Concrete and Asphalt Disposal in California
California crushes and reuses more concrete than it buries, so a clean load is cheap here and a contaminated one is not.
This page covers what is specific to California. For container sizing, accepted and prohibited materials and how the rental works, see Concrete & Asphalt Disposal.
Recycled aggregate has a real market in this state
Crushed concrete and ground asphalt go back into road base and subbase across California, and that demand is why a clean inert load tips well below mixed debris almost everywhere in the state. On any job producing more than a few tons the gap is worth protecting deliberately.
Crushing capacity sits where the construction volume is: the LA Basin, Orange County, San Diego, the Bay Area, Sacramento and the larger Central Valley cities see the best clean-load rates. In the mountain and far northern counties the nearest crusher may be far enough away that haul distance eats the saving, and we will say so rather than quote a rate we cannot reach.
What counts as clean, and the one pallet that ends it
Clean concrete, asphalt, block, brick, rock and soil are handled as inert material and go to a crusher or an inert fill. Rebar inside the slab is normally fine - it is recovered at the crusher - so the usual reason a load is rejected is not steel but everything else that got thrown in.
One pallet, a few bags of stucco patch, a roll of visqueen or half a bucket of mortar mix can reclassify the whole container as mixed debris, and the load is then priced as mixed debris. If the box is for concrete, nothing else goes in it. Where a job produces both, two smaller containers cost less than one contaminated big one.
Weight, not volume, and why the box looks empty
Broken slab, stucco and masonry reach the legal haul weight at roughly a third of what the container will visibly hold. A 10 yard box is the right answer for most residential slab, patio and driveway tear-outs, and a 20 yard is already a large concrete order rather than a cautious one.
Excavation spoil deserves its own warning in California. Central Valley clay and anything dug after a wet week come out heavy, and the same volume that was fine in August is over weight in February. On soil, trench spoil or a slab with a footing attached, order smaller than the volume suggests and plan a swap.
Sizes we quote in California
Same containers statewide. The tonnage allowance behind them is set by the county facility that receives your load.
| Size | L × W × H | Included tons | Pickup loads | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 yard | 12′ × 8′ × 3.5′ | 2 - 3 | 3 - 4 | Heavy inert loads: concrete, brick, dirt. Small bath or kitchen gut. |
California questions
Can rebar stay in the concrete?
Yes in normal reinforced slab - the crusher recovers it. Loose rebar, mesh rolls and structural steel are a separate metal load and should not be mixed into the inert box.
What makes a concrete load lose the clean rate?
Wood, drywall, plastic, cardboard, bagged cement, insulation or general rubbish. Any of it present and the container is priced as mixed debris, so the clean box has to stay clean.
What size do I need for a driveway or patio tear-out?
Almost always a 10 yard. Concrete hits the weight limit at about a third of the visible capacity, which is why a half-full box is the normal look for a finished concrete job.
Does crushed concrete count toward my CALGreen diversion?
Yes, and it is the easiest material to count. A clean inert load sent to a crusher diverts at a far higher rate than the same material in a mixed container, and the weight ticket is your evidence.
Other debris types in California
Where we deliver in California
All 1,598 cities and communities, in every one of the 58 counties.
Get this container on site in California
Tell us the ZIP and the volume. We will confirm the size, the weight allowance and the delivery day.