Every roll-off dumpster includes a set amount of weight, measured in tons, built into the base price. Go over that included tonnage and you pay a per-ton overage fee. Clean Slate includes 1 ton on a 15-yard, 2 tons on a 20-yard, and 4 tons on a 30-yard, with a flat $70 for each extra ton. Heavy debris reaches the limit fast, so the right move is matching the dumpster to your material, not just your pile size.
If you are clearing out a house, tearing off a roof, or hauling renovation debris in Hammond, the dumpster size is only half the question. The other half is weight. A box can look half full and already be over its limit if it is packed with the wrong material, and that is where a surprise fee shows up on the final bill. This guide explains what your debris actually weighs and how to keep your Clean Slate rental on the price you were quoted.
Roll-off pricing includes a weight allowance, and you only pay more if you pass it. Rental companies build a set number of tons into each dumpster’s base price, then charge a per-ton rate for anything over that line, usually prorated.
At Clean Slate, the included tonnage scales with the size:
| Dumpster size | Tons included | Overage rate | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15-yard | 1 ton (2,000 lb) | $70 per extra ton | Small cleanouts, heavy debris |
| 20-yard | 2 tons (4,000 lb) | $70 per extra ton | Mid-size projects, mixed debris |
| 30-yard | 4 tons (8,000 lb) | $70 per extra ton | Large cleanouts, bulky light debris |
Our pricing is flat and stated up front, so the overage rate is the same $70 per ton no matter which size you book. The number that changes is how much weight is already included. A 30-yard does not just hold more volume, it carries four times the included tonnage of a 15-yard, which matters more than most people expect once heavy material enters the picture.
Weight, not volume, is what catches people off guard, because dense materials hide a lot of pounds in a small space. The figures below come from the EPA’s published volume-to-weight conversion factors, measured in pounds per cubic yard.
Here is what that means in practice. A 20-yard dumpster includes 2 tons, or 4,000 pounds. Fill it with loose household junk at about 225 pounds per cubic yard and you can reach the brim around 4,500 pounds, right near the limit. Fill that same box with concrete and you hit 4,000 pounds with under 5 cubic yards loaded, a quarter of the way up. The dumpster looks nearly empty and the scale says you are done.
That gap between how full a box looks and how much it weighs is the single biggest cause of overage fees.
Three categories do most of the damage: masonry, soil, and roofing. Knowing where your project lands tells you if weight will be the constraint before volume is.
Concrete, brick, and asphalt are the heavyweights. At roughly 860 pounds per cubic yard for concrete, a 15-yard dumpster reaches its 1-ton allowance with only about 2 and a half cubic yards of slab. For concrete, dirt, or any clean fill, a smaller box is usually the right call, and it is worth a quick phone conversation before you load it.
Roofing is the other common surprise, because it is sold by weight already. A roofing “square” covers 100 square feet. According to InterNACHI, three-tab asphalt shingles weigh 200 to 250 pounds per square, and architectural shingles run 250 to 300 pounds, with premium products approaching 500. A tear-off can also mean two layers, which doubles the load. A typical single-layer architectural tear-off can easily reach 3 tons, so roofing jobs are quoted by squares for a reason.
Dirt and sod are deceptively dense at about 929 pounds per cubic yard, heavier than concrete by volume. Even a modest landscaping job can move several tons of soil without filling much of the box.
Overage fees are not a markup for its own sake. They pass through the real cost of disposal, which landfills charge by the ton. When a loaded dumpster crosses the scale at the landfill, the weight sets the dump cost, and anything over the included tonnage is simply that pass-through cost reaching you.
Locally, the Tangipahoa Parish Landfill charges $44.14 per ton for commercial loads and the same rate for construction and demolition debris. That is actually below the 2023 national average of about $56.80 per ton reported by the Environmental Research and Education Foundation, since Louisiana sits in one of the country’s lower-cost disposal regions. Even so, every extra ton you put in the box is a real charge that has to land somewhere. A clear, stated overage rate like our flat $70 per ton is the honest way to handle it, instead of padding the base price for everyone.
It helps to remember the scale of this material. The EPA estimates the United States generated 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris in a single year, more than twice the amount of household trash, and demolition accounts for more than 90 percent of it. Heavy debris is the norm on job sites, not the exception.
The goal is simple: match the dumpster to your material so the weight works out before the truck ever arrives. A few habits keep almost every rental on its quoted price.
Separate your heavy material when you can. If a job mixes light junk with a pile of concrete or dirt, splitting the heavy material into a dedicated smaller load is often cheaper than overloading one big box.
Right-size for density, not just volume. For roofing, concrete, dirt, or tile, a 15-yard with its 1 ton included is frequently the smarter pick, even when the pile looks like it needs a 30. Our guide to choosing between a 15, 20, and 30-yard dumpster walks through real Hammond examples, and the broader how to size a dumpster for your project guide covers the volume side.
Tell us what you are throwing away. The fastest way to dodge a surprise is a quick call before you book. If you mention it is a roof tear-off, a concrete patio, or a full home cleanout, we can point you to the size and tonnage that fits. Contractors running heavier recurring loads can see our contractor dumpster rental options for pricing built around weight.
These are the questions Hammond homeowners and contractors ask us most about tonnage and overage fees before they book.
A 20-yard Clean Slate dumpster includes 2 tons, or 4,000 pounds, in the base price. You can load more, but each ton over that runs $70. With dense debris like concrete or dirt, you can reach 2 tons well before the box looks full, so weight is usually the limit, not space.
You are charged a prorated overage fee for the extra weight, $70 per ton at Clean Slate. There is no penalty beyond the pass-through cost, and the rate is the same flat number on every size. We weigh the load at the landfill, so the charge reflects actual tonnage, never a guess.
A roofing square covers 100 square feet. Three-tab asphalt shingles weigh 200 to 250 pounds per square, and architectural shingles run 250 to 300, according to InterNACHI. A tear-off may include two layers, which doubles the weight, so roofing loads are estimated by squares and layers.
Soil is dense. The EPA puts dirt and sand around 929 pounds per cubic yard, which is heavier than concrete by volume. A few cubic yards of dirt can use an entire tonnage allowance, so soil and clean fill almost always belong in a smaller, dedicated dumpster.
Usually, yes. Match the dumpster size to your material’s weight, separate heavy debris like concrete and dirt into their own load, and tell us what you are disposing of when you book. Most overage charges come from putting heavy material in a box sized for volume instead of weight.
Trucks and roads have legal weight limits, and landfills charge by the ton. The box has the volume to hold more, but the loaded weight is capped by what a truck can safely and legally haul, which is why dense material runs out of allowance long before it runs out of room.
Not sure if your load will go over the weight limit?
Tell us what you are throwing away and we will match you to the right size and tonnage, with the overage rate stated up front. No surprises on the final bill.
See clear, flat pricing with the tonnage included on every size, or reach out and we will size it with you.
