What Size Dumpster Do I Need? A Bloomington, IL Guide

Quick answer by project type

For most home projects in Bloomington-Normal, the 20 yard dumpster is the place to start. It is our most popular size and the sweet spot for many residential and light commercial jobs: kitchen and bath remodels, whole-home cleanouts, roofing projects and landscaping. Go 10 yard for small kitchen or bathroom remodels, roof tear-offs, concrete, tile or asphalt, single-room or garage cleanouts, or a tight driveway. Go 15 yard for garage, attic or basement cleanouts, flooring and carpet removal, small deck or fence removals and yard waste. Go 30 yard for multi-room or full-house renovations, estate or rental property cleanouts and demolition debris, and 40 yard for full construction or demolition projects, warehouse cleanouts and commercial roofing. Not sure? Call (309) 893-1463 and we size it for you.

A few rules of thumb. Heavy materials such as concrete or shingles often need a smaller container, and the 10 yard works best when debris is dense and heavy rather than bulky. For a roof, our 10 and 20 yard dumpsters are the popular picks for shingles, tar paper and underlayment. For yard waste, the 15 or 20 is usually the fit. For construction and remodeling, the 20, 30 and 40 do the heavy lifting. And if the job grows, we can swap your dumpster for a bigger one.

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 commonly includes, which depends on the debris type.

Most people under-count the pile. Walk the house or the job before you call, estimate how many pickup loads you expect, and tell us what the material is. When we recommend a size we look at the type of debris, the project scope and the placement space. We can help estimate weight from roofing squares, flooring square footage or your material list, so you get the right box 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, plaster, shingles, concrete, dirt and wet yard waste reach the weight line long before the box looks full. Each dumpster includes a standard weight allowance based on its size, and if your debris goes over, overage fees may apply based on disposal weight. If over half the load is dense material, a 10 yard may save you money, and for concrete, soil or brick we may suggest a 10 yard or split loads. Heavy materials mixed with household junk may need special handling or pricing, so tell us what you have.

Load evenly front-to-back and side-to-side, and keep debris below the top rail so the load can be tarped safely. Illinois law says no vehicle may be driven on a highway unless it is loaded so nothing can drop, shift, leak or escape (625 ILCS 5/15-109), and garbage and refuse trucks need a working tailgate and a cover or tarp (625 ILCS 5/15-109.1). An overfilled box may not be legal or safe to haul.

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. Clear about 60 feet of approach space for the roll-off truck, more if it has to turn, and check overhead for branches and utility lines. A flat, solid surface such as a driveway, gravel or pavement works best. Move cars, bins and equipment out of the way, and mark the spot with cones, tape or chalk if you will not be there. If you are worried about the surface, lay plywood or boards under the wheels. The 10 yard is compact for tight driveways, the 15 and 20 fit many Bloomington driveways, and the 30 fits many two-car driveways.

In Bloomington, keep it on your property where you can. We found no City rule setting a permit, time limit or surface for a roll-off on a private driveway. A container in the street or City right-of-way needs an Engineering Division Dumpster Permit, applied for at least 3 business days ahead; it runs up to 30 days, needs lighted barricades front and rear, has to sit in a legal parking space in front of the property and must be covered when not in use. In Normal, roll-off boxes stay out of front yards and off the street right-of-way unless the Town gives temporary permission, and they go on a concrete or asphalt pad (Town Code § 21.1-4). The permit guide covers every town we list.

Why the city pickup will not do it

Bloomington's City bulk and building-waste pickup runs every other week, with the first bucket at no charge and $30.00 for each extra bucket (City Schedule of Fees, May 10, 2026). The City will not collect bulk or building waste from any work done by a contractor, or contaminated broken concrete, bricks, rock, stone or reclaimed asphalt (§ 21-307), and its Citizen Convenience Center no longer takes concrete, rock, shingles or brick and is not open to contractors. That works for a few pieces, not for a remodel.

Normal draws the same line. Town pickup takes items of no more than 500 pounds and no brush or construction waste created by a contractor (§ 21.1-3), and the Town's Bulky Waste page says property owners "must rent a commercial dumpster from a private firm" for major renovations such as re-roofing, for tearing out concrete driveways and sidewalks, and for debris over 500 pounds. 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 or pickup loads, or measure the flooring or roofing coming up.
2. Allow for bulky items. Furniture and cabinets take up more room than they weigh, so break them down, and break long boards down too.
3. Ask about weight, not just yardage. Concrete, dirt, brick, asphalt, tile and shingles go by weight and usually belong in a 10 or 15.
4. Keep heavy and light apart. A clean load of concrete or brick is easier to recycle and stays inside its allowance; keep yard waste as its own load too.
5. Call early. In many areas around Bloomington and nearby communities we offer same-day or next-day delivery, depending on availability. Call early for the best chance of same-day.

Describe the job on the phone, with the materials, the scope and the timeline, and we recommend the size that fits. If the project grows, we can schedule a swap-out or an upgrade.