Overage fees are the number one thing that turns a straightforward dumpster rental into an unpleasant conversation. A customer expects to pay one flat price. Then the invoice comes back higher and nobody told them why. We think that is a fixable problem, and the fix is explaining how it works before you book instead of after.
Here is how it actually works: every dumpster rental includes a weight limit as part of the flat rate. Our 15-yard container includes 3,000 lbs and our 20-yard includes 4,000 lbs. When we pick up your container and haul it to the landfill, the load gets weighed on a certified scale. If the weight comes in under your limit, you pay exactly the quoted price, nothing more. If it comes in over, you pay for the overage.
Our overage rate is $0.04 per pound, which works out to $80 per ton. That is a straightforward number. If your 15-yard load weighs 3,500 lbs, you have gone 500 lbs over the 3,000 lb limit. That is $20 in overage. We bill it after the weigh-in and show you the ticket, so you can see exactly what the scale said.
What makes loads go over weight? Dense materials are the main culprit. Roofing shingles, concrete, brick, tile, soil, and gravel are all much heavier per cubic foot than they look. You can load a container that appears half full with shingles and be significantly over the weight limit. Mixing heavy material with lighter household debris sometimes helps, sometimes does not. For any project involving significant quantities of heavy material, call us first.
The way to avoid overage charges is to be honest with us about what you are loading. We are not going to upsell you on a bigger container you do not need, but we will tell you if the material you are describing tends to push people over the weight limit. That conversation costs nothing and can save you real money on the back end.