What size dumpster do I need?
Two questions, not one: will it fit, and what will it weigh. Most size guides only answer the first. You get billed on the second.
Work out your size
The short version, before the arithmetic: a full box of household clear-out is roughly 1.6 to 4.4 tons, against an included allowance that is commonly 2 to 5. The lightest thing you can put in a dumpster is already brushing the allowance. That is the surprise on most invoices, not concrete.
For concrete, brick, dirt, gravel or tile, the answer is not a dumpster size at all. Those go in a dedicated clean-fill container, and a general box full of them cannot legally leave your driveway. For concrete the tool sizes that container too: a low-walled 10-yard, and the line to stop filling it at, because the same truck sits under every box and a bigger one would change nothing.
For a small load under about two and a half cubic yards (a garage corner, one room cleared), a dumpster bag is usually the easier answer than a truck in the driveway for a week.
Why the two failures aren't the same
Overfill a dumpster and the driver won't tow it. Not "won't tow it today." Won't tow it until you climb in and redistribute the load by hand, with the truck waiting. The project stops.
Go over the weight allowance and you get a line on the invoice. Annoying, sometimes expensive, but you find out afterwards and the job keeps moving.
Those two outcomes are not equally bad, so this tool won't treat them as though they are. It leaves room in the box rather than filling it to the brim, and it tells you what the load is likely to weigh instead of staying quiet and letting the invoice explain it later.
Why a hauler might send you a smaller box
It sounds like a mistake and it isn't. A cubic yard of household clear-out is light. A cubic yard of concrete, brick, dirt or roofing shingles is heavy enough that a large box full of it can exceed what the truck is allowed to carry on the road. For those materials the answer really is a smaller container and more pickups.
Same volume, completely different weight. That is the thing this site computes.
The truck, not the box, is the real limit
A roll-off truck may legally haul something like 8 to 12 tons, and that does not scale with the container. A 40-yard box has the same truck under it as a 10-yard. So for dense material you are not renting volume, you are renting weight, and the honest answer is a line to stop filling at, not a bigger box.
Plenty of haulers will tell you to rent smaller for heavy debris. What almost nobody explains is why, and the why is the whole thing: one truck, one limit, every size.
What we can't tell you
Confirm the weight allowance and the banned-material list with your hauler before you book. Both are set locally. The allowance disagrees by two to three times between companies, and it is the number you are billed against. Every figure here is national and typical. Where we don't know, we say so rather than guessing.
Frequently asked questions
What size dumpster do I need for a whole-house cleanout?
A 20-yard, for most. Loaded with the planning headroom this tool keeps, it takes about 22 cubic yards of household junk, which weighs roughly 1.6 to 4.4 tons. A single cleared room or a garage corner, anything under about two and a half cubic yards, fits a dumpster bag instead. A big house with a garage and attic emptying out can push into a 30-yard.
How big is a 20-yard dumpster?
About 22 feet long, 7.5 feet wide and 4.5 feet tall, at the commonly published spec. Those measurements actually hold about 27 cubic yards, more than the name says, and the whole ladder runs that way: the names are marketing, not measurement. Dimensions vary a little between haulers, so treat these as typical and confirm yours.
How much weight is included with a dumpster rental?
Commonly 1 to 3 tons on a 10-yard and 2 to 5 tons on a 20-yard, but the allowance varies two to three times between companies, and it is the number you are billed against. Asking for the exact allowance before you book is the single most useful question in the whole rental.
What happens if I go over the weight allowance?
You pay an overage per ton, commonly $40 to $200 depending on local landfill fees. Going over the allowance is the recoverable failure: you find out on the invoice, and the job keeps moving. Overfilling the box is the one to avoid, because the driver will refuse the tow until the load sits level.
What size dumpster do I need for a roof tear-off?
For a single-layer asphalt roof up to about 30 squares, a 20-yard takes the debris with room to spare. Layer count is the number that changes everything: the same 30 squares as a two-layer tear-off can run to 13.5 tons, past what one truck may legally haul, so the honest answer becomes a fill line and more than one haul. The tool works your roof in squares and layers directly.
Can concrete, brick or dirt go in a regular dumpster?
No. Those go in a dedicated clean-fill container, and a general box filled with them cannot legally leave your driveway. A clean-fill load must be that material only: one piece of scrap wood thrown on top and the whole load gets billed at mixed-debris rates. For concrete the tool sizes the clean-fill box too, with the line to stop filling at.
What can't go in a dumpster at all?
Tires, batteries, wet paint and liquid chemicals, appliances holding refrigerant, propane tanks, asbestos and medical waste, and in most states electronics. Banned lists genuinely differ by company and town, so the list that counts is your hauler's own.