Junk Removal Volume Pricing Calculator

Your haul is reduced to a volume in cubic yards: a truck-load fraction times the full-load capacity, a direct cubic-yard figure, or the sum of your item list. The four real cost drivers (disposal/tipping, drive time, stairs/access, and your target margin) are first-class inputs, so the number you get is your number, not a national average.

volume     = fraction × capacity  |  direct cu yd  |  Σ qty × cu-yd-each
base_haul  = volume × $/cu yd     (or crew_hours × crew_rate)
base_adj   = base_haul × (curbside ? 0.75 : 1.00)
dump_fee   = est_tons × $/ton     (est_tons = volume × 0.16, or your override)
drive      = round-trip miles × $/mi + flat add
access     = flights × $/flight + special-item fees
subtotal   = base_adj + dump_fee + drive + access
price      = subtotal / (1 − margin)     (margin as a share of price)
suggested  = round to nearest $5         (range = ±10%)

Margin is applied as cost / (1 − margin), a share of the price you charge, not a naive markup on cost. The suggested price is rounded to the nearest $5 and shown as a range, then cross-checked against typical market bands for the chosen load fraction (an advisory note, never a block). Defaults (capacity 15 cu yd, $40.50/cu yd, $55/ton, $50/flight, 35% margin, 0.16 tons/cu yd) are editable starting points; regional variance is large, so dial them to your own rates.

Christmas tree pickups. In the item list, the + Christmas tree button adds a row of one tree at 1.1 cu yd. That default is geometry, not a survey: a cone 7 ft tall and 4 ft wide at the base holds π × 2² × 7 ÷ 3 ÷ 27 ≈ 1.09 cu yd, rounded to 1.1. Change the quantity for a multi-tree stop, and lower the volume each for trees you cut down or stack flat. The 0.16 tons/cu yd density is for mixed household junk and overstates a tree's weight, so a tree-only load prices more honestly with your own tonnage and your site's yard-waste tipping rate.

The dump-fee input is the one that moves most between markets, and tipping fee explains how transfer stations quote it. The per-mile figure is worth deriving rather than guessing: the vehicle cost per mile calculator turns fuel, maintenance and depreciation into the number this page asks for.

Once your bands settle, publishing them as a junk removal pricing sheet stops every call becoming a fresh negotiation. The same job quoted in metric, with skip bins and a per-cubic-meter rate, is the rubbish removal pricing calculator for Australia, and what it costs to get a first truck on the road at all is in the junk removal startup cost calculator.