What Size Dumpster Do I Need? A Lakewood, CO Guide

Quick answer by project type

For most home projects in Lakewood, the 20 yard dumpster is the place to start. It is one of the most popular options for residential and light commercial projects and the closest thing to an all-purpose box: kitchen and bathroom remodels, whole-home cleanouts, roofing projects and landscaping. Go 10 yard for small kitchen or bathroom remodels, roofing with shingles, concrete, tile or asphalt disposal, garage or single-room cleanouts, or a tight space. Go 15 yard for garage, attic or basement cleanouts, flooring and carpet removal, small deck or fence removal and yard cleanup. Go 30 yard for multi-room or full-home renovations, estate cleanouts, retail or office remodels and demolition debris, and 40 yard for construction and demolition projects, warehouse or large property cleanouts and commercial roofing jobs. Not sure? Call (720) 370-8548 and we size it for you.

A few rules of thumb from the jobs we see. Heavy materials like concrete or dirt are typically limited to the smaller 10 or 15 yard bins because of weight restrictions, and the 10 yard is best suited to dense, heavy debris rather than bulky material. For a roof, our 10 and 20 yard dumpsters are the ones commonly used; a 10 yard holds approximately 1,500 to 2,000 square feet of roofing shingles. If your debris is mostly heavy material such as concrete or tile, a 10 yard may be more cost-effective; for larger or bulkier jobs, look at the next size up.

The five sizes side by side

All five are open-top roll-offs about 7.5 feet wide. The 10 and 15 are shorter boxes; the 20, 30 and 40 share a footprint of about 22 feet and simply get taller. Pickup loads and standard 33-gallon trash bags are a rough guide to volume. The weight column is the allowance a rental typically includes, which depends on the material.

Most people under-count the pile. Walk the house or the job before you call — count rooms, pickup loads or the square footage of flooring or roofing coming up — and tell us what the material is. When we recommend a size we look at the type of debris, including heavy or bulky materials, the project size and estimated volume, the space available for placement, and the weight limits and disposal requirements. We can estimate the weight from your project details, so you get the right size the first time.

Check the weight, not just the volume

Volume and weight are two separate limits. Furniture and household junk are bulky and light; tile, roofing shingles, concrete, dirt and wet yard waste reach the weight line long before the box looks full. Each dumpster includes a weight allowance based on its size, typically ranging from 1 to 6 tons. If your load goes over, an additional fee may apply based on weight — we keep pricing transparent and explain it before you book. For dirt, concrete and other heavy material we may recommend a smaller dumpster for safe transport. Spread materials evenly inside the container and keep debris below the top edge: every load leaving your driveway is a covered load under Colorado law (C.R.S. 42-4-1407), and an overfilled box cannot be safely tarped or hauled.

There is a recycling reason to sort, too. Lakewood's building code requires a waste management plan for new buildings, additions or remodels over 2,500 square feet and for any building demolition, labeled containers on site for recyclable materials, and hauler or recycling center receipts before the certificate of occupancy or final inspection (§14.02.040(J)). The City's required materials are asphalt, concrete, cardboard, untreated wood, metal and reusable architectural salvage, and its C&D page asks for weight tickets within 60 days of permit closure. Denver's recycling ordinance (URCO) asks qualifying projects permitted from September 1, 2026 to divert half their debris by weight. So a clean load of concrete and asphalt, a mixed remodel load and a household cleanout are three different loads. If your permit needs weight tickets, tell us when you book.

Measure the drop spot

Check the length first: about 14 feet for a 10 yard, about 16 for a 15, and about 22 feet for the 20, 30 and 40. All are about 7.5 feet wide. Allow about 60 feet of clear space for the truck to get in and set the box, and at least 25 feet of overhead clearance from wires and branches. Choose a flat, stable surface such as a driveway or paved area, move vehicles, bins and equipment out of the way, and mark the placement area if you will not be there. For extra protection you can lay boards or plywood under the dumpster. The 10 yard is compact and easy to place in tight spaces; the 15 and 20 fit comfortably in most residential driveways, and the 30 suits most residential driveways and commercial locations.

In Lakewood, keep it on your property and off the grass. The City Code puts dumpsters on private property, on an "improved all-weather surface, such as gravel at least ¾-inch thick and three inches depth, hot mix asphalt or concrete paving" (§8.14.025(D)), and bars parking them on landscaping or grass (§9.80.020(B)(5)). A dumpster in the street needs a no-charge Public Way permit, is only allowed when there is no suitable spot on the property, and can stay up to 30 days unless the City extends it (§8.14.028). On state highways — West Colfax (US-40), Sheridan Boulevard (SH-95), Wadsworth Boulevard (SH-121) and US-6 — Lakewood requires both a state and a city permit (§12.04.040(A)), and we found no CDOT permit path for a container, so we do not place there. The permit guide covers every city we list.

Why the trash cart will not do it

Lakewood does not contract with haulers on behalf of residents or provide trash service as a utility — residents, business owners and property managers set up service with the hauler of their choice. There is no City bulky pickup: the City says bulky items "can be picked up for a fee by your waste hauler or junk removal company", and dumping bulky waste in alleys or on private property is illegal. Code Enforcement does not allow outside storage of waste building materials, and carts can sit at the curb for no more than 48 consecutive hours a week (§8.14.025(B)).

The cities around Lakewood draw the same line. Denver's Large Item Pickup comes every nine weeks, takes at most 5 large items and 10 bags, and does not take construction materials (concrete, bricks, fencing and pallets), appliances, stumps, dirt or sod. Golden's one free large item pickup a year turns away cement, steel, dirt, rocks and bricks. Wheat Ridge's free Large Item Drop-Off does not take gravel, asphalt, rock, sod, dirt, concrete, brick, pavers or roofing materials, and Edgewater's special-item pickup takes no construction debris. Westminster has no large item pickup program at all. A roll-off is for the pile that is bigger, heavier or sooner than any of that allows.

Five ways to get the size right

1. Estimate the debris before you call. Count rooms, pickup loads or the square footage of flooring or roofing coming up.
2. Allow for bulky items. Furniture and cabinets take up more room than they weigh — break them down, and break long boards down too.
3. Ask about weight, not just yardage. Concrete, dirt, brick and asphalt go by weight and belong in a 10 or 15.
4. Keep heavy and light apart. Separating heavy material keeps each load inside its allowance, and a clean concrete or asphalt load is easier to recycle.
5. Call early. In many areas around Lakewood and nearby communities we offer same-day or next-day delivery depending on availability — call early in the day for the best chance of same-day.

Describe the job on the phone — the materials, the scope and the timeline — and we recommend the size that fits. If the project grows, we can swap your dumpster for a larger one.