Size guide
Roll-off dumpster sizes
Roll-offs are named for their capacity in cubic yards. One cubic yard is a cube three feet on every side, roughly a washing machine's worth of space. Here's how the five usual containers compare.
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Side by side
The five sizes, drawn to scale
10 yard
Small and low
Typically near 12 × 8 × 3.5 ft (L × W × H)
Squeezes onto a narrow driveway and has walls low enough to drop things over. Rental companies steer dirt, block, brick and concrete jobs to this size: load a larger box with rubble and no truck could legally lift it. In lighter junk, picture one jammed single-car garage.
15 yard
The in-between
Typically near 14 × 8 × 4.5 ft (L × W × H)
Handy for a basement or attic, a bathroom gutted to the studs, or a small deck. Not every company stocks this size, so ask.
20 yard
The common choice
Typically near 22 × 8 × 4 ft (L × W × H)
Long but still low enough to lift things over the side. A kitchen tear-out, flooring from several rooms, a mid-sized roof or a big pre-move purge usually lands here.
30 yard
Tall sides
Typically near 22 × 8 × 6 ft (L × W × H)
Same footprint as the 20 with higher walls. Good for clearing a whole house, an addition, or furniture-heavy estate work. Use the rear door to walk bulky things in.
40 yard
The largest
Typically near 22 × 8 × 8 ft (L × W × H)
Mostly for large, light, bulky debris. At around eight feet tall it's hard to load by hand, and few house projects need it.
Volume versus weight
Why a half-empty box can still be full
Light, bulky debris
Furniture, cardboard, carpet, toys and brush take up space but weigh little. With these, the box runs out of room before it runs out of weight allowance, so size by volume.
Dense debris
Shingles, tile, plaster, dirt and concrete flip that around. The scale tips past the included tonnage with half the box still showing steel. Name the material on the call so the company sizes for weight, and ask how overweight loads are billed.
Still not sure?
To turn a heap of junk into cubic yards, use the guide to choosing. Or skip the math: matching a container to the job is the first thing the rental company does when you ring.
Get a roll-off quote for your Roanoke address
Have three answers handy: what's going in, which patch of driveway or curb it can occupy, and the day you'd like to start. The rental company comes back with a container size, an open drop-off day and a figure for the whole job. Nothing gets scheduled unless you say yes.
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