Fresno dump fees: what the landfill actually costs

If you have a truckload of junk, the first question is usually whether to haul it yourself. Fair question. Here are the real numbers at the two places Fresno residents can actually take a load, the free city option most people forget exists, and the honest math on when a dump run is worth your Saturday.

Quick answer

• American Avenue landfill: about $9 for a minimum load, about $28/ton, roughly 25 minutes from central Fresno.
• CARTS (Cedar Ave): in-town but pricier, about $90/ton plus a mandatory ~$26 per-load surcharge.
• Operation Clean Up gives every Fresno home one free bulky-item curbside pickup a year.
• For small loads the CARTS surcharge stings; for full garages or heavy material, hiring it out often beats the true cost of a self-haul.

American Avenue Disposal Site (the county landfill)

The county landfill sits at 18950 W American Ave in Kerman, about 25 minutes west of central Fresno. Per the county's posted fee schedule, a minimum load up to 640 pounds runs about $9, general refuse is about $28 per ton, and clean green waste about $33 per ton. Passenger tires are a couple dollars each. An uncovered load costs you an extra $8, so strap a tarp on.

Hours are Monday through Friday 7am to 3pm and Saturday 8am to 2:30pm, closed Sunday. The county updates rates each July, so call (559) 600-6138 to confirm the current schedule before you drive out.

One thing that surprises people: household hazardous waste is not accepted there. Paint, chemicals, and the like go to the Environmental Compliance Center on Dan Ronquillo Drive in Fresno, open Friday and Saturday 9am to 3pm.

CARTS (closer, but pricier)

The Cedar Avenue Recycling and Transfer Station at 3457 S Cedar Ave is the in-town option, open Monday through Friday 7am to 5pm and Saturday to 2:30pm. It is privately run and priced accordingly: recent rate guides list around $90 per ton plus a mandatory per-load surcharge of about $26 that applies before you unload anything. Call (559) 233-1158 for today's numbers.

Two genuinely useful things there: clean metal and clean concrete are taken free, and intact mattresses are free to drop off under California's mattress recycling program.

The free option: Operation Clean Up

Every Fresno home with city trash service gets one free bulky-item curbside pickup per year, up to 10 cubic yards, which is roughly two pickup-truck beds. Furniture, mattresses, and most appliances qualify. Refrigerators and freezers, tires, paint, and contractor debris do not.

Look up your week at the city's Operation Clean Up page or call 311. Put the pile out no more than 7 days early and by 6am on pickup day. Outside your assigned week, a pile at the curb is citable, and Fresno's illegal dumping fines start at $1,000 and climb to $3,000 for repeat offenses.

The honest math on hauling it yourself

A self-haul costs the gate fee plus the surcharge, the gas, the loading, the drive, and the wait at the scale, twice if the load takes two trips. For a small load at CARTS you are at $26 in surcharge before the first pound, and Kerman is nearly an hour round trip.

If your load is small and you own a truck, the dump can make sense. If it is a full garage, heavy, or you would need to rent something, our flat price usually beats the true cost of doing it yourself, and we do the loading. Minimum pickup is $80, all-in.

Common questions