How to Dispose of Concrete: Your Best Options

Concrete cannot go in the trash or curbside recycling. It is too heavy for a regular garbage truck. Recycling bins will not take it either. You have three real options: a landfill, a concrete recycling facility, or a dump trailer built to carry the weight. In Covington, the Newton County Landfill bills concrete by the ton.

Can you put concrete in a dumpster or dump trailer?

Yes. East Metro Trucking's dump trailers handle concrete, brick, and tile. They take it as part of a construction or demo job. Tell them what you are tearing out. They will plan the right number of loads for it. The one thing to watch is weight, not space. Concrete is one of the heaviest materials you can load. A trailer can reach its weight limit well before it looks full.

Is concrete trash, or does it have to be recycled?

Concrete is construction and demolition debris. It is not household trash. Most city trash trucks will not pick up concrete chunks. They are too heavy for the truck's lifting arm. Concrete does not belong in a curbside recycling bin either. That means broken concrete cannot sit at the curb on garbage day. It has to go to a landfill, a concrete recycling yard, or a hauled trailer sized for the weight.

Concrete can be recycled. Clean, broken concrete gets crushed into aggregate. That aggregate gets reused for roads, driveway base, and new construction. Many areas have a dedicated concrete recycling facility, separate from the regular landfill. A straight landfill drop-off works too. That is the route the Newton County Landfill in Covington handles for local jobs.

What are your options for getting rid of concrete?

Here is what homeowners and contractors in the Covington area actually choose from:

• Haul it yourself to the landfill. National pricing guides put self-haul concrete disposal at about $30 to $100 per ton, as of 2026. The Newton County Landfill on Lower River Road charges a $30 minimum for the first 900 pounds, then $66 per ton, weighed right at the scale. It is open Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
• Drop it at a concrete recycling facility. Clean concrete, without trash mixed in, can often go to a dedicated recycling yard instead of the landfill.
• Rent a dump trailer and let someone else haul it. East Metro Trucking drops a rubber-tire dump trailer at your home or job site. You load it at your own pace. They pick it up and handle the dump. With a rented dumpster, heavy material like concrete often triggers overage fees. With a dump trailer, you get one clear quote up front based on the material and the number of loads. There is no surprise bill.

Covington has a lot of older homes. Many still have their original driveways, walkways, and patio slabs, and those slabs are reaching the end of their life. That makes concrete tear-out debris a steady job here. Call (470) 557-3573 and describe the concrete you are clearing out. East Metro Trucking will tell you what to expect before you book.

Why does concrete fill a dump trailer's weight limit before it looks full?

Concrete is dense. A load that looks half empty by volume can already be close to the trailer's rated weight limit. That is why East Metro Trucking asks what you are tearing out before it recommends a trailer. Owner Travis Jordan has 27 years of hands-on hauling and equipment experience. He plans the load count around weight, not guesswork.

Not sure how a concrete job compares to other debris? See the full list of what a dump trailer can handle and how to pick the right trailer size for a heavy load. For the bigger picture on what a construction or demo cleanup runs, see what construction debris disposal costs in 2026.

East Metro Trucking's construction and demo debris removal service handles concrete tear-outs across Covington and the rest of Newton County. Get a free quote and Travis will tell you how many loads your concrete job needs, and one clear price, before any work starts.

Related service: Construction & Demo Debris Removal · Serving Covington