Dumpster rental in Seattle — size, street permit, typical price
This page is for Seattle homeowners who need a residential roll-off for a remodel, cleanout, roof, or yard job. It covers which size fits the work, when a street permit is required, typical published prices (each source labeled separately), and what city transfer stations and household-hazardous-waste rules will not take in a box.
It is a research draft, not a quote desk. Last researched August 29, 2026.
Size chooser
Uses Dumpsters.com Seattle size notes (verified 8/22/2026) plus Dumpster Solutions NW’s April 30, 2026 local guide. Dimensions can vary by manufacturer; volume is what the size name means.
10 yard
Best for: removing a wall, remodeling a half bathroom, garage junk, general yard waste. Fill heavy material only partway so the weight cap is not blown.
Dumpsters.com Seattle: typical box 14′ × 7.5′ × 3.5′; about 3 pickup-truck loads. Driver needs about 60 ft of space and 23–25 ft of vertical clearance (hauler, not city).
Dumpster Solutions NW (April 30, 2026) treats a 15-yard as the small-remodel step above this size (single-room cleanouts). They do not publish a 10-yard list price on that page.
Dumpsters.com Seattle · Dumpster Solutions NW Apr 2026
20 yard
Best for: small home renovations, basement and attic cleanouts, downsizing before a move, repairing a driveway. Most-used residential size on the local 2026 guide.
Dumpsters.com Seattle: typical box 22′ × 7.5′ × 4.5′; about 6 pickup-truck loads.
Dumpster Solutions NW (April 30, 2026): most popular choice in Ballard, Capitol Hill, and West Seattle for typical renovation debris and household cleanouts.
Dumpsters.com Seattle · Dumpster Solutions NW Apr 2026
30 yard
Best for: garage demolition, home additions, estate cleanouts, large-scale lawn work. Often needs a two-car driveway or a permitted street space.
Dumpsters.com Seattle: typical box 22′ × 7.5′ × 6′; about 9 pickup-truck loads.
Dumpster Solutions NW (April 30, 2026): their 30-yard option is two 15-yard containers plus a swap, aimed at larger estate cleanouts or whole-home renovations.
Dumpsters.com Seattle · Dumpster Solutions NW Apr 2026
40 yard
Best for: home flipping, warehouse or multi-unit renovations, storefront remodels. Typical box is about 8 ft tall.
Dumpsters.com Seattle: typical box 22′ × 7.5′ × 8′; about 12 pickup-truck loads.
Dumpster Solutions NW (April 30, 2026): built from two 20-yard containers plus a swap; they flag it for commercial jobs and major demolitions (SoDo, South Lake Union) and say not to choose it unless you genuinely need the volume.
Dumpsters.com Seattle · Dumpster Solutions NW Apr 2026
Street permit
Required?
YES — public right-of-way.
Within Seattle, portable containers for moving and storage and dumpsters placed in the public right-of-way require a Street Use permit before they are delivered and placed. Authority: SDOT Storage Container and Residential Dumpster Permits page (fetched 8/29/2026), with the application form citing Seattle Municipal Code Title 15 (SMC 15.04). CAM 2118 restates the same ROW rule (last revised 12/5/17 — process details on the live HTML page are newer).
The city’s pages describe this program for containers in the public right-of-way. They do not publish a “driveway = no permit” rule. Do not assume a strip that looks like your yard is private; confirm with the city before you place a box.
How to apply
- Prepare a Right-of-Way Impact Plan (ROWIP) showing the approximate location. SDOT points to small-project plan templates on the permit templates and checklists page.
- Submit through the Seattle Services Portal: Create New → Permits-Street Use → ROW Maintenance, then on Use Information select Dumpster/Storage Use Type. Upload the ROWIP.
- Pay online in the portal and print the permit. Record numbers look like SUMAINT0000000 (Seattle Services Portal help article, fetched 8/29/2026).
- To reserve the curb: arrange No Parking easels, apply for a Temporary No Park permit, and attach the printed Public Notice to the easels at least 72 hours before placement. Required if the space is in on-street paid parking.
Fees (2026 Street Use Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026)
- ROW Simple Issuance (base permit): $214. The schedule defines a simple permit as one that “requires minimal review, such as a dumpster or storage container.”
- Additional use fees can apply for location, duration, and mobility/safety impacts (arterial vs non-arterial, square footage, how long the box sits). The dumpster HTML page names this the ROW Management – Simple Review base plus those extras.
- Hourly review and inspection, if billed: $367 (overtime $737) on the same 2026 table.
- Issuance and hourly rates on that schedule were raised 2.6% for 2026 (SDOT fee page, updated January 7, 2026).
If you are in paid/metered parking, Temporary No Parking lost-revenue charges are separate from the Street Use permit (TNP page, fetched 8/29/2026): Yellow (7 a.m.–6 p.m., Mon–Sat) $22.00 downtown / $17.00 outside downtown per metered space per day; Red (24-hour tow-away) $27.00 downtown / $20.00 outside downtown. Sign install/removal $18.50. Restricted Area Parking truck permit $16.00 for up to 2 days, then $8.00 per extra day.
Placement (live SDOT dumpster page)
- Legal parking space; free-standing; parking lane in front of your property
- If the only space is in front of someone else’s property, notify those owners before placement
- 30 ft from intersections, 10 ft from driveways, 15 ft from hydrants
- Reserve the space with a Temporary No Parking Zone (required in on-street paid parking)
A different ROW Construction Use permit is required if another use is needed to do the work, if a construction container is proposed on any arterial or on a non-arterial in an Urban Village or Urban Center, or if the work will close pedestrian, bicycle, or vehicle travel. This residential dumpster page is not that permit.
CAM 2118 (2017) still says 10 ft from hydrants on the attached application form. The live SDOT dumpster page says 15 ft. This page follows the live HTML.
Typical price
Sourced ranges, not a single quote. Each row is labeled with the date and what that page actually measures. These are not mashed into one invented band.
Dumpsters.com Seattle — blended roll-off
Verified 8/22/2026. All sizes blended. The dollar range is not labeled 7-day on that city block. A FAQ on the same page says most rental periods are typically 7 days. By-size dollars are not printed.
$623–$1,598. Average $1,023.
Dumpster Solutions NW — single-vendor 2026 list
Published April 30, 2026. One local hauler’s published rates. The 20-yard base is not labeled 7-day; the same article mentions a 10% discount for some sizes on rentals of three days or shorter.
| What they printed |
Number |
| 15-yard (single-room / small remodel) | around $395 |
| 20-yard base | $450 |
| Construction debris, per ton | $185/ton |
| Household goods, per ton | $295/ton |
| Typical 2-ton load in a 20-yard (their example) | roughly $820 with delivery and disposal |
Hometown — August 2026 Seattle listing
Provider list labeled August 2026. One printed starting price from PNW Dumpster Rental. Period is 3 days, not 7. Weight allowance on that row is 0 tons. This is a starting-at listing, not a market average.
| Size |
Starting at |
Period on page |
| 15 yard | $325 | up to 3 days, 0 tons |
| 20 yard | $325 | up to 3 days, 0 tons |
A dated 2026 blended city index sits near $1,000 average. A local hauler’s 20-yard example with two tons lands near $820. A 3-day starting-at listing prints $325 with no tons included. Weight limits and overages are usually extra — we did not invent those numbers beyond what a source printed, so they are omitted.
What not to put in
From Seattle Public Utilities transfer-station rules and the region’s household hazardous waste program. These items do not go in a residential dumpster that is headed to a Seattle or King County solid-waste facility.
- Household hazardous waste and chemicals labeled Caution, Warning, Danger, or Poison (cleaners, solvents, pesticides, wood preservatives, motor fuels)
- Oil-based paint and paint containers
- Antifreeze, motor oil, and other auto fluids
- Batteries (alkaline, button, rechargeable, vehicle)
- Electronics, TVs, CRTs, monitors, computers, and laptops
- Sealed drums, fuel / propane / oil tanks, compressed gas, fire extinguishers
- Asbestos or asbestos-containing material
- Fluorescent lamps and other mercury bulbs; mercury thermometers and thermostats
- Sharps, needles, syringes, and other medical waste
- Ammunition, fireworks, flares, explosives, firearms
- Radioactive waste
- Sewage
- Material over 8 ft long and over 200 lbs (SPU transfer-station limit)
Seattle transfer stations also ban specific construction and demolition recyclables from the garbage: asphalt paving, bricks, concrete, metal, cardboard, new-construction gypsum scrap, and unpainted untreated wood. City code requires recyclable C&D from Seattle jobsites to go to a Qualified C&D facility. Ask the hauler which stream the box is (garbage vs C&D) before you load heavy debris.
Latex paint is not accepted at HHW facilities. SPU says dry leftover latex and throw the can in the garbage with the lid off — that is not a license to pour liquid paint into a dumpster.
City HHW drop-off (free for King County residents, no appointment; separate from the transfer stations): North Household Hazardous Waste Facility, 12550 Stone Avenue North — Sunday–Tuesday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. South Household Hazardous Waste Facility, 8100 2nd Ave S — Thursday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Closed July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Household Hazards Line: (206) 296-4692. (SPU HHW pages, fetched 8/29/2026.)
Gotchas
- 15 ft from hydrants, 10 ft from driveways, 30 ft from intersections (live SDOT dumpster page). The 2017 CAM still says 10 ft from hydrants — follow the live page.
- Legal parking lane in front of your property; notify neighbors if the only space is in front of theirs.
- Temporary No Parking easels and Public Notice at least 72 hours before placement. Required in paid parking. Lost-revenue fees stack on top of the Street Use permit.
- Construction dumpsters on arterials or in Urban Villages / Urban Centers use a different ROW Construction Use permit.
- Recyclable C&D (concrete, brick, asphalt, metal, clean wood, new gypsum, cardboard) is banned from Seattle transfer-station garbage. A mixed household box is the wrong stream for a concrete tear-out.
- Dumpsters.com Seattle delivery envelope: about 60 ft of length and 23–25 ft of vertical clearance (trolley lines, trees, and wires are a real Seattle constraint; CAM 2118 tells you to confirm overhead clearance with permit staff).
- The city never published a driveway-is-free rule on the pages we fetched. Private property is simply outside this Street Use program.
- HOA rules and CC&Rs are not the city permit. Check them separately.