What Size Dumpster Do I Need? A Scranton, PA Guide

Quick answer by project type

For most home projects around Scranton, the 20 yard dumpster is the place to start. It is the most popular option for residential and light commercial projects: kitchen and bathroom renovations, whole-home cleanouts, roofing jobs and landscaping or yard debris, while still fitting in most driveways. Go 10 yard for small kitchen or bathroom remodels, concrete, tile or asphalt, and garage or single-room cleanouts. Go 15 yard for garage, attic or basement cleanouts, flooring and carpet removal, small deck or fence removal and yard cleanups. Go 30 yard for multi-room renovations, estate cleanouts, commercial remodels and demolition debris, and 40 yard for large-scale construction or demolition, warehouse or industrial cleanouts, commercial roofing and large property or community cleanups. Not sure? Call (570) 354-0618 and we help you pick.

A few rules of thumb from our own guides. Heavy material like concrete, dirt, brick and asphalt can only go in a smaller dumpster, a 10 or 15 yard, because of the weight limits, and if more than half your load is heavy material we may recommend a smaller dumpster. Shingles are heavy too: our 10 and 20 yard dumpsters are the ones for shingles, underlayment and roofing debris, and we check the weight with you for the roof you describe. For yard work, the 15 and 20 are well suited to yard cleanups, tree trimming and landscaping debris. Construction debris such as drywall, flooring and demolition materials goes in a 20, 30 or 40. If the project grows, we can swap your dumpster or add another one.

The five sizes side by side

All five are open-top roll-offs about 7.5 feet wide. The 10 and 15 are shorter boxes, about 14 and 16 feet long; the 20, 30 and 40 share a length of about 22 feet and simply get taller. Roll-off sizes are measured in cubic yards, the volume of debris they hold, not their footprint, so pickup truck loads and trash bags are the easiest way to picture them. The weight column is the typical allowance for each size, which depends on the debris.

Most people under-count the pile. Walk the house or the job before you call, estimate the debris in truckloads, and tell us what the material is. We size the dumpster on three things, the type of debris, the size of the project and the space available, so you avoid overpaying or needing extra dumpsters.

Check the weight, not just the volume

Every dumpster has two limits: how full it can be and how much it can carry. Furniture and household junk are bulky and light; tile, concrete, dirt, brick and shingles reach the weight line long before the box looks full. Each dumpster includes a standard weight allowance based on size, and if your load exceeds the limit, additional weight is billed at a clear, pre-defined rate. No hidden fees or surprises. You can mix materials, but talk heavy loads through with us first, plan on material weight rather than volume, and distribute the load evenly for safe transport.

Keep the load level: all debris must remain below the top rim, because overfilled dumpsters cannot be safely transported and may require adjustments before pickup. Pennsylvania law backs that up. 75 Pa.C.S. § 4903(c.1) says: "Every load of loose, nonbaled garbage, waste, refuse or rubbish being transported through or within this Commonwealth shall be transported in a vehicle with four solid sides and with a cover or top of a type to prevent any of the load from escaping. The cover or top shall remain tightly in place going to a disposal site. The load shall be no higher than the solid sides of the vehicle." Scranton adds its own rule: roll-off containers carrying waste or recyclables must be tightly tarped or covered at all times while they are transported (City Code § 400-16F).

Measure the drop spot

Check the length first: about 14 feet for a 10 yard, about 16 for a 15, and about 22 feet for the 20, 30 and 40, all about 7.5 feet wide. Allow about 60 feet of space for truck access and about 25 feet of overhead clearance from trees or power lines. A flat, stable surface such as the driveway works best. Move vehicles, equipment and obstacles out of the way, and mark the spot if you will not be home: you do not need to be on site for delivery as long as placement instructions are provided. We take precautions to protect your property, and for added protection you can place plywood or boards under the dumpster wheels. Tighter driveways, like many in South Side, are where the 10 and 15 earn their keep.

In Scranton, keep it on your property where you can. A roll-off placed on any City street or highway needs a permit from the Department of Permits, Licensing and Inspections (City Code § 400-17), must carry a flashing light and proper reflectors, and may stay in the right-of-way for only one day unless the permit holder engages an off-duty police officer. So for a street spot we arrange the City's street permit or check the rules with you before booking. In Archbald and Jermyn, every temporary dumpster needs a Borough permit even on private property, so we check the Borough's rules before booking. The permit guide covers every town we list.

Why the curbside pickup will not do it

Around Scranton, household trash is mostly a City or Borough service, and it is built for weekly bags, not a remodel. The City's DPW says it picks up household garbage first and larger items only if there is room in the truck, and does not take items with metal in them. We found no permanent City drop-off for construction or bulk waste. Old Forge puts it plainly: "Construction material will not be picked up." Dunmore's 2026 calendar lists construction material among the items it will not take and says: "CLEAN OUTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED!" Olyphant has "a six (6) bag limit per household with a fifteen (15) pound per bag weight limit", and Mayfield's weekly collection "is limited to three 32 gallon garbage bags or a comparable three can limit for each household per week."

Some boroughs offer more. Dickson City runs a Spring Cleanup, but "Spring Cleanup is one pickup only at each house." Blakely rents its own 6 cubic yard dumpsters to residents with a one-week time limit, and its page lists roof shingles, concrete, appliances, dirt and mulch, cinder blocks, batteries, stone, bricks, tires and electronics as items that may not go in them. Those are good options for what they cover. A roll-off is for the pile that is bigger, heavier or sooner than any of that allows.

Five ways to get the size right

1. Estimate the debris before you call. Count rooms or pickup loads, or tell us what is coming out: a roof, a kitchen, a basement.
2. Allow for bulky items. Furniture and cabinets take more room than they weigh, so break down large pieces before loading.
3. Ask about weight, not just yardage. Concrete, dirt, brick, asphalt, tile and shingles go by weight and belong in a 10 or 15 yard.
4. Keep heavy, light and green apart. A mostly heavy load does best in a smaller box, and yard waste does best as its own load.
5. Call early. We offer same-day or next-day delivery throughout Scranton and Lackawanna County depending on availability, so call early in the day for the best chance of same-day service.

Describe the job on the phone, with the materials, the scope and the timeline, and we recommend the size that fits. If the project grows, we can swap your dumpster or add another one, and contractors can set up scheduled rotations for bigger jobs.