What it costs to dump in Texas: 2026 landfill fees by city

What a pickup-truck load costs to dump in Texas

If you live in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland, Wichita Falls, Bryan or College Station and it's your own household trash, the answer is usually nothing — bring proof of address. If you're paying, here's what a typical pickup load of household junk costs at the gate. A pickup bed holds about 2 cubic yards, and mixed household junk weighs 250 to 300 lbs a cubic yard, so a load is roughly 500 to 600 lbs:

The weight is an estimate: heavy material like construction debris runs about 417 lbs a cubic yard, so the same bed can weigh half again as much. For a specific load and landfill, use our junk removal pricing calculator, which runs the same rates.

Weights from EPA's Volume-to-Weight Conversion Factors (April 2016), with a pickup bed taken as about 2 cubic yards. Rates from each city's posted fee schedule, as listed in the table below.

The cheapest and most expensive places to dump in Texas

For residents dumping their own household trash, the good news is that 'free' is the most common answer in the state. Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland, Amarillo, Beaumont, Cleburne and Wichita Falls all take residents' household waste at no charge with proof of address, and San Antonio does the same for bulky items. The city already collects a sanitation fee on your utility bill, and that fee covers the disposal.

Where it gets expensive is everyone else. Kerrville charges $99.93 a ton to everyone, residents included, and it stings twice because there's a $28.57 minimum even for a tiny load — though residents can claim two free trips a year if they know to ask at City Hall. At the other end, the Twin Oaks Landfill serving Bryan and College Station charges non-residents $30 a ton — and residents of both cities nothing at all since July 2024. Brownsville charges $32.45 a ton, and nothing if you pay for trash service through the Public Utilities Board. Killeen goes higher still, $137.60 a ton, but only for people without City of Killeen trash service. The lesson: your ZIP code is worth real money at the scale house.

The resident vs. non-resident gap is the biggest variable

Nothing swings the price like whether you can prove you live there. Harlingen is the starkest example: a resident pays a flat $12 for a load up to 500 lbs (and nothing for their first load each month), while a non-resident pays $93.50 for the exact same load. Laredo residents dump a free ton on Saturdays and pay $51.50 otherwise, but commercial loads from outside Webb County pay $221.50 a ton, a rate that exists mostly to say 'don't.'

This is why proof of residency — a driver's license and a matching utility bill — is the single most valuable thing to bring to any Texas landfill. Forget it and you'll usually pay the non-resident or commercial rate.

The hidden fees that surprise people

The per-ton rate is rarely the whole story. Three surcharges show up again and again and turn a cheap trip expensive:

First, the minimum charge — even a couple of bags can cost you $26.50 in Denton or $28.57 in Kerrville, because there's a floor no matter how little you bring. Second, the untarped-load fee: Dallas adds $40, Kerrville $30 and Killeen $26.25, and Stephenville doubles the whole charge, if your load isn't covered. Tie a tarp down before you leave home; it's the easiest money you'll ever save. Third, specialty materials get their own line — Denton charges $125 a ton for shingles versus $66.50 for general debris, and appliances, tires and mattresses are almost always priced separately from the gate rate.

• Minimum charge: $10 to $66 regardless of load size.
• Untarped/uncovered load: $5 to $40 extra at many cities.
• Construction debris & shingles: billed higher, and by weight.
• Appliances, tires, mattresses: separate per-item fees almost everywhere.