In short
- Cabinets, carpet and trim are sold by truck space: one Ottawa list starts a quarter at $265 and tops out at $695.
- Dense debris (concrete, brick, tile, dirt) moves to weight pricing, because a full truck of it would exceed vehicle weight limits, one Ottawa firm explains.
- A homeowner's own reno waste counts as household garbage at Trail Road, weighed at the residential rate; a contractor's is commercial and refused.
- By-law 2024-453 lists construction and demolition waste as non-collectable at the curb.
Typical prices in Ottawa
| Job | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter truck of light debris | $265 | One Ottawa firm’s list, tax not stated |
| Half truck | $425 | Same list |
| Full 15-yard load | $695 | Same list; heavy masonry shifts to weight pricing |
| 14-yard bin, 1 tonne included | $389 + HST | A second Ottawa bin company; $140 per extra tonne |
| City landfill, homeowner's construction material | $172.70/tonne | 2026 Trail Road rate, minimum $43.20 under 250 kg |
| City landfill, clean fill (concrete without rebar, masonry, asphalt) | $144/tonne | 2026 Trail Road rate, must be free of waste |
Sources. Seen 29.10.2026. Mighty Mouse Junk Removal, Ottawa pricing guide. Bin Rentals Ottawa. Bin There Dump That Ottawa, pricing. City of Ottawa: Rates for the Trail Waste Facility Landfill; Solid Waste Services By-law 2024-453; Curbside garbage collection. The company that calls you sets its own price.
What comes out of a gut job
A bathroom strip produces tile, backer board, a vanity and drywall. A basement finish produces studs, insulation and carpet. A kitchen produces cabinets, a countertop and flooring. Each weighs a different amount for the same space in a truck, so the price follows weight as much as volume.
In the request, give a rough share of each material: “half drywall and framing, a quarter tile, the rest cabinets and carpet.” The company that calls uses that split to price the load.
Space pricing and weight pricing
Most Ottawa haulers price household junk by the share of the truck. Mighty Mouse defines its full load as 15 yards and prices the steps up to it at $265, $425, $605 and $695. That fits light debris: cabinets, trim, carpet, framing and boxed flooring.
Dense debris changes the arithmetic. The same firm writes that broken concrete, brick, tile, drywall and dirt shift pricing from volume to weight, because a full 15-yard load of concrete would exceed vehicle weight and axle limits. Another firm lists concrete, bricks and masonry among items priced separately from standard junk, sometimes after an on-site look. A pile with a lot of masonry gets a quote of its own.
Crew or bin
A crew carries the debris out and loads it. A bin sits on your driveway while you or your contractor fill it. The comparison with prices, weight limits and the City road permit is on bin rental or junk pickup, and the sizes and fees of several Ottawa bin companies are on bin rental prices.
Work spread over days with heavy material suits a bin. Debris already heaped in a basement suits a crew. Truck-share prices are tabled on prices by truckload.
Where the debris goes and what the City charges
Everything at Trail Road is weighed. The 2026 sheet puts residential garbage, a homeowner’s own construction material included, at $172.70 per tonne once a load passes 250 kg; below that the flat charge is $43.20. Fill (asphalt, masonry, concrete without rebar) is $144 a tonne and has to be free of waste, including metal. Scrap metal and electronic waste are free when separated. The landfill refuses asbestos, liquid waste, hazardous waste and commercial garbage.
A hauler’s invoice carries this cost inside the truck price or on a weight line. Ask which.
Curbside rules
The three-item curb allowance never applies to drywall or tile: the by-law takes construction and demolition waste out of curbside service entirely. More on Ottawa bulky item rules.
The written quote
Ask for these in writing:
- the basis of the price: truck share, flat load or weight;
- the weight included and the charge for each extra tonne or the dense-material line;
- who loads, and from where;
- what is excluded: paint, propane, old insulation of unknown type, asbestos;
- whether sweep-up is included.
Asbestos is a separate case. The City landfill refuses it, and one Ottawa bin company takes it only double-bagged in a covered bin at its own price. Name anything suspect in the request; the list is on items haulers cannot take.
Timing
A job tied to a closing date or a contractor’s schedule should say so in the first line of the request. If the debris came from a shed or deck, a separate page covers the teardown: shed and deck removal.
Who you are dealing with
The debris request is routed to one independent company that handles reno waste. It calls you, decides whether space or weight pricing fits the pile, and sends a crew or a bin. Put the questions above to that company and get the answers in writing before the truck arrives.
Questions to ask the company
- Do you price this load by the space it fills or by weight?
- Where does the dense material go on your invoice: inside the truck price or on its own line?
- Do you load from inside the house, or does the debris have to be at the driveway?
- What happens to the price if the pile is bigger than the photos?
Have this ready for the call
- Photos of the pile from two angles, with something in frame for scale
- A rough split: how much is drywall and wood, how much is tile, concrete or dirt
- The route out: stairs, a basement window, a narrow hall, the distance to the driveway
- Any paint, solvent, propane or old insulation of unknown type, set aside and named in the request
Questions people ask
Can renovation waste go out with the regular garbage in Ottawa?
Hardly at all. By-law 2024-453 files construction and demolition waste as non-collectable, so the curb crew leaves drywall, tile and lumber where they sit. A gut job goes in a bin or on a crew’s truck.
Why does a pile of tile cost more than a pile of cabinets?
Weight. Tile, brick and concrete can hit the truck’s weight limit before the box is full. One Ottawa firm says dense materials such as concrete, brick, tile, drywall and dirt move from volume pricing to weight pricing.
What does the landfill charge if the debris goes there?
Mixed reno waste pays the household rate in the table above. Clean fill sorted out of it, such as broken concrete with the rebar pulled, drops to $144 a tonne. Because Trail Road turns away commercial garbage, a load your contractor hauls goes to a private site.
Is a half-full bin charged the same as a full one?
A bin is priced by size and weight. Ottawa lists include 1 tonne ($140 a tonne over) or 1.5 tonnes ($150 a tonne over) with a 14-yard bin. A half-full bin of light debris may stay under the included weight, while a quarter-full one of tile may not.
Can the crew take the old kitchen cabinets and the countertop?
Cabinets and laminate counters are light for their size, so haulers price them by truck space. A stone or tile countertop is heavy and may be priced on weight. Photograph both and say how the countertop is fixed down.
