Dirt Hauling & Debris Removal
in Houston, TX

Where can you legally dump dirt and construction debris in Houston?

It depends on what the material is. Clean dirt can go to a site that will use it as fill. Mixed construction and demolition debris goes to a permitted TCEQ Type IV landfill. Trash with food or household waste has to go to a Type I. In Texas, dumping 200 pounds or more for pay at an unapproved site is a state jail felony. The site that receives it can be charged too. Fill placed in a floodplain needs its own approval and offsetting storage. We can also reuse clean spoil on your own job. See fill dirt and dirt work for how we place and compact it.

How many yards of dirt does a dump truck haul?

Weight decides it, not the size of the bed. Texas caps a truck at 80,000 pounds gross, with 34,000 on a tandem axle group and 42,000 on a triple. Wet Houston clay hits that weight limit long before the bed looks full. Tight sites and short hauls use tandems or tri-axles. Long hauls use end dumps, and belly dumps windrow base or sand on a road or a pad.

How much does dirt hauling cost in Houston?

There is no flat rate. The price moves with a handful of drivers.

• Haul distance and traffic, which set how long each cycle takes.
• Truck type and how many trucks the site needs.
• The dump or tipping fee at the landfill or recycler.
• The material: clean fill, mixed C&D or special waste.
• Wet or dry clay, since weight limits the load.
• Permits, road bonds and any City franchise fee inside city limits.

Can old concrete and asphalt be recycled instead of landfilled?

Yes, when it is clean. The reinforcing steel gets pulled, and the material has to be free of trash and stained soil. TxDOT's Item 247 base spec allows recycled material when the plans call for it. The crushed product must test at 1.5 percent deleterious material or less. Recycling cuts landfill loads and can come back as base rock. We often reuse it on access roads and haul roads on the same job.

What happens if you find contaminated soil during a haul?

We stop the load and isolate the pile. The owner and the engineer are notified, and the soil is sampled and profiled before it moves. Class 1 waste travels on a manifest with a registered transporter, while Class 2 and 3 loads move on a bill of lading. Soil over the Class 1 limits can go only to a Class 1 cell at a Type I landfill. We route hazardous or special waste to a licensed handler and do not haul it ourselves.

How do you keep mud off the street and stay in SWPPP compliance?

It starts with a stabilized construction exit or a rumble pad at the gate. Trucks knock the clay off before they hit the public road, and the street gets swept when tracking shows. Wheel washing is added where the plan calls for it, and controls are inspected on the SWPPP schedule. Our erosion control crews set and maintain those controls.