A broken patio, a cracked driveway, a pile of footing chunks behind the garage. Every week someone calls us with one of those and the same question: where does this actually go?
In the Bay Area, there are three ways to dispose of concrete. A small pile can go in your own truck to a recycler that takes public loads. Clean chunks can be given away as fill. Anything bigger than a pickup load or two goes in an inert (heavy-material) dumpster, the only kind of bin that takes concrete. It never goes in the curbside cart or a general debris dumpster. Which route fits depends on how much you have, so start there.
Start With the Size of the Pile, Not the Method
Concrete weighs about 2 tons per cubic yard. A 4-inch slab is one cubic yard for every 80 square feet, so each 100 square feet of patio or driveway is about 2.5 tons. What surprises most people is the bulk: broken pieces take about one and a half times the space they had in the ground, and that is what fills a bin.
That gives four honest answers. Prices are San Jose, 7 days, delivery and pickup included.
| What you are removing | Rough weight | Best route | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steps, a pad, post footings (up to about 40 sq ft) | up to 1 ton | Your truck to a recycler, or give it away | Gate fee, $60 minimum per vehicle at Zanker |
| Patio or walkway, up to about 250 sq ft | up to about 6 tons | 5-yard inert dumpster | $585, no weight charge |
| Two-car driveway, up to about 500 sq ft | up to about 12 tons | 10-yard inert dumpster | $640, no weight charge |
| Larger driveway, foundation, slab plus base rock | 12 tons and up | Two 10-yard inert loads | $640 each |
The middle rows are where people talk themselves into the wrong answer. Three pickup trips sound cheaper than a bin until you count the gate minimum on every trip and a Saturday spent lifting the same chunks twice.
Hauling It Yourself: What Bay Area Recyclers Want to See
For a small pile, a recycler is cheapest. In San Jose we point callers to GreenWaste Zanker Site 1 at 705 Los Esteros Road. It takes concrete, brick, asphalt and dirt from the public with a $60 minimum per vehicle, and prices concrete by how clean it is: brick, stucco or other material mixed in moves the load to a higher rate, and pieces bigger than 3 feet on a side are billed as oversized. Site 2 next door does not list concrete. Call 408-263-2384 before you load. In Alameda and Contra Costa counties, the StopWaste RE:Source guide lists concrete drop-off yards by city.
For its clean concrete rate, Zanker wants no brick, wood or trash in the load, any wire or rebar cut flush, and no piece bigger than 3 feet on a side. Here's the catch with rebar. Most slabs poured in the last few decades have mesh or bar in them, and cutting it flush takes far longer than people plan for. Past a few pieces, the bin usually wins.
Not in a hurry? Give it away. Broken slab is wanted as urbanite for garden walls, though that only works if the pile can sit for a week.
If your San Jose job has a permit, the city's Construction and Demolition Diversion program covers residential alterations of $2,000 or more and every demolition. Use a city-certified facility and ask at the scale for a weight ticket showing the project address or permit number.
Over a pickup load
One inert bin, priced flat
A 5-yard inert is $585 and a 10-yard is $640 in San Jose for clean concrete or asphalt, 7 days on site, with no charge by the ton. Open the listing with your delivery ZIP to see the rate where you are.
Concrete in a Dumpster: Only One Bin Takes It
Can you put concrete in a dumpster? Yes, but only in an inert bin, also called a heavy-material bin. General debris bins do not take concrete, brick, dirt or asphalt at all.
An inert bin takes clean concrete, clean brick (mortar attached is fine), clean asphalt, clean dirt (a little grass is fine) and tile, including tile with thinset on the back. There is no weight limit under standard service, because the load is crushed into base rock rather than landfilled by the ton.
What it refuses matters as much. Stucco and cement backerboard go in a general debris bin, and so do wood forms, roofing and yard waste. Rebar can stay in the concrete if nothing sticks out more than 3 inches, and every piece has to be under 3 feet.
Both sizes share one footprint, 15 feet by 5.7 feet. The 5-yard stands 2.6 feet tall and the 10-yard 3.6 feet, low enough to load over the side by hand. The rate depends on the delivery city. Current starting rates for clean concrete or asphalt:
| City | 5-yard inert | 10-yard inert |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose | $585 | $640 |
| Sunnyvale | from $608 | from $665 |
| Hayward | from $630 | from $690 |
| Oakland | from $653 | from $715 |
| Redwood City | from $653 | from $775 |
| Livermore | from $720 | from $790 |
In San Jose, clean dirt is $675 and $740, and a mixed heavy load is $805 and $940. Every city we serve is on the concrete dumpster rental page, and the larger size has its own 10 yard inert dumpster page.
Three Ways a Flat Rate Turns Into a Bill
Trash in the bin. Anything other than concrete, dirt, brick, asphalt or tile carries a $300 cleaning fee. If garbage is more than 5% of the load, the bin is reclassified as general debris: 1 ton included, then the city's overweight rate on every ton above it, $155 in San Jose. That is the most expensive lunch bag on the job, so keep a separate can for trash and brief the crew.
Mixing heavy materials. Concrete with dirt is still accepted, but at the mixed rate ($805 and $940 in San Jose, against $585 and $640 clean). Two separate piles are cheaper if the site has room.
A required recycling center. When a project needs a Green Halo certificate or a named facility with weight receipts, the price includes 2.5 tons on a 5-yard and 5 tons on a 10-yard, then $155 a ton in San Jose. Say so when you book.
The bigger issue is not a fee at all: heavy material in a general debris bin. We do not offer it, and the warning math shows why. A 400 square foot two-car driveway is about 10 tons. In a San Jose 20-yard general bin ($630 with 2 tons included), the other 8 tons would add $1,240, against $640 for a 10-yard inert, and a bin over a safe weight can be refused at pickup. The full rules are on our dumpster weight limit page.
Booking It in One Call
Have the delivery address, the material and a rough size in square feet ready, and say concrete before the truck leaves the yard.
The rental is 7 days, $45 for each extra day, with pickup 1 to 3 days after you call it ready. Same-day delivery is available, with a $100 fee outside San Jose and Campbell. The truck needs a straight, clear approach, and a trip that cannot drop or collect the bin is a $250 dead-run fee ($350 north of Millbrae or Oakland). Tear-outs that include the base rock are in our driveway demolition cost guide, and chimney bricks in our brick disposal guide.
Prices subject to change. Verify current rates at zebradumpsters.com/weight-limits-and-fees.
Booking a concrete bin
Say concrete when you call
General debris bins do not take concrete. Tell dispatch the material when you book and the inert bin comes out with the recycling route already set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I dump concrete in San Jose?
GreenWaste Zanker Site 1 at 705 Los Esteros Road takes concrete from the public, with a $60 minimum per vehicle (408-263-2384). For more than a pickup load or two, a 5-yard inert bin ($585) is less work.
Can you put concrete in a dumpster?
Yes, but only in an inert (heavy-material) dumpster, which takes clean concrete, brick, asphalt, dirt and tile with no weight limit under standard service. General debris dumpsters do not take concrete.
How do I get rid of old concrete for free?
Give it away. A free clean fill listing on Craigslist or Nextdoor often clears a small pile of clean broken slab within a week. Mention any rebar. Recyclers charge a gate fee, so free only works when someone else does the hauling.
How much concrete fits in a 10-yard dumpster?
About 500 square feet of 4-inch slab, roughly 12 tons. Broken concrete takes about 1.5 times its in-ground volume. A 5-yard inert bin handles up to about 250 square feet.
Is it illegal to dump concrete?
Yes. Leaving concrete on a road, on public land or on private property without the owner's consent is illegal dumping under California Penal Code section 374.3.
What happens if I mix trash with the concrete?
A $300 cleaning fee. Above 5% garbage, the bin is billed as general debris: 1 ton included, then the city's overweight rate per ton, $155 in San Jose.
