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Concrete & Dirt Calculator

A 4-inch concrete slab weighs about 50 lb per square foot (at 150 lb per cubic foot). Broken up it takes about 1.69 times the room, so one of our bins filled to its 10 yd³ fill line takes roughly 480 sq ft of 4-inch slab, about 12 tons, for $775 flat (clean concrete, no rebar, no brick). Clean dirt is also $775; dirt and concrete together, $950.

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The calculator

What's coming out

Slab 1
Type
ft
ft
in
Anything else in it?
×Default 1.69 (PCA ÷ San Diego). The Army’s broken-rock figure is 1.5.

Bins at the fill line

Weight

7.5tons

15,000 lb

In place

3.7yd³

Loose, in the bin

6.25yd³

1 bin: $775 — clean concrete

Each bin is filled to the 10 yd³ fill line inside it, at a flat price. Heavy loads go in our 12 to 25-yard bins; see the rate sheet.

Why — every rule that applied

  1. 01Clean concrete: $775 per bin10 cubic yards (fill line inside dumpster). No rebar, no brick.
One bin of concrete (slab, patio, footing)
≈ 12 t
Fill line (rate sheet)
10 yd³
How this was calculated
Slab 1 in place20 × 15 ft × (4 ÷ 12) ft ÷ 273.7 yd³
Weight3.7 yd³ × 4,050 lb (in place)7.5 t
Loose3.7 yd³ × 1.69 swell6.25 yd³
Clean concrete6.25 yd³ ÷ 10, rounded up = 1 × $775$775

Weight comes from the in-place volume (breaking it up doesn’t change what it weighs). Bin space comes from the loose volume. Concrete (slab, patio, footing): Solid, in place: PCA’s design density for normal-weight concrete, 150 lb/ft³ × 27 (PCA range 130–155 lb/ft³). San Diego’s table prints 2,600 lb for a solid slab.

Worked example

Tearing out a 20 × 15 ft patio and digging 6 inches below it

The slab: 20 × 15 ft × (4 ÷ 12) ft ÷ 27 = 3.7 yd³ in place. Weight: 3.7 × 4,050 lb = 15,000 lb, 7.5 tons. Broken: × 1.69 = 6.25 loose yd³.

The dig: 20 × 15 ft × (6 ÷ 12) ft ÷ 27 = 5.56 yd³ of dry dirt in the ground. Weight: 5.56 × 2,980 lb = 8.3 tons. Dug out: × 1.35 = 7.53 loose yd³.

Bins: each side is under the 10 yd³ line on its own, but together they’re 13.8 yd³, more than one bin holds. Kept separate: 1 × $775 + 1 × $775 = $1,550. Mixed: 2 × $950 = $1,900. Keeping them apart is cheaper here. Total weight 15.8 tons; add trash to either bin and it would be weighed at debris rates instead.

Reference

Slab and dig sizes that fill one bin to the fill line

One bin = 10 loose cubic yards at the fill line. Weight comes from the in-place volume; bin space from the loose (broken or dug) volume. Swell is the ratio of the two published densities.
Concrete slabs: weight per square foot, square feet that fill one bin at the fill line, and tons per bin
Slab thicknesslb per sq ftSq ft per binTons per binPrice per bin
3 in3864012$775 clean
4 in5048012$775 clean
5 in6338412$775 clean
6 in7532012$775 clean
8 in10024012$775 clean
Dirt digs: square feet that fill one bin at the fill line, by depth and soil
Soil6 in deep12 in deep24 in deepTons per bin
Dirt, dry399 sq ft199 sq ft100 sq ft11
Dirt, wet432 sq ft216 sq ft108 sq ft16
Clay, dry388 sq ft194 sq ft97 sq ft10
Densities and swell factors, with the sources that disagree
MaterialIn place (lb/yd³)Loose (lb/yd³)Swell we useOther published figures
Concrete (slab, patio, footing)4,050 — Solid, in place: PCA’s design density for normal-weight concrete, 150 lb/ft³ × 27 (PCA range 130–155 lb/ft³). San Diego’s table prints 2,600 lb for a solid slab.2,400 — San Diego’s figure for broken concrete. EPA’s 860 lb comes from a 2006 California study of mixed C&D loads that were characterized visually; for a load that is only concrete we use the heavier published figure.1.69×U.S. Army: broken trap rock swells 50% (×1.5). San Diego: solid slab 2,600 lb. EPA: 860 lb.
Dirt, dry2,980 — In the ground (bank): high end of the Army’s 2,180–2,980 lb.2,200 — High end of the U.S. Army’s 1,900–2,200 lb for loose dry earth. EPA’s 929 lb (dirt and sand) comes from the same 2006 study of mixed C&D loads.1.35×San Diego: 2,400; EPA: 929
Dirt, wet4,000 — In the ground (bank): high end of the Army’s 3,500–4,000 lb.3,200 — High end of the U.S. Army’s 2,800–3,200 lb for loose wet earth.1.25×San Diego: 2,600
Clay, dry2,780 — In the ground (bank): high end of the Army’s 2,360–2,780 lb.2,000 — High end of the U.S. Army’s 1,700–2,000 lb for loose dry clay.1.39×—

How to use it

In 4 steps

  1. 1Add a slab for each patio, walkway or footing: length, width and thickness in inches.
  2. 2Add a dig for each area of soil coming out: length, width and depth in inches, and whether it's dry, wet or clay.
  3. 3Tick anything else in the load: rebar, brick, roots, trash. Each one changes how it's billed.
  4. 4Read the tons, the loose volume and the number of bins, with the cheapest way to load them.

How concrete and dirt are measured and priced

Concrete and dirt are heavy enough that weight, not volume, runs out first. At 2,400 lb per loose cubic yard, just 10 yd³ of broken concrete is about 12 tons, 4 times the 3 tons included with a debris load. Heavy loads have their own rate: $775 for clean concrete or clean dirt and $950 for the two together, flat, filled to the 10 yd³ line inside the bin. Our heavy-load guide has the rest.

Broken concrete takes more room than the slab it came from. We compute the swell from two published densities: the Portland Cement Association’s 150 lb per cubic foot for solid concrete and the City of San Diego’s 2,400 lb per loose cubic yard for broken. That gives 1.69×. The U.S. Army’s earthmoving manual puts broken trap rock at 50% swell (1.5×). The two disagree, so the factor is editable.

Dirt swells less: the Army gives 15–35% for dry earth, 25% for wet and 40% for clay. We use the ratio of its high-end bank and loose weights. Clean means clean: absolutely no green waste or roots in loads designated for only concrete or brick, and any debris/trash combined in a dumpster with dirt, concrete, brick or green waste will be weighed and billed at debris/trash rates. At $135 a ton past the included tons, a heavy load billed by weight gets expensive fast.

FAQ

Concrete & dirt: questions

How much does a concrete slab weigh?

About 150 lb per cubic foot for normal-weight concrete (the Portland Cement Association's design density; its range is 130–155). That's 50 lb per square foot at 4 inches thick and 75 lb at 6 inches. A 20 × 15 ft patio at 4 inches is about 7.5 tons.

How many dumpsters do I need for a concrete patio?

Each bin takes 10 loose cubic yards to the fill line. That's about 480 sq ft of 4-inch slab or 320 sq ft of 6-inch. Clean concrete is $775 per bin.

Can rebar or wire mesh go in a clean concrete bin?

The rate sheet says clean concrete means "10 cubic yards (fill line inside dumpster). No rebar, no brick." If your slab has rebar or mesh, call or text us before you load it.

Can I put dirt and concrete in the same dumpster?

Yes. A mixed dirt-and-concrete load is $950 to the same 10 yd³ fill line. Separate clean bins are $775 each, so it depends on the amounts; the calculator prices both ways.

What turns a concrete or dirt load into a weighed load?

Trash or other debris mixed in. The rate sheet: "Any debris/trash combined in a dumpster with dirt, concrete, brick or green waste will be weighed and billed at debris/trash rates." Green waste and roots aren't allowed in concrete or brick loads, and brick isn't clean concrete.

Something not answered here? Call or text — it’s quicker than guessing.

(949) 701-0206Send it in writing

Sources

Where these numbers come from

  1. [1]Portland Cement Association, “Structural Lightweight Aggregate Concrete” (2008) (opens in a new tab)Read 2026-09-22. Normal-weight concrete “2080 to 2480 kg/m³ (130 to 155 lb/ft³)”; design density 150 lb/ft³.
  2. [2]City of San Diego, “C&D Debris Conversion Rate Table” (May 21, 2008) (opens in a new tab)Read 2026-09-22. Broken concrete 1.20 t/yd³; solid slab 1.30 t/yd³; earth loose/dry 1.20, excavated/wet 1.30.
  3. [3]U.S. Army FM 5-434, “Earthmoving Operations,” ch. 1, Tables 1-1 and 1-2 (opens in a new tab)Read 2026-09-22. Table 1-2: loose and bank weights and swell for earth, clay, sand, gravel and trap rock (50% swell).
  4. [4]U.S. EPA, “Volume-to-Weight Conversion Factors” (April 2016) (opens in a new tab)Read 2026-09-22. Concrete 860 lb/yd³ and dirt & sand 929 lb/yd³ (from California’s 2006 C&D study), shown because they disagree.
  5. [5]Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, “Volume-to-Weight Conversions” (Sept. 2021) (opens in a new tab)Read 2026-09-22. Mixed concrete & dirt, scaled truckloads: 1,453 lb/yd³ average (median 1,308).
  6. [6]Eco Waste rate sheet, revised 07/01/2026 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)Read 2026-09-23. Clean concrete and clean dirt $775, dirt & concrete $950, clean brick $950; 10 yd³ fill line; the load rules.

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