If you're standing over a pile of broken concrete wondering what it's going to cost to get rid of it, the honest answer is: it depends on three things. How much concrete you have. Where you are in East Tennessee. And how you want it handled.

Here's the real map of concrete disposal pricing in East Tennessee in 2026, so you can pick the right option for your load without getting surprised at the scale house.

The Four Pricing Models

Every option boils down to one of four pricing structures. The trick is matching your load to the model that costs the least.

Landfill — per-ton pricing, minimum charge, weigh-in required. The rate is predictable, but concrete is heavy, so your bill scales with tonnage fast.
Recycling yard (like SMSG) — flat per-vehicle fee. No scale. The rate depends on the size of your rig, not the weight of the load.
Roll-off dumpster — flat rental plus delivery, plus weight overage if you go past the container's allowance, plus haul-away. Convenient but expensive for heavy material.
Haul-away service — you pay flat rate for pickup and labor. Highest sticker price, but no work on your end.

Landfill Cost

Most East Tennessee C&D (construction and demolition) landfills price by the ton. Typical tipping fees for concrete run in the $50 to $85 per ton range based on publicly posted fee schedules, but rates change and vary by facility — always call ahead for the current number.

A few other things to know:

Minimum charges apply. Most landfills won't weigh anything under a few hundred pounds — you'll pay a $25 to $40 minimum whether you dump one shovel or half a wheelbarrow.
Residents-only vs. commercial. Some county transfer stations only take household waste from local residents. Others take commercial C&D but at a different rate. Check before you drive out.
Scale-house hours. Weigh-in has to happen while the scale house is staffed. Show up too early or too late and you're turning around.

For a small pickup load, the landfill is usually manageable. For anything past a full tandem, per-ton pricing adds up quickly.

Recycling Yard Cost

Recycling yards that accept clean concrete and asphalt typically charge a flat per-vehicle fee instead of weighing. SMSG's published rates on the pricing page start at $40 for a pickup load and go up to around $200 for a tri-axle dump truck.

Same rate whether the truck is packed to the rails or half full. No scale, no weigh ticket, no minimum charge surprises.

The catch: the material has to be clean. Concrete, asphalt, or brick — no rebar poking out everywhere, no dirt, no trash mixed in. Recycling yards can crush what comes in, but only if it starts as recyclable material.

Roll-Off Dumpster Cost

A roll-off dumpster is convenient because it comes to you. The trade is that you're paying for rental, delivery, weight allowance, overage, and pickup all in one bundle.

Rough East Tennessee pricing for a 10-yard container runs $300 to $500 as a base rate. That base usually includes a weight allowance somewhere around 1 to 2 tons. Concrete blows past that fast — a 10-yard container of solid concrete can hit 12 tons or more, and overage fees typically run $60 to $100 per ton over the allowance.

Some companies offer a lower "clean concrete only" or "dedicated concrete" rate because they can recycle the load instead of hauling it to the landfill. If you're going the dumpster route with pure concrete, ask for that rate specifically.

Haul-Away Service Cost

Junk removal services like LoadUp and 1-800-GOT-JUNK will pick up concrete, but it's usually their most expensive category because of the weight. Minimums typically start around $200, and pricing scales up by load size and travel distance.

This is the right call when you physically cannot move the material yourself and don't want a dumpster sitting on your driveway for a week.

Cost Comparison by Load Size

Here's how the four options stack up across typical load sizes. These are illustrative ballparks — call your local facility for a live quote.

| Load Size | Landfill (per ton) | SMSG (flat) | Dumpster | Haul-Away | |-----------|-------------------|-------------|----------|-----------| | Small (half pickup, ~1 ton) | $25-$85 | $40 | $300+ | $200+ | | Medium (full pickup, ~2 tons) | $100-$170 | $40 | $400+ | $250-$350 | | Large (tandem dump, ~20 tons) | $1,000-$1,700 | $170-$200 | $700-$1,200+ | $500-$1,000 | | Tri-axle (~28 tons) | $1,400-$2,400 | $200 | Usually over weight cap | $700-$1,500 |

The pattern is clear. For pure concrete of any real volume, the flat-fee recycling yard is almost always the cheapest way to unload.

Where Each Option Actually Wins

Small mixed debris — roll-off dumpster. You get to throw in wood, drywall, and general demo waste too, not just concrete.
Pure concrete or asphalt at any volume — recycling yard. Flat fee beats per-ton pricing every time on heavy material.
Giant single haul with per-ton documentation for a contract or job — landfill. If your project requires weight tickets for billing or compliance, the scale house is the only option that gives you paperwork.
You can't move it yourself — haul-away service. Pay the premium, be done with it.

Common Questions

How much does the Blount County landfill charge? They publish tipping fees and update them periodically. Call the Blount County Solid Waste office at 865-995-2892 for the current rate. Typical Tennessee C&D fees for concrete land in the $50 to $85 per ton range, but verify the current number before you drive out.

Is it cheaper to dump concrete than throw it in the regular trash? Yes, when regular trash service will even take it. Most residential garbage pickup either caps the container weight or refuses concrete outright — it damages trucks and is banned from municipal waste streams in most jurisdictions.

What's the cheapest way to get rid of a small amount of concrete? Either give it away (Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist "free" listings move concrete fast — people use it for retaining walls and fill) or drive it to a recycling yard for the flat pickup-load fee.

Do prices vary by city in East Tennessee? Yes. Every landfill and transfer station sets its own tipping fees. Recycling yards vary too. Get a quote from a couple of facilities before you commit.

Why is a flat recycling-yard fee cheaper than per-ton pricing for big loads? Per-ton pricing scales linearly with weight — twenty tons costs twenty times what one ton costs. A flat vehicle fee doesn't scale at all. Same $200 whether the tri-axle is full or half full. For heavy material like concrete, that math is hard to beat.

What To Do With Your Load

For most East Tennessee homeowners and contractors, the flat-fee recycling yard is going to be the cheapest and simplest option for concrete disposal — especially once your load gets past a few hundred pounds. No scale, no minimums, no weight surprises.

Smoky Mountain Sand & Gravel takes clean concrete and asphalt at flat per-vehicle rates from our yard at 245 Brookdale Rd in Maryville. Full pricing is published on our pricing page. Call us at (865) 999-0857 with your load size and we'll tell you exactly what it'll cost.

How Much Does Concrete Disposal Cost in East Tennessee? (2026 Guide)