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Choosing a dumpster starts with two questions: what are you throwing away, and how much of it do you have. Take them in that order.
Furniture, cabinets, drywall and general household debris go in a high-top roll-off. Dense material goes in a lowboy: concrete, asphalt, dirt, brick, rock, sand and gravel, ceramic tile, stucco and plaster. That distinction matters because heavy material can put a standard container over its legal weight limit long before the container is full, and it goes to a different recycling facility than household debris. A load in the wrong container can be rejected or charged as contaminated waste, which adds cost and delays the job.
Once you know which container the material requires, you can choose the size that fits the job.
Heavy or Bulky?
A lowboy has low walls, two to two and a half feet depending on the size, so a wheelbarrow can be tipped in without building a ramp. One cubic yard of broken concrete runs about two tons, so a lowboy reaches its weight long before it looks full.
The larger high-tops have walls up to six feet high and can run up to twenty feet long. With household debris you run out of room before you run out of weight, which is why they are the better choice for a packed garage or a whole-home cleanout.
For Homeowners
Two numbers govern every container: the volume it holds and the weight included in the price. Household debris almost never reaches the weight limit. Anything dense enough to worry about belongs in a lowboy instead. There is also a 40 yard, which comes with 5 tons included and is mostly used on construction and demolition jobs.
The 20 yard is a common choice for homeowners. It handles furniture, it fits a standard driveway, and it leaves room when a cleanout turns out bigger than expected.
If you’re remodeling a kitchen or bath
A 20 yard is usually a better choice than a 15 for cabinets, vanities and fixtures. They are bulky and fill a container quickly. Tile is a different stream and goes in a lowboy, so a bathroom gut that is half tile and half cabinets is a two-container job. Tell us what the project includes before you order.
If you’re clearing the yard
A 15 yard is often enough for branches, shrubs and general yard clearing. Soil is the thing to watch. If you are pulling out a planter or regrading, that dirt cannot go in with the green waste and requires a lowboy.
About the 3 yard
The 3 yard is local only. We deliver it within 25 miles of our yard in La Puente and not beyond that. Outside that radius, the 10 yard is the smallest container we can bring you. Give us your ZIP code when you call and we will confirm before you book.
It is also the most restricted container in the lineup. No large furniture and no grass clippings, on top of the usual limits. For a cleanout with any real furniture in it, start at the 15.
For Contractors
Match the container to the material
Then pick the size
Watch the weight on heavy material
On a framing job you will not approach the 5 tons included with a 40 yard. Dense demolition debris, roofing tear-off, and anything that has been rained on can reach the included weight while the container still looks half empty, and overage runs $145 per ton.
Tell us the material when you book so we can account for the weight before the container goes out.
What fits on the site
Measure before you order. A 40 yard is 8 feet wide, 6 feet tall and 20 feet long, and the truck needs a clear straight run to set it down and lift it back up. The small truck needs 10 feet of width and 12 feet of height. The large truck needs 12 feet of width and 15 feet of height. Check overhead as well. Low branches, service drops and eaves are what turn a delivery into a return trip and a trip charge.
On a tight site, two 20 yards can work better than one 40. Half the set-down length, and you can stage them at different ends of the job. Delivery, rental terms and included weight work out differently across two containers than one, so ask us to quote both before you decide.
Swaps and ongoing jobs
For multi-unit turnovers, restoration work and other ongoing projects, a 40 yard on a scheduled swap is usually the most efficient setup. We pull the full container and drop an empty on the same trip.
Standard rental runs 5 to 7 days depending on the address, confirmed at booking, but a recurring account works differently. If you know your cadence, tell us and we will build the schedule around it instead of you calling every week.
Property managers and multi-unit
For recurring turnovers, we can put the container on a standing schedule so it arrives when the unit clears rather than several days after your painter is ready to start. If you are running several properties, we can bill them together or keep them separate, whichever your accounting needs.
Public agency and school work
We are SBE and WBE certified. If you are building a vendor list or working against a set-aside requirement, we can provide our certification details.
Concrete, Dirt and Demo: The Lowboy Line
Dry concrete, asphalt, brick, rock, dirt, sand and gravel, ceramic tile, stucco and plaster all go in a lowboy. There are two sizes, and the choice between them comes down to how much material you have and how far you are moving it across the site.
A useful benchmark: a 10 by 20 foot slab at 4 inches thick is about 2.5 cubic yards of material and roughly 5 tons. It fits a 6 yard lowboy on volume. Lowboys are flat rate with no set weight capacity. As a general guide, a 6 yard carries 5 to 6 tons and a 12 yard 10 to 12. Give us the dimensions of what you are removing and we will confirm the container before you book.
Keep the load clean. A lowboy of pure concrete goes to a recycler. Add a few bags of household trash and the whole load changes category. Stucco and shingles are accepted in a lowboy but are handled as mixed loads.
How Included Weight Works
Every high-top comes with an included tonnage: 800 lbs on the 3 yard, 1.5 tons on the 10, 2 tons on the 15, 3 tons on the 20 and 5 tons on the 40. Past that there is a per-ton charge on the overage, currently $145 per ton. Most household cleanouts never come close. The jobs that do involve dense demolition debris, or material that has been sitting out in the rain.
Lowboys work differently. They’re flat rate, with no included tonnage to go over.
What Can’t Go in the Container?
Some of this is our rule and some of it is the landfill’s. The effect is the same.
Never in a high-top
• Concrete, asphalt, brick, rock, dirt
• Ceramic tile
• Stucco
• Tires
• Paint, liquids, solvents, anything flammable
• Hazardous waste of any kind
• Televisions, monitors and electronics
Roofing shingles are the exception: full tear-offs go in the 40, and small repairs fit a 20. The 3 yard adds two of its own: no large furniture and no grass.
Never in a lowboy
• Household trash, furniture, bagged garbage
• Electronics, liquids, flammables, hazardous waste
In either container, don’t load above the top line. Material must be level with the container. If it is mounded over the rail it can’t be legally tarped, which means it can’t be hauled.
Placement and Permits
A 20 yard container takes about the space of two parked cars. A 40 yard takes about three. The truck needs room as well, both to back in straight and to lift the container clear.
Three things to check before you book:
• Overhead. Branches, wires, eaves. The container tilts up as it comes off the truck.
• Surface. Steel skids can mark a driveway. We put boards down where we can, but any driveway carries some risk and we will say so up front.
• Access. We can’t set a container in an alley. If the driveway won’t work, the street is the alternative, and that depends on your city.
How Long Do I Get to Keep It?
Five to seven days, depending on the address, confirmed at booking. After that there is a daily fee. If you know you need it longer, say so when you book and we will work it out then instead of surprising you later.
Order at least two days ahead where you can. Same day is often possible when the schedule allows, but two days gives us the best chance of getting you the size you want on the day you want it.
