As event professionals, and cleaners, we have often had to navigate the complex web that is trash hauling and dumpster rental. Most people have sticker shock when they see the prices of these services, and if you don’t understand the franchise system, then you might be paying more for these services than necessary.
Each incorporated city in California has its own franchise hauler. What this means is that the city contracts with that hauling company and the company gets preferential gigs with the city and therefore offers preferential prices. Los Angeles City, however, has divided their territory to seven (7) different franchise trash haulers.
To find out which hauler services your area, you can reach out to Recycla (800) 773-2489 (push Option 7 when you get to the rote labyrinth of automated voice answering systems). Or you can check out this map here.
Here is a listing of the Big 7:
Athens Services 877-800-7937
CalMet. 562-415-1341
NASA 323-888-0387
Republic 866-238-8850
Universal Waste Systems. 323-987-8352
Ware Disposal. 714-834-0234
Waste Management. 855-292-6665
Although each have different prices, most offer both 3 cubic yard dumpsters as well as roll-offs in the 20, 30, and 40 cubic yard dimensions. When you have a large scale event of over 500 people, you are going to generate enough garbage to justify needing access to a dumpster if you do not already have one. For events of 2000 people, we usually find a 40 cubic yard to be sufficient, but when you get into larger numbers of guests, multiple dumpsters may be necessary depending upon how much food and beverage and waste your party generates.
Most franchise haulers only drop off and pick up dumpsters during weekdays (some do Saturday mornings as well), and all will switch out roll offs or come to empty a 3 yard dumpster if you arrange it the day before. Most dumpster rental prices cover a seven day span, and almost all charge a deposit plus fees for drop off and delivery before you even get to the cost of the actual trash itself, which is priced per ton. Recycling can often cost less, and sometimes doesn’t cost anything extra except for the logistics fee and deposit.
While you can decide to hire private companies, especially if you need it done late at night or on a weekend, you will inevitably pay a premium for this price. Usually this also means you are supporting small business, which benefits the community. However, the price can sometimes be as much as double if you are trying to watch your budget.
For a better idea of how many dumpsters and trash cans you may need for your event, check out our blog post How Many Trash Cans & Dumpsters Do I Need for My Event?
PopUP CleanUP handles trash management and dumpster rentals for large scale events.
