Rental Dumpster Sizes Explained: Why 15 & 20 Yard'ers Do the Work

Dumpster sizes, start to finish

Roll-off dumpsters are sold by volume in cubic yards, and the number in the name is exactly that. A 20-yard holds about 20 cubic yards of material. What the number doesn’t tell you is the shape, and shape is usually what decides whether a can works on your property.

Two boxes can hold the same volume and be completely different objects. One is long and low. One is short and tall. They fit different driveways and they load differently. So here’s the whole lineup, and then a look at how ours are built.

The floor is identical. The walls are six inches apart. That’s the entire difference between our two sizes, and it’s worth sitting with for a second, because it means the choice between them has nothing to do with whether it fits your driveway. If one fits, both fit. You’re only choosing how much room you need.

The footprint is the point

Ninety-eight square feet is less ground than a single parking space. Here’s how that compares to what most haulers around the metro will back into your driveway:

Figures for other haulers are industry-typical and vary. Ours are measured on our own equipment.

Our 20-yard takes up about the same ground as most companies’ 10-yard, within a couple of square feet, while holding twice as much. Against a conventional 20-yard, ours takes roughly 45% less driveway.

That matters in specific, unglamorous ways. It fits a single-car driveway. On a two-car drive it usually leaves you a parking spot. It clears the garage door. It turns into a short cul-de-sac driveway that a 22-foot can can’t. And on the older, narrower lots around downtown Troy, it’s often the difference between a can on the driveway and a can you have to fight about.

The tradeoff, said plainly

We buy that footprint with height. Our cans go up instead of out.

At 5 ft 6 in and 6 ft, these are not the low-sided boxes you see in stock photos. The wall is chest height on most adults and over the head of plenty of people, especially when you’re holding the other end of a couch. A long, low 22-footer is easier to toss things into over the side.

So the real version is this: you get the driveway back, and in exchange you load with a bit more thought. Use the rear door, load in order, and it’s a non-issue. That’s what our loading guide is for. Throw everything over the side without a plan and you’ll feel the wall height by hour two.

Worth knowing up front rather than discovering it on a Saturday.

Which of the two do you want?

Take the 15-yard if: you’re clearing a single-car garage, gutting one bathroom, purging a basement of boxes, or tearing off a modest deck. It’s also the pick if your HOA is fussy about how visible a bin is from the street. Six inches of height is not nothing when a fence line is involved.

Take the 20-yard if: you’re remodeling a kitchen, pulling flooring through the whole house, tearing off a roof, clearing a two-car garage, emptying a house for a move or an estate, or running a jobsite.

And if you’re torn, take the 20. The step up in price is smaller than the cost of a second haul, it costs you no extra driveway whatsoever, and nobody has ever regretted having room left over. It’s our most-rented can by a wide margin, 85 of them against 23 fifteens.

The mistake we see most: somebody orders the 15 to save money on a job that’s plainly a 20, fills it on day two, and pays for a second trip. Since the two take identical space, the only reason to size down is if you’re confident about the volume.

What about the 10, the 30, and the 40?

We get asked, so here’s the straight answer on each.

The 10-yard exists mostly for weight, not volume. Concrete, brick, dirt, and roofing tear-off get heavy fast, and a small box keeps a load legal. For household junk it’s usually a false economy. As the table above shows, our 15-yard sits on essentially the same patch of driveway and holds half again as much.

The 30-yard is a real size for real jobs: full commercial demolition, large new-build packages, multi-room gut renovations. The thing that catches homeowners out isn’t the height. A typical 30-yard is six feet tall, same as our 20. It’s the length. At 22 feet it’s eight feet longer than ours, and that’s usually the difference between “on the driveway” and “half on the driveway, half on the street, now you need a permit.” For most residential work, a 20-yard swapped once is cheaper and easier to place. If your job needs 30 yards at once, tell us and we’ll work out the swap schedule.

The 40-yard is for high-volume, low-density commercial waste, a warehouse clear-out or a large retail buildout. If you need one, you already know.

Weight matters as much as size

Volume is what you rent. Weight is what determines whether you go over.

Every quote we give includes a tonnage allowance, and it’s in the number before you commit. What fills that allowance fastest:

•  Roofing shingles. A single square weighs more than most people guess.

•  Plaster, drywall, and tile. Dense and deceptively heavy.

•  Dimensional lumber and subfloor.

•  Wet anything. Rain in an open can adds real tonnage, so keep a tarp over it if a storm’s coming.

What barely counts: cardboard, packaging, clothes, furniture, insulation, plastic toys. If you’re clearing out a lifetime of stuff, you’ll run out of room long before you run out of weight, which is another argument for the 20.

Concrete, brick, and dirt are handled separately. They don’t go in a mixed load with us. Call before you start filling and we’ll set up the right plan.

What can’t go in either size

Same list regardless of which can you take. No tires, no wet concrete, no dirt, no paints or oils, no air compressors. Missouri also bans appliances, whole tires, used motor oil, lead-acid batteries, and yard waste from landfills.

Yard waste is still ours to haul, though. We route it to a composting facility instead of the landfill. Just say so when you book so we plan the load right.

Rental terms, same for both sizes

• 14 days standard on residential rentals

• $15 per day after that, the only extra figure we publish

•  Unlimited days for contractors and commercial accounts (swaps quoted separately)

•  Flat quote up front: delivery, pickup, disposal, tonnage allowance, one number

•  Driveway-safe skid plates under the wheels on every drop, both sizes, no charge

•  Next-day delivery standard, same-day case by case, so ask

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the standard dumpster sizes? Across the industry, roll-offs are commonly offered in 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 cubic yards, with typical footprints running from about 12 by 8 by 3.5 feet for a 10-yard up to 22 by 8 by 8 feet for a 40-yard. Ours are built differently. Both our 15-yard and our 20-yard are 14 feet long and 7 feet wide, standing 5 feet 6 inches and 6 feet tall respectively.

What are the dimensions of a Buzz Dumpster roll-off? Our 15-yard is 14 feet long, 7 feet wide and 5 feet 6 inches tall. Our 20-yard is 14 feet long, 7 feet wide and 6 feet tall. Both sit on about 98 square feet of ground, less than a single parking space, and roughly 45% less driveway than a conventional 22-foot 20-yard can.

What’s the difference between a 15-yard and a 20-yard dumpster? On our equipment the floor is identical. Both are 14 by 7 feet. The only difference is wall height, 5 feet 6 inches on the 15-yard and 6 feet on the 20-yard. That means placement is never the deciding factor between them. If one fits your driveway, so does the other, and you’re only choosing how much room you need.

Will a dumpster fit in my driveway? Almost certainly. At 14 by 7 feet, both our cans take about the same ground as most companies’ 10-yard, so they fit single-car driveways, leave a parking spot on most two-car drives, and turn into short cul-de-sac driveways that a 22-foot can won’t. Tell us about tight turns or a steep pitch when you book and the driver plans for it.

How tall are the walls, and does that make loading harder? Our walls are 5 feet 6 inches on the 15-yard and 6 feet on the 20-yard, which is chest height or above on most people. That’s the tradeoff for the short footprint. We go up rather than out. Use the rear door and load in a sensible order and it’s a non-issue. Throw everything over the side and you’ll notice it.

How much weight can a dumpster hold? Every quote we give includes a tonnage allowance, stated up front before you book. Shingles, plaster, drywall, tile and lumber reach it fastest. Cardboard, furniture, clothing and household goods rarely do. Concrete, brick and dirt are a separate plan and don’t go in a mixed load.

How long can I keep a rental dumpster? Fourteen days on a standard residential rental. After that it’s $15 per day. Contractors and commercial accounts get unlimited days instead, and swaps are quoted separately.

Pick a size in one phone call

Describe the job, the room, what’s coming out, what your driveway looks like, and we’ll tell you which can. We’ve been doing this from our Troy yard since 2008 and it takes about ninety seconds.

(636) 399-6361 · STL@BuzzDumpster.com · Open every day, 8am to 4pm

Fourteen days on a standard residential rental. After that it’s $15 per day. Contractors and commercial accounts get unlimited days instead, and swaps are quoted separately.