Durham Landfill, Dump & Recycling — Hours, Fees & What They Take
Durham is one of the simpler cities in North Carolina to dump in. All three City facilities share one address, 2115 East Club Blvd, and household loads pay a flat rate by vehicle, not by the ton. A carload of trash is $5 and a carload of yard waste is $2. Household hazardous waste, electronics, appliances and recycling are free. Bring a card, because no cash is accepted.
The site holds a waste disposal and recycling center, a yard waste facility and a household hazardous waste center. They're open to City of Durham and Durham County residents. Here's what each takes and what it costs.
Disposal sites in Durham
Waste Disposal & Recycling Center
Transfer Station
City of Durham Solid Waste Management
2115 East Club Boulevard, Durham, NC 27704 Directions ↗
Every vehicle stops at the scale house first. Loads must be covered and secured or you pay $20 extra, and tires mixed into a trash load cost $6 each. Drain fluids from lawn equipment and take the tires off riding mowers. No hazardous materials, medical waste or liquids here; those go to the hazardous waste center at the same address. Staff won't help you unload, so bring help.
Standard pickup — $5 below the bed rail, $8 level with it, $11 above it
Commercial vehicles: $40/ton
Accepts: Leaves, Grass, Tree & brush cuttings, Unpainted and untreated wooden pallets
Vegetation only: no plastic, metal, trash, dirt or rock. Brown paper leaf bags are fine; yard waste in plastic bags has to be emptied on site. Pay at the scale house first. Separating yard debris pays off: the pickup that costs $10–$20 as trash costs $5–$11 as yard waste.
Won't take commercial waste, explosives or ammunition, medications or needles, smoke detectors or other radioactive items, or unlabeled containers. If you've been sitting on old paint cans or dead electronics, this trip costs nothing.
All three City facilities at 2115 East Club Blvd keep the same schedule: Monday to Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday 7:30 a.m. to noon, closed Sunday.
You must be inside the gate at least 15 minutes before closing, so on a Saturday the real cut-off is 11:45 a.m. Saturday morning is the busiest time. On weekdays the rush runs 7:30–9 a.m. and 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m., so mid-morning or mid-afternoon is quicker.
What it costs to dump in Durham
Durham charges household loads a flat rate by vehicle, which makes the trip easy to budget before you leave the house:
Passenger car — $5 trash / $2 yard waste
Minivan, wagon or small SUV — $10 trash / $5 yard waste
Full-size van or SUV — $15 trash / $8 yard waste
Standard pickup — $10–$20 trash / $5–$11 yard waste, depending on how high it's loaded
Sorting pays here. Put branches and leaves in a separate load and they're billed at the yard-waste rate. Cardboard, scrap metal, appliances, cooking oil, textiles and electronics are free in residential quantities, and so are paint, batteries and oil at the hazardous waste center. What's left, the actual trash, is the only part you pay full price on. The first 5-gallon bucket of food scraps is free, then $1 a bucket.
At $5–$20 a load, several trips in a pickup is genuinely cheap in Durham — the cost is your Saturday, not the gate fee. Where that math breaks down is a full-house cleanout, an estate, or a remodel with heavy debris. Two ways people handle the big stuff:
Haul it yourself — cheapest by a long way if you have a vehicle and can lift it. The gate rates above are the whole cost.
Junk-removal crew — a crew does the loading and hauls it away — check whether the price you are quoted is for curbside or in-home collection. Usually the better call for heavy furniture, appliances, or a cleanout on a deadline.
Not sure which is cheaper for your load? Check an upfront junk-removal price and weigh it against the gate fee — no obligation either way.
Durham charges household loads by vehicle, not by the ton. Trash: $5 passenger car, $10 minivan or small SUV, $15 full-size van or SUV, $10–$20 for a standard pickup depending on how high it's loaded. Yard waste is cheaper, $2 for a car up to $11 for a full pickup. Card only, no cash.
What are the Durham landfill hours?
All three facilities at 2115 East Club Blvd are open Monday to Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday 7:30 a.m. to noon. You must be inside the gate at least 15 minutes before closing.
Is there free disposal in Durham?
Yes. The Household Hazardous Waste Center is free for residents: paint, batteries, motor oil, antifreeze, pesticides, solvents and e-waste. Residential quantities of recycling, cardboard, appliances, scrap metal, cooking oil and textiles are free at the disposal center, and so are five or fewer tires.
Who can use the Durham disposal facilities?
City of Durham and Durham County residents. The disposal center and yard waste facility take both residential and commercial users; the hazardous waste center is residential only.
What won't the Durham landfill take?
No hazardous materials, medical waste, radioactive materials or liquid waste at the disposal center. Hazardous household items go to the free hazardous waste center at the same address. The yard waste facility won't take plastic bags, metal, trash, dirt or rock.
How do I get rid of a large or heavy load in Durham?
Several $10–$20 pickup runs is cheap if you have the time and help, since staff don't unload for you. For a whole-house cleanout, rent a roll-off or get a junk-removal crew to carry it out and haul it. If you'd rather not do the lifting, check an upfront junk-removal price.
