Dumpster Rental Common Terms

Like any other industry, the waste management industry has developed its own set of terms to refer to the equipment, services, and processes unique to the industry. While many you can easily deduce and understand without needing a dictionary, there may be some that you haven’t heard before. When renting a dumpster, it’s important to know what these terms mean so you have all the information you need to make an informed decision. Let’s start by breaking down some terms.

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10, 20, 30, 40, etc. Yard Dumpsters
When many consumer hear the term “40 yard dumpster” they often wonder, “Is a dumpster bigger than a football field really about to pull up to my house?” While of course that isn’t the case, that begs the next question, “how are they measuring these dumpsters?” Dumpsters are measured in cubic yards, meaning that a 40 yard container contains 40 cubic yards of room to hold debris. 10, 20, 30, and 40 yard dumpsters typically run about the same sizes, check out our sizes pages to see the dimensions of each.
 
10 yard dumpsters
20 yard dumpsters
30 yard dumpsters
40 yard dumpsters
 
Roll Off Dumpster
When you order a dumpster rental you are getting a roll off dumpster. They are called roll off’s because they literally “roll off” the back of the truck that brings them to your property. It’s that simple!
 
Clean Load
A clean load refers to a dumpster that is filled with just one kind of recyclable debris, usually cardboard, concrete, asphalt, or plastics. This makes the hauler’s job easier because they can get the entire load recycled instead of dumping it at the landfill.
 
Mixed Load
As opposed to a clean load, a mixed load refers to a dumpster filled with multiple different kinds of recyclable debris, such as those mentioned above. A mixed load has to be sorted at a sorting facility in order to be properly recycled.
 
Commercial or Front Load Dumpster
A commercial or front load dumpster refers to small 2 to 8 yard dumpsters that are frequently rented by businesses. They are often picked up regularly and are commonly found outside restaurants, office buildings, grocery stores, apartment complexes, etc.
 
Landfill or Tipping Fees
When a dumpster company carts your debris away, most of the time they head to a landfill to dispose of it. The landfill charges the dumpster company a fee for doing so, and they charge per ton. The national average is $44 per ton, but it varies greatly between areas, with some areas costing more than $100 per ton. Usually the landfill fee is included with your rental, but they may charge you more if you go over a certain weight limit. Now you know why!
 
Skip
A skip is the same thing as a dumpster rental. It’s a term frequently used in England when referring to a dumpster.
 
 
Did we miss any terms? If there are any other pieces of lingo that you think we missed, let us know!