Tucson · Pima County

Construction and remodel debris removal in Tucson

Debris is the one load where the landfill charges by the ton, not the truck, and where the free city pickup refuses everything.

Why construction debris removal in Tucson is priced differently from junk

Household junk is bulky and light, so haulers price it by the space it fills. Tile, drywall, plaster, cabinets full of hinges, old fencing with the posts still in concrete and the concrete itself are dense, and Los Reales prices density: a covered load under 2,000 pounds is $18, and past that the meter switches to $38 per ton. A half truck of tear-out from a bathroom can weigh what a full truck of furniture weighs. Expect a debris quote to name a weight or a per-ton pass-through rather than a flat fraction of the truck, and if it does not, ask what happens when the scale ticket comes back heavier than the hauler guessed.

Brush and Bulky, the city’s free curbside pickup, is no help here. Its refused list includes construction material, concrete, dirt, stones, rocks and gravel, and glass and mirrors — which is most of a remodel. That is the main reason debris is a hauler’s job or a dumpster’s job inside the city limits, not a wait-for-the-truck job.

Where the different materials actually go: Los Reales, the Speedway facility and the transfer stations

Los Reales accepts construction debris and concrete and asphalt, so a mixed load can go there in one trip. Clean inert material — concrete, block, brick, sand, rock, dirt — has cheaper homes. Tank’s, the Fairfax Companies, runs the Speedway Recycling and Landfill Facility at 7301 E. Speedway, land reclamation sites on W. Ina Road and S. Old Spanish Trail, and the Wilmot facility at 11505 S. Wilmot Road, all built around inert fill and construction, demolition and landscape waste rather than household garbage; Pima County lists the Drexel Road site east of Houghton as a land reclamation facility that takes clean inert material only. Call the site you are nearest for current hours and the rate before a load goes there.

Outside the city, the Catalina Transfer Station at 14425 N. Oracle Road and the Sahuarita Transfer Station at 16605 S. La Cañada Drive — both run by WM under contract with Pima County, Monday to Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. — list construction and demolition debris among what they take. The Marana Regional Landfill on Avra Valley Road does too, and it is one of the few places in the county that lists asbestos-containing material, which is its own subject below.

Older houses: lead paint and asbestos change the job

If the house was built before about 1980, the tear-out can contain lead-based paint on the trim and asbestos in floor tile, mastic, popcorn ceilings, duct wrap and some drywall compound. A junk hauler is not an abatement contractor and should not pretend to be one. If a renovation is disturbing suspect material, the testing and removal belong with a licensed abatement contractor, and the disposal belongs at a facility permitted for it — the WM Marana Regional Landfill lists friable and non-friable asbestos among the wastes it accepts; Los Reales does not. Ask your remodeling contractor what was tested before anything was cut.

Everything else from a remodel — cabinets, countertops, fixtures, doors — is ordinary debris, and doors, windows, cabinets and working fixtures in good condition are exactly what the HabiStore on W. Grant Road resells. A demolition that pulls the cabinets out intact instead of smashing them saves a landfill fee and produces a donation receipt.

Hauler or dumpster: the honest comparison

Published national ranges put a seven-day roll-off rental at roughly $390 to $700, and most rental contracts include a weight allowance and charge above it. A hauler charges $300 to $900 a load in the published ranges, heavier loads at the top. The dumpster wins when the debris arrives over weeks — a kitchen and two baths on a contractor’s schedule — and you have the driveway space and the HOA’s tolerance for a steel box. The hauler wins when the tear-out is done and sitting in a pile, when the pile is in a backyard the box cannot reach, and when nobody wants to spend evenings loading it.

Two questions settle it. Is the debris already generated, or still coming? And who is doing the lifting? If the answers are “already” and “not me,” it is a hauler job. If they are “still coming” and “the crew,” a dumpster, and put the question of haul-off in the remodel contract so it is not a surprise.

Before the hauler quotes

• Separate clean concrete, block and dirt from the mixed debris; it can go somewhere cheaper by the ton.
• Pull nails or bend them flat on lumber the crew has to handle, and bundle it.
• Keep cabinets, doors, sinks and light fixtures that still work intact for donation.
• Flag anything from a pre-1980 house that might be asbestos or lead — do not bag it and hope.
• Tell the hauler the approximate weight, or the number of contractor bags and the room they came from, so the quote reflects the scale ticket.

Questions people ask

How much does it cost to haul remodel debris in Tucson?

By the published ranges, $300 to $550 for a half-truck load and $600 to $900 for a full one, with dense material at the top because Los Reales charges $38 a ton past the first 2,000 pounds. Ask for the quote to state whether weight overage is passed through, and at what rate.

Will Brush and Bulky take drywall and tile?

No. The city lists construction material, concrete, dirt, rock and gravel, and glass and mirrors among the items it will not collect. Lumber up to five feet long and scrap metal up to five feet are accepted, so a small pile of cut-down fence boards can go to the curb inside the city limits; the rest cannot.

Where can I take concrete and dirt myself?

Los Reales accepts concrete and asphalt at its normal rates. For clean inert material — concrete, block, brick, rock, dirt — the Tank’s facilities on Speedway, Ina Road, Old Spanish Trail and Wilmot Road and the Drexel Road land reclamation site east of Houghton are built for it; call for hours and the current per-load or per-ton price.

Can a junk hauler remove asbestos tile?

He should not, and a careful one will refuse. Testing and removal of asbestos-containing material is a licensed abatement job, and the disposal has to go to a facility permitted to accept it, which in this area means the WM Marana Regional Landfill rather than Los Reales. Talk to your remodeling contractor before anything is disturbed.

Does the hauler need to see the pile first?

For debris, yes, or at least good photographs with something for scale. Weight is what drives the price, and a pile of tile looks like a pile of drywall until someone lifts a bag. A quote from a description alone is a guess, and the correction will not go in your favor.

Request a callback

Where this service is available

TucsonOro ValleyMaranaSahuaritaVailCatalina FoothillsGreen Valley

Insured local companies serving Tucson and Pima County; travel to outlying areas is usually included in the estimate — ask.

Related

Junk Removal & Hauling — TucsonFurniture & Appliance Removalestate & house cleanout in TucsonYard Waste & Storm Cleanup — Tucsonwhat it costshow to vet a contractorLos Reales landfill fees: what a self-haul.Brush and Bulky vs hiring a hauler in Tucson