By Southside Junk Removal
Concrete is the heaviest routine junk-removal material
Concrete weighs roughly 145 pounds per cubic foot. A single cubic yard of broken concrete is over 3,800 pounds. This is the heaviest routine material we haul, and the weight changes everything about the job: how much we can fit in the truck (typically less than half the volume of furniture), how it loads (slower, with pry bars and dollies, not just hand carry), and where it goes (concrete recycling facilities, not landfill, in most cases).
Where concrete comes from in cleanout work
Most concrete we haul comes from one of three sources: broken driveway or sidewalk after replacement, a backyard project (patio, walkway, retaining wall foundation), or post-storm or post-tree damage where concrete pads were broken. Brick and block come from chimney removal, retaining wall demolition, planter walls, and old hardscape that the homeowner is replacing. Sometimes a single homeowner has both: an old paver patio plus the underlying concrete pad.
Atlanta-area concrete recycling
Several facilities in the Atlanta metro accept clean concrete for recycling: Vulcan Materials, the Georgia Asphalt Pavement Association partner facilities, and several independent crushers. Recycling fees are typically $20–40 per ton, much less than landfill tipping fees ($60–90 per ton). The recycled product becomes road base, fill, or aggregate for new concrete. About 95% of clean concrete gets recycled in the south Atlanta market.
Clean vs. contaminated concrete
Clean concrete (no rebar, no painted finishes, no embedded debris) is recyclable. Concrete with embedded rebar can be recycled if the rebar is separated (we do that at the recycler's prep area). Concrete with paint, stain, or sealer is sometimes restricted from recycling and routes to landfill; it varies by facility.
Truck capacity limits
Our truck has a weight limit. A full truck of concrete is roughly half the volume of a full truck of furniture, because concrete is so dense. We size jobs accordingly. A typical residential driveway pad is one truck load. A small patio or sidewalk section is a half load. Large driveways or extensive hardscape removal sometimes require two or three trips.
Pricing concrete jobs
Concrete jobs are typically priced as a half load ($520) or full truck ($725) based on volume, with consideration for the weight and the longer load time. See our concrete removal service for service details.
Concrete or brick that needs to go? Call (404) 558-6493 for a free quote. For mixed loads beyond concrete, see our construction debris removal guide.