The landfill charges by the ton; the scale ticket reads in pounds. Divide by 2,000 and multiply by the tipping rate to know what every load costs to dump.
An 1,800 lb garage cleanout at a $60/ton tipping fee costs $54 to dump — a cost your price has to clear.
The example
Three loads, each with a scale weight and the facility's per-ton rate.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Job | Weight (lb) | $ / ton | Disposal cost |
| 2 | Garage cleanout | 1,800 | $60 | $54.00 |
| 3 | Renovation debris | 4,500 | $60 | $135.00 |
| 4 | Yard waste | 900 | $40 | $18.00 |
The formula
Convert first, then price:
How it works
Units drive the formula:
B2is the load weight in pounds, straight off the scale ticket./2000converts pounds to US tons, which is how the landfill bills.*C2applies the facility's tipping rate per ton.
Yard waste, clean concrete, and mixed C&D often have different rates — keep a rate per material column.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter the scale weight and the landfill's per-ton rate.
Variations
Facility minimum fee
Many transfer stations bill a minimum no matter how light the load.
Disposal as percent of job price
Track what share of each job the dump takes.
Pitfalls & errors
Metric tons are 2,204.6 lb — if your facility bills metric, the /2000 shortchanges the math by 10%.
Weigh in and out (gross minus tare) — pricing off the truck's gross weight bills your own vehicle as junk.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
What is a typical tipping fee?
How does this feed my pricing?
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