Dumps, Landfills & Recycling in Denton, Texas

Q: What's the difference between a landfill and a dump?

In everyday use people say "the dump," but a modern landfill is an engineered, permitted site with liners and monitoring. A transfer station is a smaller site where waste is collected and hauled to a landfill. Both take household junk; a transfer or collection station is often closer and quicker for small loads.

Denton publishes its landfill rates — but buries them in a rate ordinance PDF that most people never find. So here they are in plain English: $45.50 a ton if you live in Denton, $49.50 if you don't, with a $26.50 minimum. Construction debris is $66.50 and shingles are a brutal $125. There are also three ways to get stung that aren't obvious: show up with cash and you can't pay, roll in at 3:50 p.m. and you owe $120, and bring an untarped load and it's another $25. Here's everything, including the cheaper options you probably didn't know you had.

Read this before you drive to the Denton landfill

CARDS ONLY — the weigh station takes credit, debit, and tap-to-pay. Cash is not accepted at all.
The $120 trap: anyone exiting after closing time is charged an extra $120, and vehicles arriving after 3:45 p.m. must pay that fee IN ADVANCE. 3:45 p.m. is the real cut-off, not the 4 p.m. closing time.
Tarp your load. Unsecured loads are charged $25 on the first offense and $30 every time after.
There's a $26.50 minimum per load — so a single mattress or one chair costs $26.50 even though it weighs almost nothing. For one or two items, curbside bulky pickup is free (see below). Do the math before you drive.
Bring a valid driver's license or state-issued ID — you can't weigh in without one.
To get the resident rate ($45.50/ton instead of $49.50) you must show a City of Denton utility bill AND your driver's license.
Absolutely prohibited: all liquids including paint, batteries, tires, and any hazardous, biohazardous, or radioactive waste. But the Home Chemical Center that takes all of it is on the SAME SITE — 1527 S. Mayhill Rd.
The city warns that traffic and wait times at the landfill have grown with demand — go early, and don't cut it close to that 3:45 p.m. deadline.
Hauling commercially? A Landfill Charge Account requires at least 20 loads per month for the previous two months, a list of every driver and license number, and a credit check. Applications are accepted only once every three months.

Denton landfill rates (effective 10/01/25)

What you're dumping	Rate
Household waste — Denton resident/business	$45.50 per ton
Household waste — non-Denton	$49.50 per ton
Minimum charge (any load)	$26.50
Construction & demolition (resident or not)	$66.50 per ton
Shingles	$125.00 per ton
Clean concrete	$23.50 per ton
Brush/grass/leaves — Denton customer, under 12ft	$30.00 per ton
Brush over 12ft — Denton customer	$35.00 per ton
Brush — non-Denton customer	$40.00 per ton
Electronics — resident	$11.50 per item
Electronics — non-resident	$20.00 per item
Appliances	$11.50 per item
Dewatered sludge	$61.50 per ton
Special waste (pre-approval required)	Varies
Exiting after closing time	$120.00
Unsecured load — first offense	$25.00
Unsecured load — after that	$30.00
Live load fee (15-min minimum)	$75.00 per hour
RFID replacement card	$25.00
If the scales are down — uncompacted waste	$7.50 per cubic yard
If the scales are down — compacted waste	$14.50 per cubic yard

Taken directly from the City of Denton FY 2025-26 Solid Waste Rate Ordinance. Rates change each October — call (940) 349-8700 to confirm.

Disposal sites in Denton

City of Denton Landfill

Municipal Landfill (Type 1)

City of Denton Solid Waste & Recycling

1527 S. Mayhill Rd., Denton, TX 76208 Directions

📞 (940) 349-8700

Hours
Mon–Sat	7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Last entry	3:45 p.m. (after this, a $120 fee applies)
Sunday	Closed

Fees

Gate rate, City of Denton residents & businesses: $45.50 per ton
Gate rate, non-Denton residents & businesses: $49.50 per ton
Minimum charge, any load: $26.50
Construction & demolition debris: $66.50 per ton (resident or not)
Shingles: $125.00 per ton
Clean concrete: $23.50 per ton
Brush & green waste: $30/ton Denton customer (unbagged, under 12ft), $35/ton over 12ft, $40/ton non-Denton — bagged material is NOT accepted
Electronics: $11.50 per item resident, $20.00 non-resident
Appliances: $11.50 per item
Exiting after closing: $120.00 · Unsecured load: $25 then $30
Payment: credit, debit, or tap-to-pay only — NO CASH

Accepts: Household waste, Bulky items, Construction & demolition debris, Brush & yard waste (unbagged), Clean concrete, Electronics (fee), Appliances (fee), Commercial loads (with charge account)

Won't take: All liquids, including paint, Batteries, Tires, Hazardous waste, Biohazardous waste, Radioactive waste, Bagged brush or grass

2026 holiday schedule: closed Jan 1, Nov 26 (Thanksgiving), and Dec 25. Open 7 a.m.–noon only on Jan 19, May 25, June 19, July 3, July 4, Sept 7, Nov 11, Nov 27, and Dec 24. Closed again Jan 1, 2027.

Home Chemical Center

Household Hazardous Waste

City of Denton

1527 S. Mayhill Rd., Denton, TX 76208 Directions

📞 (940) 349-8700

Accepts: Paint, Oils, Pesticides, Herbicides, Cleaning chemicals, Batteries, Household chemicals

This is the answer to everything the landfill bans, and it's on the SAME SITE — 1527 S. Mayhill Rd. Drop off during operational hours only. Household hazardous waste may NOT be left when the facility is closed or unattended — leaving it at the gate is illegal dumping. Can't get there? Call Customer Service and they'll schedule a curbside chemical collection: keep everything in its original container and put it where they tell you.

Pratt Recycling

Recycling Facility

1401 S Mayhill Rd, Denton, TX Directions

Directly up the road from the city landfill — worth a call if your load is mostly cardboard or paper rather than trash.

Computer Crusher Recycling

Electronics Recycling

2141 Collins Rd Ste 801, Denton, TX Directions

Accepts: Computers, Electronics, E-waste

A private alternative to the landfill's $11.50-per-item electronics fee. Call to confirm what they take and whether they charge.

City of Denton services

Bulky waste pickup — your first 2 items are free

City Service

Before you drive anything to Mayhill Road, do the math. Denton collects bulky items from the curb and only charges $5.00 per item BEYOND the first two per collection — so one or two items cost you nothing. The landfill's minimum charge is $26.50. For a couch, or a couch and a chair, curbside is free and the landfill is $26.50. You do have to call it in at least one business day ahead to get that rate.

Appliances: the coolant rule that saves you money

City Service

This is the detail worth knowing. Refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners — anything that contains or once contained coolant — get charged the $20.00 per item collection fee. But water heaters, stoves, clothes washers, dryers and ovens 'may be collected or disposed of for no charge.' And dishwashers count as neither an appliance nor an electronic under the ordinance, so they fall under ordinary bulk waste where your first two items are free. If you're clearing out a kitchen, the fridge costs you and the stove doesn't.

Electronics: $11.50 at the gate, $20 at the curb

City Service

Denton charges for anything with a screen — TVs, monitors, video displays, laptops, and appliances containing CRT, LED, LCD or plasma displays. Hauling it to the landfill yourself costs $11.50 per item as a resident; having the city collect it from the curb is $20.00 per item. Non-residents pay $20.00 at the gate either way. Dishwashers are explicitly excluded from the electronics definition.

Brush collection — free up to 4 cubic yards

City Service

Brush is collected at no charge up to 4 cubic yards. Past that it's $75.00 per staff hour billed in 15-minute increments with a 15-minute minimum. Note the landfill won't take bagged brush at all — it must be loose grass, leaves and limbs, and anything over 12 feet costs more ($35/ton vs $30/ton).

Remodeling debris — $25 per cubic yard, 4 yard maximum

City Service

Renovation waste at the curb runs $25.00 per cubic yard, capped at 4 cubic yards, and nothing may exceed 8 feet in length. Over 4 cubic yards you're required to rent a City refuse container with at least monthly service. Worth comparing against hauling it yourself — C&D debris is $66.50/ton at the gate, and shingles are $125/ton, so a re-roof gets expensive whichever way you go.

Cart fees worth knowing

City Service

Monthly service runs $20.82 for a 65-gallon refuse & recycling cart or $25.42 for the 95-gallon inside the city limits ($30.69 / $32.00 outside). Extra bags outside your cart are $5.00 each, limited to five a week at no more than 50 lbs. An extra yard waste cart is a $20.00 one-time purchase, and a cart redelivery or change-out is $50.00. Carts must be at the curb by 7:00 a.m., refuse bagged and lid closed; recycling must NOT be bagged.

See every disposal site nearby: Landfills & dumps in Denton County →

Getting rid of something specific in Denton?

Common questions

Does it cost anything to dump at a landfill?

Usually yes. Most Texas landfills charge by weight (a per-ton gate rate) or by the load, and many cities give residents a discount or a set number of free drop-offs if you can show a current utility bill. Small transfer and collection stations sometimes take household trash for free. Exact fees are listed per facility above.

What's the difference between a landfill and a dump?

In everyday use people say "the dump," but a modern landfill is an engineered, permitted site with liners and monitoring. A transfer station is a smaller site where waste is collected and hauled to a landfill. Both take household junk; a transfer or collection station is often closer and quicker for small loads.

What's the cheapest way to get rid of junk for free?

Check whether your city offers free bulk-trash pickup on a set week, use county household-hazardous-waste and cleanup events, and give away usable items. For a landfill drop-off, bring proof of residency to get resident rates. If it's more than you can move yourself, a junk-removal quote is often cheaper than multiple trips plus gate fees.

How do I get rid of large or heavy items?

Bulky items — furniture, appliances, mattresses, construction debris — either go to the landfill (often for an extra per-item fee) or get hauled by a junk-removal service. If you'd rather not rent a truck and pay gate fees, get a quick quote and compare.

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