debris $89.86 per ton
- 2Charged by the ton, on a scale
- 3Fees dated Jul 1, 2024
- 4One pickup bed $54
Published fees at the Kern County landfills and transfer stations
| Item | Fee as published |
|---|---|
| Construction and demolition | $89.86 per ton |
| Clean inerts (free of debris, trash and contaminants) | $16.85 per ton |
| Dirty inerts | $89.86 per ton |
| Clean dirt | $5.62 per ton |
| Standard gate fee (non-residential MSW) | $65.15 per ton |
| Transfer station fee added to non-residential gate fees | $11.23 per ton |
| Non-residential vehicles without scales: car / pickup | $13.48 / $30.33 |
| Untarped or unsecured load | 2x the gate fee or $20 minimum |
Source: Kern County fee schedule, gate fees effective July 1, 2024; read 2026-10-21. Fees change: confirm with Kern County before you load.
- The Board set these fees below the amounts approved under Proposition 218 and may raise them in later years.
- Treated wood waste is limited to 2 cubic yards per load at transfer stations and unlined landfills.
Who may use it: Ordinary residential self-haul waste is taken at no charge; construction and demolition debris has its own per-ton gate fee.
What typical jobs cost to dump in Kern County
| Load | Weight | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| One 8-ft pickup bed of mixed construction debris (2.5 yd³) | 1,210 lb | $54 |
| 25-square roof, one layer of architectural shingles (7.2 yd³) | 5,250 lb | no shingle rate |
| 1,000 sq ft of 1/2-inch drywall (3.4 yd³) | 1,600 lb | no drywall rate |
| 100 sq ft of 4-inch concrete | 5,000 lb | $42 |
| A 20-yard load of mixed debris (20 yd³) | 9,680 lb | $435 |
Kern County weighs loads, so the fee follows weight: the 25-square roof costs more than the pickup load because shingles weigh 731 lb a yard against 484 lb for mixed debris. Figures are this site's arithmetic on the published rate, with weights from EPA's conversion factors and the manufacturer figures in the methodology. The schedule has no separate line for shingles, drywall, so those are not costed here.
Dumpster rental or dump runs?
A full 20-yard of mixed debris weighs about 4.8 tons. Hauled in one load, the Kern County rate puts the disposal part alone at $435; done in a pickup it is about 8 trips. A rental price includes hauling and usually a set tonnage, but this site has no published price list for California: the only lists it carries are for New Hampshire and Massachusetts, on the rental prices page. Use the fee here to check the disposal share of any quote, and the weight limits guide to see how far a load runs past a box's allowance.
How Kern County compares
Delaware Solid Waste Authority charges $80 per ton ($7.50 minimum); Dane County charges $63 per ton (in 500-lb steps up to a ton); Fairfax County charges $109 per ton ($49–$109 minimum); Henderson County charges $70 per ton (loads of 320 lb or less $10). Across the 18 places outside New England listed, the same pickup load ranges from $10 in Davis County to $283 in Kitsap County. Every place is on the disposal fees list, and California's disposal bans and construction-debris rules are on the California rules page.
Dumpster Sizer is not affiliated with Kern County. Rates are copied from its own page on the date shown; the posted schedule at the landfill governs.