Junk removal cost calculator

Almost every junk hauler prices by volume: how much of the truck your stuff fills. A full junk truck is about 13 to 17 cubic yards in the HomeAdvisor, This Old House and HireAHelper tables, roughly six to eight pickup beds (a pro quoted by Thumbtack puts a standard bed at 60 cubic feet). The price covers the crew loading it, the drive and the dump fee.

We opened seven cost guides (LawnStarter, Fixr, Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor, This Old House, HireAHelper and Homeyou) and combined their load prices. The low is the middle of their lows, the high the middle of their highs.

Three of those guides print the same load table, and one says it comes from Angi's data, so the load prices lean on one main dataset. LawnStarter's own averages ($90, $160, $375, $520 and $675 for the five loads) land close to it, which is a good sign the ranges hold.

Some things are priced by the piece, either because they are heavy, because they need special disposal, or because they are the only thing on the job.

If you have several items and some general junk, ask whether they fit in a load price instead. Many haulers will take a fridge as part of a half load for less than its single-item price.

One more check before you book: ask whether the price includes sweeping or raking the spot where the pile was. Most crews do it, but it is worth knowing before they leave.

• Volume. The biggest factor by far. The table above is most of the answer.
• Weight. Concrete, dirt, roofing, tile and drywall fill the truck's weight limit before its space. Five guides put construction debris at $195 to $800 a load.
• Stairs and distance. Carrying things up from a basement or down from an attic takes longer. Thumbtack's national averages are $197 for jobs with stairs and $188 for jobs without, about 5% apart. That is a gap between two averages, not a quoted surcharge, and the calculator uses it as one.
• Special disposal. Refrigerant, paint, chemicals, batteries and electronics have rules. Hazardous waste costs far more; HomeAdvisor lists $250 to $500 a ton.
• Dump fees where you live. LawnStarter puts landfill fees at $20 to $90 a ton and HireAHelper at $30 to $100. Areas with high tip fees have higher junk prices.
• Labor costs. Junk removal is mostly labor and truck time. Enter a ZIP in the calculator to scale the labor part to your state's wages.

Other pricing models you will see: some haulers charge by the hour (HireAHelper lists $50 to $110 an hour per worker, Homeyou $64 to $155 an hour), which works for jobs that are more carrying than hauling. Others charge by weight, which is common for heavy debris. Volume pricing stays the most common, because the customer can see the truck fill and the price is clear before the crew starts.

A homeowner clearing out a garage has about half a truck of boxes, old furniture and yard tools, plus an old refrigerator and a mattress.

• Half load. $200 / $300 / $400.
• Refrigerator. $75 / $137.50 / $200.
• Mattress. $75 / $112.50 / $150.
• Total. $350 to $750, with $550 as the typical price at the US average.

If the hauler takes the fridge and mattress inside the load instead, the job may land closer to a 3/4 load at $400 to $600. Ask for both prices.

A bigger example: a whole-house cleanout. An estate cleanout fills one full truck and most of a second, with a hot tub on the patio. A full load at $600 / $700 / $800, plus a 3/4 load at $400 / $500 / $600, plus the hot tub at $175 / $387.50 / $600, comes to $1,175 to $2,000, with about $1,590 as the typical price. In the calculator, pick a full load, add one extra full load if the second is close to full, and add the hot tub as its own item.

A dumpster costs about $295 to $615 a week in LawnStarter, $300 to $600 in HireAHelper, and about $380 on average in HomeAdvisor. You do all the loading yourself, it sits in the driveway, and many items (mattresses, appliances, tires, paint) are not allowed in it or cost extra.

Junk removal costs more per cubic yard, but a crew does the lifting in an hour or two and the stuff is gone the same day. For a cleanout of a few rooms, junk removal usually wins. For a remodel that makes debris for a week, a dumpster usually wins.

Many haulers donate or recycle what they can before anything goes to the landfill: furniture in good shape, scrap metal, cardboard, electronics. If that matters to you, ask where the load goes. It rarely changes the price, but it changes where your old couch ends up.

Most junk removal companies will not take hazardous waste in a regular load, because landfills will not accept it and the rules for moving it are strict. That usually includes:

• Paint that is still wet, solvents, stains and thinners
• Motor oil, gasoline, antifreeze and propane tanks
• Pool chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers
• Asbestos, and anything that might contain it, such as old pipe wrap or some old floor tiles
• Medical waste and sharps

Your town or county usually runs household hazardous waste drop-off days for these, often free for residents. Car batteries and used oil go back to most auto parts stores. Dried-out latex paint can often go in the regular trash; check your local rules.

Items that are accepted but cost extra, such as refrigerators, mattresses, tires and electronics, cost more because the hauler pays more to get rid of them. That is why they show up as separate lines on a good quote.

A few ways to bring the price down without doing all the lifting yourself:

• Sort first. Anything that can be sold, donated or put out on bulk trash day does not need to fill the truck. Many charities pick up furniture in good shape for free.
• Pile it in one place. Near the driveway or garage door, if you can lift it safely. The crew spends less time carrying and the load is easier to judge.
• Break down what you can. Flattened boxes and taken-apart shelving take far less room than the same things whole.
• Do it in one trip. Two half loads on different days cost more than one full load, because each trip has its own drive and dump run.
• Get the price on site. Phone quotes are ranges. A hauler who sees the pile gives a firm price before loading, and you can take things off the pile if it is more than you want to spend.
• Ask about curbside pickup. If you can get everything to the curb yourself, some haulers charge less because the crew only loads.

If you run a junk removal business, the ranges above are what your customers have already read. Your own prices should come from your own costs:

1. Your cost per load. Add the dump fee for a full truck (weight × your local rate per ton), fuel for the round trip and the crew's hours at their real cost. That is the floor for a full load.
2. Price the fractions. Most haulers price smaller loads a little higher per cubic yard, because the drive and dump trip cost the same. The table above shows the market does the same: a 1/4 load costs more than a quarter of a full one.
3. Set a minimum. One item still takes a truck, two people and a dump run.
4. Price the problem items on their own. Refrigerant recovery, mattress fees and e-waste have their own costs. List them as separate lines so the customer sees why.
5. Check your margin. Use the profit margin calculator on a typical job to make sure the load price covers overhead too.

The "Save as an estimate" button turns your answer into an estimate with each part on its own line. In Koira you can send it to the customer, who can approve and pay a deposit from their phone.