The real per-ton dump fees at all three Daviess County facilities — including the one that charges 74% more for the exact same debris.
Call (270) 713-8336Free quote · Same-week pickups in Daviess CountyRates below are taken from the Daviess County Fiscal Court and City of Owensboro published schedules and were last verified on July 13, 2026. The county schedule currently in force took effect January 1, 2024. Rates change — confirm with the facility before you load up.
Most "junk removal cost" articles quote national averages. Those are close to useless here, because the biggest single input to a hauling price — the tipping fee — is published, local, and varies a lot depending on which gate you drive through.
Daviess County runs three waste facilities and they do not charge the same rates. Here is the whole picture in one table, which the county itself splits across three separate pages.
| Material (in-county) | West Daviess County Landfill 7772 KY 815 | Grimes Ave. Transfer Station 2129 Grimes Ave | East Transfer Station, Philpot 11025 Floral Rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Household trash | $30.00 / ton | $37.00 / ton | Flat rate by load size: $10.00 — up to one pickup bed or a trailer under 10 ft $20.00 — a pickup bed and trailer, or a trailer over 10 ft Larger loads must go to Grimes Avenue or the landfill. No commercial haulers. |
| Construction & demolition (C&D) | $23.00 / ton | $40.00 / ton | |
| Yard waste — chips | $23.00 / ton | $28.50 / ton | |
| Yard waste — whole limbs | $25.00 / ton | $33.50 / ton | |
| Minimum charge | $7.00 | $8.00 |
On top of every figure above, Kentucky adds an environmental remediation fee of $1.75 minimum, required under KRS 224.43-500. It is charged in addition to the posted rates, not included in them.
Out-of-county waste costs more everywhere: at the landfill it's $35/ton for trash and $33/ton for C&D; at Grimes Avenue, $47/ton and $50/ton.
The short version: the West Daviess County Landfill is the cheapest gate in the county for essentially every material. If you're hauling anything heavy, drive the extra miles.
This is the number worth knowing. In-county C&D material — drywall, lumber, tile, shingles, siding, the guts of any remodel — costs:
That's 74% more for identical debris, decided entirely by which entrance you pull into. Grimes Avenue is closer to town and more convenient, which is exactly why people default to it.
Call it 1.5 tons of drywall, tile, and old fixtures — a realistic single-bathroom gut.
| West Daviess County Landfill | 1.5 t × $23.00 = $34.50, + $1.75 fee | $36.25 |
| Grimes Avenue Transfer Station | 1.5 t × $40.00 = $60.00, + $1.75 fee | $61.75 |
Difference: $25.50 — on one small load, from one decision. On a full kitchen or a roof tear-off, the gap runs into the hundreds.
If you're hiring a hauler for a remodel, this is a fair thing to ask about. A hauler who takes C&D to the landfill rather than the transfer station has a real cost advantage, and it ought to show up in your quote.
More in our guide to construction debris removal.
People usually overestimate this. Dump fees for ordinary household junk are genuinely cheap.
A pickup bed of mixed household junk — furniture, boxes, general clutter — typically weighs somewhere around 800 lb, or 0.4 ton.
| West Daviess County Landfill | 0.4 t × $30.00 = $12.00, + $1.75 fee | ≈ $13.75 |
| Grimes Avenue Transfer Station | 0.4 t × $37.00 = $14.80, + $1.75 fee | ≈ $16.55 |
| East Transfer Station, Philpot | Flat rate, one pickup bed | $10.00 |
So the dump itself costs you fifteen-odd dollars. That's not where the real cost of DIY lives. The real cost is:
Our honest read: for one or two light items, haul it yourself. The dump fee is trivial and hiring anyone is overkill. For a garage, a remodel, an estate, or anything heavy, awkward, or up a flight of stairs, full-service removal usually wins once your Saturday is priced in.
Weighing a hauler against a roll-off container instead? We compare them in junk removal vs. dumpster rental.
We'd rather tell you this than sell you something you don't need. If you live inside Owensboro city limits, a fair amount is already covered by the $18.00 monthly sanitation fee you're paying:
If your junk problem is one extra bag of household trash a week, buy the overflow bags. Nobody needs to send a truck for that.
This is the useful half of the list, because these are precisely the loads that need a hauler or a trip to the landfill. Owensboro Sanitation prohibits from residential carts:
If what you've got is on that list, the city cart isn't an option, and you're choosing between a dump run and a hauler.
Some things carry their own disposal charge on top of the per-ton rate. Worth knowing before you're sitting at the scale.
Freon has to be professionally removed before disposal. The charge, per compressor:
| West Daviess County Landfill | $15.00 |
|---|---|
| Grimes Avenue Transfer Station | $20.00 |
| East Transfer Station, Philpot | Not accepted |
Don't haul a refrigerator to the Philpot station. It won't be taken, and you'll have driven out to Floral Road for nothing. See appliance removal.
| Tire | Off rim | On rim |
|---|---|---|
| Car | $3.00 | $5.00 |
| Light truck | $3.00 | $6.00 |
| Diesel | $10.50 | $21.00 |
| Tractor | $35.00 | $70.00 |
Getting tires off the rim first roughly halves the cost. On a tractor tire that's $35 saved for a few minutes' work.
At all county-operated facilities, if separated out from the rest of your load: lead-acid batteries, used motor oil, aluminum cans, aluminum, and tin. Pulling these out before you weigh in is free money.
Both are assessed at the county's discretion, and both are avoidable:
A load of brush with a couple of tires buried in it, untarped, can turn a $25 dump run into a $95 one.
Now that you know what sits underneath it: full-service haulers price by how much space your stuff takes up in the truck — not by the hour, and not by the item. The tipping fee is a real cost inside that price, but it isn't the whole price. You're also paying for the truck, the labor, and the fact that you don't have to touch any of it.
What moves the number:
That's why an honest phone estimate is a range, and the firm price comes once someone actually sees the load. Anyone quoting a precise figure sight-unseen over the phone is guessing, and the guess tends to get revised upward on arrival.
Photograph everything you want gone, flag anything heavy or hard to reach, and mention any appliances, tires, or paint. You'll get a much tighter estimate and no surprises on the day. The quote should be free, and the price should be confirmed on site before anything is loaded.
At the West Daviess County Landfill, in-county household trash is $30.00/ton with a $7.00 minimum, plus Kentucky's $1.75 minimum environmental remediation fee. A typical 800 lb pickup load runs roughly $14. At Grimes Avenue the same load is about $16.50. The Philpot transfer station charges a flat $10.00 for a single pickup bed.
The West Daviess County Landfill, at $23.00/ton for in-county C&D versus $40.00/ton at Grimes Avenue. On a 1.5-ton remodel load, that's about $25 saved.
Partly. Your $18.00 monthly fee covers weekly collection of one 96-gallon cart, and the city runs leaf-and-limb and bulky collection programs. But it won't take C&D debris, concrete, dirt, brick, tires, liquids, or wet paint — which are exactly the loads that need a hauler.
On dump fees alone, yes — a pickup load is about $14. But that ignores the truck, the fuel, the loading, the driving, and the risk of a $20 no-tarp or $50 misidentified-waste fee. For one or two light items, do it yourself. For a garage, a remodel, or anything heavy, full-service removal usually wins once your time is priced in.
Freon has to be professionally removed first: $15.00 per compressor at the landfill, $20.00 at Grimes Avenue. The Philpot station does not accept freon removal at all — don't take a fridge out there.
No — estimates are free, and the firm price is always given before any work starts.
Every figure on this page comes from a published rate schedule or a municipal page, linked below. We re-check these periodically, but rates do change — confirm with the facility before you haul.
Page last verified July 13, 2026. Spotted a rate that's out of date? Let us know and we'll correct it.
Prefer not to call? Send the details and get a quote back — usually within one business day.
One call and it's gone. Get a free, no-obligation estimate for junk removal anywhere in Owensboro and Daviess County.
Call (270) 713-8336Services: Furniture Removal · Appliance Removal · Estate Cleanouts · Garage & Basement Cleanouts · Construction Debris · Hot Tub Removal · Mattress Disposal · Hoarding Cleanup · Shed Demolition · Yard Waste Removal
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