The short answer
A pickup truck of household junk usually costs $20 to $60 at a transfer station or landfill. A few bags in the trunk cost the minimum charge, often $10 to $35. The bill climbs with weight, not size: a pickup of roofing shingles or broken concrete can cost more than a trailer full of old furniture.
| Load | Typical weight | Typical gate fee |
|---|---|---|
| A few bags or a car trunk | under 300 lb | Minimum charge, $10–$35 |
| Pickup truck, household junk | 400–800 lb | $20–$60 |
| Pickup truck, construction debris | 1,000–2,000 lb | $40–$120 |
| 15-yard dump truck, household junk | 1–1.5 tons | $65–$120 |
| 15-yard dump truck, roofing shingles | 7+ tons | $450 and up |
Your county's number may sit well outside these ranges. The only reliable figure is the posted fee schedule of the site you will use, and most counties publish theirs online.
How dumps charge
- Minimum charge. Most scale houses charge a flat minimum that covers the first few hundred pounds. Seattle's transfer stations, for example, charge a $24 to $35 minimum per trip, and Tacoma charges $20 for the first 400 pounds.
- By weight. Above the minimum you pay per ton or per 100 pounds. You drive over a scale full and again empty, and pay for the difference.
- Flat per vehicle. Some county and rural sites charge a flat rate per pickup instead of weighing. One Colorado county charges $22 a pickup.
- Item fees. Mattresses, tires, refrigerators and air conditioners, TVs and electronics often carry a per-item charge on top.
- Material rates. Yard waste, brush and clean concrete are often cheaper than mixed trash. Construction debris is sometimes more.
Per-ton rates by region
The Environmental Research & Education Foundation surveys US landfills every year. Its 2025 figures put the national average at about $63 a ton for municipal solid waste, with wide gaps between regions:
| Region | Average per ton, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Northeast | $80.67 |
| Pacific | $72.88 |
| National average | $63.48 |
| South Central (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX) | $44.87 |
Transfer stations close to town often charge more than the landfill average, because the station has to truck the waste on to a landfill itself.
What a load weighs
| Material | Pounds per cubic yard |
|---|---|
| Furniture | about 120 |
| Household junk and bagged trash | about 150 |
| Wood | about 400 |
| Mixed construction debris | about 500 |
| Roofing shingles | about 2,200 |
| Concrete or brick | about 2,400 |
A full-size pickup bed holds about two to three cubic yards heaped. Filled with household junk that is 300 to 450 pounds, often inside the minimum charge. Filled with shingles it is two to three tons, which is over the payload of most half-ton pickups before you reach the scale.
The part the gate fee leaves out
If you do not own a truck, add a rental; home improvement stores rent pickups starting at around $20 for the first 75 minutes, plus mileage. Then count the trip itself. For a hauler making runs all day, the drive often costs more than the fee: a landfill 38 miles away with a $42 sign can cost about $124 a ton once truck time and fuel are counted, while a $56 site 15 miles away costs about $91. The tipping fee guide for haulers walks through that math, and the dump fee calculator compares up to four sites.
Should you haul it yourself?
For one pickup load within twenty minutes of a transfer station, doing it yourself is almost always cheaper: $20 to $60 at the gate plus an hour or two. Past two or three loads, heavy material, or stairs, a junk removal crew's quote starts to look reasonable, because their price includes the loading, the truck and the dump fee. A quarter truck from a crew typically costs $150 to $300.
Common questions
Can I take a mattress to the dump?
Usually, but expect a per-item fee, commonly $10 to $40. A few states send mattresses to separate recycling programs instead.
Is the landfill cheaper than the transfer station?
The landfill's per-ton rate is often lower, but it is usually farther away. For a single small load, the minimum charge at the nearer site usually wins.
