Concrete disposal — where to dump concrete, brick and dirt
Concrete is one of the few things a lot of dumps won't take, and one of the cheapest things to get rid of at the places that do. It's heavy and inert, so it's handled apart from household trash: construction-and-demolition landfills, inert-waste sites and recyclers that crush it for reuse. Dirt, brick, rock and asphalt usually travel with it.
Short answer
- Household drop-offs often refuse concrete. Call before you load a truck with it.
- Clean concrete is cheap or free at many landfills and inert-waste sites — “clean” means no trash, wood or rebar mixed in.
- Concrete recyclers crush it into aggregate, and some take clean loads for less than the landfill.
- Size limits apply. Some sites won't take large slabs; break them up first.
Find a site that takes concrete
Enter your city or ZIP for the nearest landfills and drop-offs. Construction and demolition landfills usually take concrete; check the site's page before you go.
Why your local drop-off may say no
Small transfer stations and convenience centers are set up for household bags, and many turn concrete away. Examples from sites we've verified:
- Meriden, Connecticut won't take concrete and rock.
- Manassas, Virginia doesn't collect concrete, brick, rock, pavers, dirt or sod.
- Seattle's transfer stations send asphalt, bricks and concrete to a recycler instead.
- Sandoval County, New Mexico won't take concrete pieces over 3 feet, and Norman, Oklahoma refuses large concrete.
Where it goes, and what it costs
Concrete is one of the main construction and demolition materials, and EPA lists aggregate among the next uses for construction and demolition materials, which is where crushed concrete goes. Clean loads are cheap at many sites:
- Knox County, Illinois: clean concrete, rock, brick and dirt go in free.
- Box Elder County, Utah: clean concrete $19 a ton.
- Fort Collins, Colorado: rubble (concrete, dirt, sod, asphalt, stumps) $40 a cubic yard.
- Winchester, Virginia: construction debris, concrete and asphalt $58 a ton.
- Columbus, Georgia: concrete, dirt and rock $85 a ton.
- Dubuque, Iowa takes clean rubble — concrete and brick, no rebar.
- In North Dakota, most small towns run an inert waste landfill for concrete, trees and construction debris.
Rates change; each linked page shows the current posted fee. Our guide to construction debris covers drywall, shingles and lumber.
Dirt and fill
Clean soil is often treated like concrete: Springfield, Missouri sends clean fill — uncontaminated soil, sand, gravel, concrete, block, asphalt and brick — to a separate area. Keep dirt out of other loads, though: in Puyallup, Washington, rocks or dirt in a yard-waste load get the whole load charged at the garbage rate.
Loading it
Concrete gets heavy fast, so check your truck or trailer's payload before you fill it, and cover and tie down the load — many landfills charge extra for an untarped load. For a remodel or patio tear-out, a dumpster bag is an option: the Bagster lists concrete and stonework among its projects, and pickup is booked separately in areas it serves.