Dumpster Sizer

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Dumpster vs Bagster vs Town Dump Runs

By Dumpster Sizer · Published October 20, 2026

Dumpster Sizer

Three ways to get rid of renovation debris, and the numbers that decide between them.

A dumpster bag

Bagster's bag is 4 × 8 × 2.5 ft, which is 3 cubic yards, and it holds up to 3,300 lb. At EPA's weights that is about 16 squares of architectural shingles by weight, or 7.1 loose yards of drywall. It suits one small room or a shed roof.

Town dump runs

An 8-ft pickup bed holds about 2.5 cubic yards. Here is what one bed of mixed construction debris (1,210 lb) costs at the towns on this site:

Strafford, NH$25–$40Danbury, NH$30Durham, NH$30Stratham, NH$75Sudbury, MA$80Raymond, NH$93Laconia, NH$103Merrimack, NH$112Sugar Hill, NH$113Newton, NH$120Canterbury, NH$125Derry, NH$133New Boston, NH$169Wellfleet, MA$175Milton, NH$182Marblehead, MA$194Scituate, MA$206Brookline, NH$300
One 8-ft pickup bed (2.5 cubic yards, about 1,210 lb) of mixed construction debris at each town's published rate. Dollars, bars to scale; Merrimack is free because the load is under its 1,000 lb residential threshold.

A roll-off dumpster

Published 20-yard prices run $700 to $760 in New Hampshire and Massachusetts (details). Twenty yards is about 8 pickup beds, so above a few loads the rental is less work, and the sizer tells you which size carries the weight.

Sources

Questions

How much can a Bagster hold?

Bagster says its bag is strong enough to hold up to 3,300 pounds of debris, in a bag 4 ft by 8 ft by 2.5 ft.

Is it cheaper to take debris to the dump myself?

For a pickup load or two, usually. One 8-ft pickup bed of mixed construction debris costs anywhere from nothing to a few hundred dollars depending on the town; a full 20-yard of the same debris would take about eight trips.

Size the dumpster for your job. Pick the project, enter its size, and see the container, how full it gets and how close it comes to the weight allowance. Open the sizer.

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