What the Dump Actually Charges
Real published fees from named facilities, with a link to the official rate schedule for each one. Most cost pages give you a national average; a national average is useless when the facility ten minutes away charges a flat minimum and the county next door charges by the ton.
Everything below is taken from the operator's own published rate schedule and dated. Fees change most years, usually in January. Call before you drive — and if a page here is out of date, tell us.
Published fees at a glance
| Facility | Minimum | Per ton | Free for residents | Notes & source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27th Avenue Transfer Station Phoenix, AZ · Maricopa County | $40 | $55 | City of Phoenix solid waste customers: up to 1 ton free per calendar month | Bring your city services (water) bill and photo ID to the scale house to claim the free ton. Loads over one ton require a deposit and weigh-out. Source (2026-08) |
| Brooks Landfill & Compost Facility Wichita, KS · Sedgwick County | $30.25 | $42.55 | None | Unsecured loads are charged $55.05/ton instead of $42.55 — tarp your load and save about $12.50 a ton. Tipping fees include a $1.00/ton state surcharge. Source (2026-08) |
| King County Transfer Stations (all sites) Seattle, WA · King County | $40.25 | $243.38 | None | Rates rose on 1 January 2026. Among the most expensive self-haul rates in the US — at $243/ton, hiring a hauler is often cheaper here than self-hauling, which is unusual. Fee includes the county basic fee, a moderate-risk-waste surcharge and WA state refuse tax (3.6%). Source (2026-08) |
How to read these numbers
Two numbers matter and most people only look at one.
- The minimum charge is what you pay even if you turn up with one mattress. For a small load this is the only number that matters — a $40 minimum on a 90kg load works out at roughly $400 a ton.
- The per-ton gate rate only starts to matter once you are hauling enough to exceed the minimum. As a rough guide, a pickup bed of household junk is 600–900 lb, well under half a ton.
The spread between facilities is much wider than people expect. Compare Wichita's $42.55 a ton with King County's $243.38 — nearly six times the price for the same service, in the same country, in the same year. This is why a national average figure is close to meaningless.
Three ways to pay less at the gate
- Tarp your load. Several facilities charge an unsecured-load penalty. Wichita charges $55.05 a ton instead of $42.55 — about $12.50 a ton for not owning a tarp.
- Check for a resident allowance first. Phoenix gives city solid waste customers a free ton every calendar month, but only if you bring your water bill and photo ID to the scale house. Turning up without them costs you the lot.
- Separate clean fill. Clean dirt, concrete, brick and asphalt are frequently free where mixed loads are not. Mixing them into general waste means paying the full rate on material the facility would have taken for nothing.
Facility detail
27th Avenue Transfer Station — Phoenix, AZ
Minimum charge $40. Gate rate $55 per ton. Bring your city services (water) bill and photo ID to the scale house to claim the free ton. Loads over one ton require a deposit and weigh-out.
Free for residents: City of Phoenix solid waste customers: up to 1 ton free per calendar month
Hours: Mon-Fri 5:30am-5pm; Sat 6am-3pm
Source: official fee schedule. Verified 2026-08.
Brooks Landfill & Compost Facility — Wichita, KS
Minimum charge $30.25. Gate rate $42.55 per ton. Unsecured loads are charged $55.05/ton instead of $42.55 — tarp your load and save about $12.50 a ton. Tipping fees include a $1.00/ton state surcharge.
Accepted free of charge: Clean dirt, Clean concrete, brick, stone, Asphalt millings.
Source: official fee schedule. Verified 2026-08.
King County Transfer Stations (all sites) — Seattle, WA
Minimum charge $40.25. Gate rate $243.38 per ton. Rates rose on 1 January 2026. Among the most expensive self-haul rates in the US — at $243/ton, hiring a hauler is often cheaper here than self-hauling, which is unusual. Fee includes the county basic fee, a moderate-risk-waste surcharge and WA state refuse tax (3.6%).
Source: official fee schedule. Verified 2026-08.
Facilities that will not tell you the price
Worth knowing before you drive: privately operated sites generally do not publish a rate schedule at all. You have to phone for a quote, and the quote can depend on what they see on your trailer. Municipal and county sites almost always publish. If your nearest option is private, call first and ask for the minimum charge and the per-ton rate specifically.
- Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site — Denver, CO (Waste Management). No published rate schedule — phone quote only. Typical of privately operated sites.
How we compile this
Each entry comes from the operator's own published fee schedule, linked on every row, and carries the month we last checked it. We do not estimate, average, or infer a figure — if an operator does not publish a rate, we say so rather than guessing.
Coverage is uneven, and honestly so: roughly half the facilities we check turn out to be privately run and publish nothing. We are adding counties steadily. If your area is missing, or a fee here has changed, tell us — corrections from people who work at these sites are the most useful thing we receive.
Related
- Junk removal prices in 2026 — when paying someone beats self-hauling
- Who takes your old stuff for free
- Mattress removal cost
Fees shown are the published rates on the dates given and exclude any local taxes not stated in the source. Facilities change pricing, hours and accepted materials without notice. Always confirm directly before travelling. Last reviewed August 2026.