Taking it to the dump yourself in Colorado Springs: when it's worth it
A lot of people in this city search for the Woodmen dump, the nearest transfer station, or the county landfill before they ever think of calling someone. Fair enough. Here is the plain comparison between loading your own truck and loading ours.
What the search is really for
Woodmen Road is one of the main east-west roads across the north side of the city, and when locals search for the Woodmen dump they are usually looking for the nearest place to drop a load themselves, not for a specific business. The facilities that serve El Paso and Teller counties are a landfill and a handful of transfer stations, each with its own hours, fees and rules on what it accepts. Those change, and the only reliable source is the facility's own website or phone line on the day you plan to go. Check before you load, because a full truck turned away at the gate is a bad Saturday.
What a self-haul costs
- The tipping fee. Charged by weight, with a minimum. Mattresses, tires, electronics and refrigerant appliances carry per-unit fees on top, and some facilities will not take some of them at all.
- The vehicle. A pickup holds about a quarter of our truck. A two-car garage is four to six trips, or a rented trailer, with the rental cost and the hitch.
- The carry. You and whoever you can persuade, down the stairs and up into the bed, then off again at the scale. The sofa that took three people to get into the basement still weighs what it weighed.
- The day. Loading, the drive out, the queue at the scale, unloading by hand, the drive back, repeat. A garage is a weekend.
- The surprises. Something refused at the gate. Rain on an open load. A tailgate that doesn't latch with a mattress on it.
When self-haul wins
A single light item that fits in the car. A pickup you already own and a load that is small, light and all one kind. A free weekend and a friend. If that is you, go, and check the hours first.
When the truck wins
Anything heavy, anything on stairs, anything that takes more than one pickup trip, anything with a deadline, and anything where your time is worth more than the difference. A quarter truck from us is about $160, which is close to what a pickup load costs in fees, fuel and a rented trailer once you add the Saturday. A half truck, about $375, is where the math turns clearly in the truck's favour, because you would be making three or four trips.
A middle path
Haul the light, easy things yourself, the bags and the boxes, and call for the heavy and awkward things, the fridge, the sectional, the hot tub. That is a common and sensible split, and the crew will price only what is left.
Asked often
Where is the nearest dump to me?
It depends on which side of the city you're on, and hours and rules change. Use the facility's own website or phone line the day you plan to go. We don't publish third-party hours because they go stale.
Will the landfill take a mattress?
Usually, with a per-unit fee. Some transfer stations won't. Ask before you load it.
Can I bring a fridge?
Not with the refrigerant in it, at most facilities. It has to go to a handler who recovers it first, which is the surcharge we pass through.
Can you just take the heavy things?
Yes. That's a normal call: you do the bags, we do the fridge and the couch.
Is a rented trailer cheaper than you?
For one light load, often. For a garage, rarely, once you count the trips and the day.
Also read: Cost guide · Dumpster or crew? · Garage cleanouts