Understanding Cubic Yards

Many times our customers call in and request a specific dumpster size, they’ll ask a few questions and somewhere along the way the words “cubic yards” are said. However not many people really know what cubic yards are. A dumpsters volume is measured in cubic yards (e.g a 10 cubic yard dumpster). It may seem difficult to estimate cubic yards and know exactly how much debris you’ll be putting in the dumpster, but were here to help. Take a look at our helpful guide below to understanding cubic yards.

What is a Cubic Yard?

A cubic yard is the volume of a cube with a length, width and height of one yard (3 feet or 36 inches). An easy way to calculate cubic yardage is to convert all three dimensions of an item into yards and multiplying them. For example, if you have debris that measures at 9 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 1 foot tall, you will have one cubic yard of debris.

How Can You Estimate Cubic Yardage?

• Given that 3 feet is equivalent to 1 yard, 9 feet equals 3 total yards in length.
• The width is easily measured as 3 feet equals 1 yard in width.
• Given that 12 inches is equivalent to 1 foot, 1 foot equals 1/3 of a yard in height.

Multiplying the three dimensions, once converted to yards, will give you the total cubic yardage of your debris. In this case, 3 yards x 1 yard x 1/3 yard equals a single cubic yard. While calculating cubic yardage will not always be that simple, especially for materials like concrete, gravel and dirt, having some understanding of how to do so can go a long way in filling up a dumpster.

Estimating Cubic Yards in Your Dumpster Rental

A simple way to answer “How much is a cubic yard?” is to compare it to common items you’ve seen and used. A popular example of this is equating cubic yards to pick up trucks. The typical full size truck bed can hold anywhere between 2-3 cubic yards of material. This means a 10 cubic yard dumpster can hold at least three pickup truck loads, that is depending on the weight of your debris.

Here’s what our other common dumpster sizes can hold in terms of truck loads:

• 20 cubic yard dumpster – Equivalent to about 6 pickup truck loads.
• 30 cubic yard dumpster – Roughly equivalent to 9 pickup trucks of debris.
• 40 cubic yard dumpster – Can hold about 12 pickup trucks of materials.

You could also think of cubic yards in terms of wheelbarrow loads, as wheelbarrows are a great to to bringing materials into your container. Typically 9-12 wheelbarrow trips are equivalent to one cubic yard of material. Keeping these in mind you may find it easier to estimate how many cubic yards are left throughout your project. Always remember it’s important to keep debris below the edges of your dumpster rental, overfilling the dumpster may result in a fee, and or you having to unload some debris.

Please Remember: Volume is not equal to weight limit in regards to the size of a dumpster. In addition to knowing the total volume of what you’re throwing away, knowing the approximate weight of these items will help you avoid overage fees and receive the right size dumpster for your project.

Having knowledge of what a cubic yard looks like can be very helpful when filling up your dumpster rental, it’s critical to follow the basic guidelines to ensure an efficient rental. If you have any more questions about the cubic yardage of your debris, or are ready to rent your next dumpster rental, call us at Waste Solutions 123!