If you've been Googling Blount County landfill prices it's usually for one of two reasons: you're pricing out a demo job and need a real number to bid off, or you just tore out a driveway slab and want to know what the dump is going to charge before you fire up the truck.

Either way, here's what's actually happening at the Blount County Landfill in 2026, what you're really paying per ton, and the specific loads where the landfill is not your cheapest option.

The Short Answer

For clean concrete, brick, or asphalt, the Blount County Landfill runs about $60 per ton as of this year. That's a construction-and-demolition (C&D) tipping fee, and it's climbed steadily over the past few years as landfill airspace gets more expensive.

Household trash and mixed municipal waste are usually cheaper per ton than C&D, but that's a different transaction — you need real construction materials to qualify for the C&D rate, and a mixed load with wood, drywall, or metal usually gets billed at the higher mixed rate anyway.

There is also usually a minimum charge for small loads. On a wheelbarrow's worth of chunks in a pickup, you'll still be quoted the minimum fee whether the load weighs 100 pounds or 300 pounds. That's why small hauls at the landfill feel expensive relative to their size — you're paying for the scale ticket, not the material.

What Actually Goes Into the Number

Landfill pricing looks simple on paper but has three moving parts:

Tipping fee (per ton) — the headline number, ~$60/ton for C&D.
Minimum load charge — the floor for tiny loads. Common structure is a fixed amount that covers roughly the first 500-1000 lb, then per-ton scaling above that.
Sort surcharge — if your load has any non-C&D material mixed in (wood scraps, drywall, plastic sheeting), you may get bumped up to the mixed-waste rate for the whole load. The scale operator makes that call at the gate.

That third bucket is the one that surprises contractors most. A load that would have been ~$60/ton clean can end up billed at the higher mixed rate because one pallet of scrap wood didn't get pulled off before it went across the scale.

Bring it clean, or bring it separated. Both save money.

Where You Can Find the Landfill

The Blount County Highway Department operates the landfill on Ruth Ln in Maryville. Public-facing hours are typically weekdays 7am-3pm plus a Saturday morning window; verify the day of your trip since posted schedules do drift. Their public phone line will confirm current hours and tipping rates.

You drive across the inbound scale, dump at the C&D bay, drive back across the outbound scale, and the difference between the two weights is what you pay for. Cash and check historically; some operators are now taking cards.

When the Landfill Still Makes Sense

For all the noise concrete recyclers (us included) make about the landfill being the "expensive option," it isn't always. The landfill is your best call when:

Your load has any wood, drywall, roofing, insulation, or shingles mixed in. Recycling yards only take clean C&D fractions. The landfill takes everything.
You have contaminated concrete — heavy paint, asbestos-suspect material, chemical staining, or embedded hazardous surface coatings. Recycling yards will reject those.
You're already there for something else. If you're paying for a load of household junk anyway, throwing a couple hundred pounds of concrete chunks on the pile is not the moment to optimize per-ton.

Roughly: clean material = recycling. Mixed material = landfill. The line is that simple.

What SMSG Charges for the Clean Loads

We're a concrete + asphalt recycling yard on 245 Brookdale Rd in Maryville, five minutes off the Alcoa Highway. We take:

Broken concrete slabs, sidewalks, patios, driveways, curbs
Foundation pieces, footings, block, CMU
Asphalt chunks and millings (RAP)
Concrete with light dirt or embedded rebar (we pull the steel during processing)

Our pricing is set up per load, not per ton — a flat number that covers a normal pickup or dump trailer with concrete or asphalt in it. For a typical pickup load of broken concrete that would weigh a ton or two at the landfill, that comes out to a fraction of the $60/ton landfill rate.

The exact number depends on what you bring and how much of it. Run your specific load through our savings calculator or check our pricing page for the current flat rates.

For a full side-by-side of what a real week of hauling costs at the landfill vs. at SMSG, we broke it down in the landfill vs. recycling cost post.

Contractor Math: Where the Real Money Is

For contractors running multiple demo jobs a week, the landfill math gets bad fast.

3 small demo jobs/week × 5 tons average = 15 tons/week
15 tons × $60/ton = $900 per week in tipping fees
$900 × 50 weeks = $45,000 per year in disposal costs

Swap the clean concrete portion to SMSG and you're typically looking at a fraction of the landfill cost per load on the recyclable material — with the landfill still available for the mixed and contaminated stuff. Most of the contractors we work with cut their annual disposal cost by more than half once they sort at the site.

If you run enough volume that this math matters, ask about our contractor account setup — net billing on approved credit, no cash at the gate.

FAQ

Do I need to make an appointment at the Blount County Landfill?
For homeowner-sized loads, no. Just show up during operating hours. Larger commercial haulers may need an account depending on volume.

Does the landfill accept mixed loads?
Yes, but you'll be billed at the higher mixed-waste rate for the whole load. Sort at the job site if you can.

How much is a pickup truck load at the Blount landfill?
Depends on weight. A half-full pickup of broken concrete is roughly ~1000-1500 lb, so you're paying the minimum fee plus the difference above that threshold. Expect $50-80 typical for small pickup loads once the minimum fee is applied.

How much does the Blount landfill charge for asphalt?
Same C&D rate as concrete in most cases — ~$60/ton. Asphalt millings ("RAP") specifically have more value than the landfill gives them credit for; a paving contractor bringing a full dump of RAP is almost always better off bringing it to us.

Is there a cheaper alternative to the Blount County Landfill?
For clean concrete and asphalt, yes — Smoky Mountain Sand & Gravel in Maryville is well under the landfill's per-ton rate for the same materials. For mixed loads with wood/drywall/other, no — the landfill is your correct destination.

Can I dump concrete at the landfill for free?
No. C&D material always incurs a tipping fee at the county landfill. If you're trying to dispose of concrete for as close to free as possible, see our where-can-I-dump-concrete-for-free post for the honest options.

The One-Line Version

The Blount County Landfill charges around $60/ton for construction debris in 2026, with a minimum fee that makes small loads feel expensive. For clean concrete or asphalt only, you'll pay a fraction of that at SMSG in Maryville — same-day drop-off, no ticketing, no minimum-ton math. For anything mixed with wood, drywall, or trash, the landfill is still your best bet.

Bring us your clean loads. Take the mixed loads to Ruth Ln. Either way, at least now you know the number before you fire up the truck.

Prices in this post are based on posted 2026 Blount County Landfill rates and are subject to change. Confirm current tipping fees with the Blount County Highway Department before hauling.

Blount County Landfill Prices 2026 — What You're Actually Paying