Check your bill
How to Read a Dumpster Scale Ticket
Your scale ticket is the receipt for your debris. Here is what each line means and how to check it against your invoice.
What does a dumpster scale ticket show?
A dumpster scale ticket shows the truck's weight full (gross), the truck's weight empty (tare), and the difference, which is your debris (net). The landfill prints it when the truck crosses its certified scale. Net weight in pounds, divided by 2,000, is the tonnage your bill is based on.
| Line | What it means | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket number | The landfill's record number for that weigh-in. | Matches the number on your invoice. |
| Date and time | When the truck crossed the scale. | Falls on or right after your pickup day. |
| Facility | The landfill or transfer station that weighed the load. | A real disposal site, printed by the scale system. |
| Vehicle or hauler ID | Which truck carried the dumpster. | Shows the hauler, not a third party. |
| Material | How the landfill classed the load, such as C&D or clean fill. | Fits what you put in the dumpster. |
| Gross | Truck plus dumpster plus debris. | The heaviest number on the ticket. |
| Tare | The empty truck and container. | Subtracted from gross. |
| Net | Gross minus tare: your debris only. | The number your weight charge uses. |
Layouts differ by facility, but gross, tare and net are always there.
How do you check the ticket against your invoice?
To check a scale ticket against your invoice, take the net pounds, subtract the pounds included with your size, and multiply anything left by $0.0375, which is $75 per ton charged by the pound. If the result matches the overage line on your invoice, the weight charge is right.
Worked example: a 15-yard dumpster
- Gross 31,240 lb − tare 26,140 lb = net 5,100 lb.
- The 15-yard dumpster includes 2.5 tons, which is 5,000 lb.
- 5,100 − 5,000 = 100 lb over.
- 100 lb × $0.0375 = $3.75 overage.
Because the charge is by the pound, 100 pounds over costs $3.75, not the price of a full extra ton. Pounds included by size: 10-yard 4,000 lb, 15-yard 5,000 lb, 20-yard 6,000 lb, 30-yard 8,000 lb.
Overage calculator
0.40 tons over = $30.00 at $75 per ton, charged by the exact pound ($0.0375 per lb).
When do you get the scale ticket?
You get the scale ticket with your final invoice, emailed 3 to 5 business days after pickup. That is the time the landfill needs to process its disposal log. The ticket arrives as a digital copy attached to the invoice, so you can compare the two side by side.
For the full picture of included tons by size and how to stay under them, read how dumpster weight is billed. To see every charge that can appear on an invoice, see dumpster rental cost.
Scale ticket questions
Why is the tare weight so much bigger than my debris?
Tare is the empty roll-off truck plus the steel dumpster, which together weigh far more than most loads of debris. Only the net line, gross minus tare, is your debris.
Does rain change what the ticket shows?
Wet debris weighs more on the scale, so rain soaking an open load raises the net weight. Covering the dumpster with a tarp between loading days keeps water out.
What if the net weight on the ticket doesn't match my invoice?
Call with the ticket number and the invoice in front of you. The weight charge must come from the net weight on the attached ticket, so any mismatch is easy to trace and fix.
Rent a dumpster that comes with its scale ticket
Every invoice includes the certified landfill ticket and is charged by the exact pound. Call for this week's base price.
Deliveries 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Book by 3:00 PM for next-day delivery.