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Fresno Dump Fees & Disposal Guide for Junk Removal Operators

CARTS at $90/ton is the go-to facility, but free mattresses, metals, and concrete save real money. Plus a $26/load surcharge trap.

Operator contextUpdated Mar 2026

Use the guidance with your local numbers.

Resource pages explain the planning model, but local disposal rates, labor costs, truck setup, service area, and customer demand still decide the final operating choice.

● 25 words · AEO target 40–56Read the full answer
Costs

Typical disposal costs

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Facilities

Facilities and transfer stations

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South Fresno (Cedar Avenue)

Cedar Avenue Recycling and Transfer Station (CARTS)

$90/ton MSW/C&D/green/wood, $65/ton recyclables, $65/ton brick, free clean concrete/asphalt/metal Most-used facility for junk removal operators in Fresno — centrally located, widest material acceptance, and longest weekday hours (until 5PM). Operated by Caglia Environmental (private, locally family-owned). The $26/load surcharge ($16 environmental + $10 fuel) adds up on small loads — batch loads when possible. Free mattress disposal (up to 10/day in decent condition) and free clean concrete/metal are major cost-savers. Sort these out before arriving. CRV redemption items not accepted — take those to a CRV buy-back center. Mon–Fri 7AM–5PM, Sat 7AM–2:30PM, Sun closed See per-item rates for specialty items MSW/garbage Green/yard waste Wood/brush C&D debris

$90/ton MSW/C&D/green/wood, $65/ton recyclables, $65/ton brick, free clean concrete/asphalt/metalSouth Fresno (Cedar Avenue)
Kerman (~30 miles west of central Fresno — ~40 min each way)

American Avenue Disposal Site (Fresno County)

Historically lowest per-ton in metro — call (559) 600-4259 for current rates or download schedule at cleanupfresnocounty.com County-operated landfill with historically the lowest per-ton rates in the Fresno metro. Critical restriction: C&D waste over 3 cubic yards is BANNED per County Ordinance 8.25 — loads will be rejected. Best for large MSW-only loads where the low per-ton rate offsets the ~30-mile drive from central Fresno. Closes at 3PM weekdays (earlier than CARTS). Cover your load — $8 uncovered load surcharge. Tires limited: loads over 9 tires require pre-approval from Environmental Health at (559) 600-3357. Projected operational through 2043. Mon–Fri 7AM–3PM, Sat 8AM–2:30PM, Sun closed Call for current minimums MSW Yard/green waste Recyclables White goods/bulky metal (freon removed)

Historically lowest per-ton in metro — call (559) 600-4259 for current rates or download schedule at cleanupfresnocounty.comKerman (~30 miles west of central Fresno — ~40 min each way)
Rules

Restrictions and paperwork

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Savings

Cost-saving playbook

Track dump fees per job and per facility in ScaleYourJunk to monitor your true disposal cost including the $26/load surcharge at CARTS. The platform logs every dump run so you can compare the per-load surcharge impact on light versus heavy loads and optimize your batching strategy to keep disposal costs below the 8–11% of revenue target.

01

Sorting

Separate free materials at CARTS before disposal. CARTS offers free disposal for clean concrete/asphalt, clean metal, and mattresses/box springs (up to 10/day in acceptable condition). On a typical residential cleanout, mattresses and metal can represent 15–25% of load weight. Sorting these out before the scale saves significantly at $90/ton. Clean recyclables at CARTS are also cheaper ($65/ton vs. $90/ton for MSW). Use American Avenue for large MSW-only loads. The county landfill historically has significantly lower per-ton rates than CARTS ($90/ton). Even with the ~30-mile drive from central Fresno, loads over 2–3 tons can save enough per ton to justify the fuel and time. Download the current fee schedule at cleanupfresnocounty.com or call (559) 600-4259. Remember: no C&D allowed. Divert reusable items to Habitat for Humanity ReStore (1631 Railroad Avenue, Clovis, (559) 237-7867, Mon–Sat 9AM–5PM). Pull scrap metals and sell to local yards. Also leverage free mattress disposal at both CARTS (10/day) and Rice Road (5/customer) to eliminate per-item disposal costs on mattress-heavy jobs.

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FAQ

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American Avenue Disposal Site (Fresno County landfill) historically offers the lowest per-ton rates in the Fresno metro — significantly cheaper than CARTS' $90/ton. The trade-off is distance: ~30 miles west of central Fresno (~40 minutes each way) and it closes at 3PM weekdays. For large MSW-only loads over 2–3 tons, the per-ton savings justify the drive. Call (559) 600-4259 or download the current fee schedule at cleanupfresnocounty.com. Critical restriction: no C&D waste over 3 cubic yards — it is banned by county ordinance.

CARTS offers free disposal for clean concrete and asphalt (all quantities), clean metal (all quantities), and mattresses/box springs/futons (up to 10 per day in acceptable condition). Severely damaged, wet, or soiled mattresses are $60 each — they must be in decent condition to qualify for free disposal. Separate these items from your general refuse BEFORE arriving at the scale. A junk removal load containing mattresses, scrap metal, and concrete could cost zero for those materials if properly sorted, saving $90/ton on that weight.

CARTS on Cedar Avenue is the primary C&D disposal option at $90/ton plus the $26/load surcharge. Clean concrete and asphalt are free at CARTS — always separate from mixed C&D. Critical: the American Avenue county landfill does NOT accept C&D over 3 cubic yards per County Ordinance 8.25. For large C&D projects, Mid Valley Disposal offers roll-off bins, and WM's Villa Avenue transfer station also accepts C&D. Both Fresno City and County require 65% C&D diversion on permitted projects — keep diversion documentation.

Mid Valley Disposal opens earliest at 6AM weekdays. CARTS and Rice Road open at 7AM weekdays. American Avenue also opens at 7AM. For closing times: CARTS stays open latest at 5PM weekdays, WM Villa Avenue until 6PM. American Avenue closes earliest at 3PM weekdays. Saturday hours are shorter: CARTS 7AM–2:30PM, Rice Road 8:30AM–2PM, American Avenue 8AM–2:30PM, Mid Valley 7AM–1:30PM. All facilities are closed Sundays.

CARTS charges a mandatory $26 per-load surcharge on every single load — $16 for an environmental fee plus $10 for a fuel surcharge. This is on top of the $90/ton tipping fee. On a heavy load, the surcharge is a minor addition. But on a small load near the minimum, it can add 30–50% to your effective per-ton disposal cost. The key strategy is to batch small pickups into combined dump runs to minimize the number of trips. If you are making 3 separate small drops per day, that is $78 in surcharges alone — one combined trip costs $26.

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