The Daily Haul

Start with the fact that surprises people: Pennsylvania runs on three price markets, not one. On our dumpster rental pages, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh quote a tight all inclusive ladder, a 10 yard at $499 to $529 and a 20 yard at $675 to $705. Harrisburg, Allentown, Reading, Lancaster and Scranton share a wider ladder, a 10 yard at $495 to $695 and a 20 yard at $595 to $795. And Erie is the lowest in the state, with a 10 yard from $399. Every one of those prices covers delivery, pickup, disposal and 7 days, and extra days are $40 each anywhere in Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia is a row home town, and that shapes the whole job. A Philadelphia dumpster rental for a South Philly or Fishtown gut renovation usually means old plaster, lath, brick and decades of flooring, which is heavy for its size. If the container has to sit on the street, Philadelphia requires a right of way placement permit from the Streets Department, and we coordinate it so the box is never out there unpermitted. Permit parking districts and narrow one way streets are what trip people up most, so tell us the block before you book. The same metro pricing reaches the suburbs, from King of Prussia and Norristown to Willow Grove.

Pittsburgh is the hill city, and the hills decide where a container can go. A Pittsburgh dumpster rental prices on the same ladder as Philadelphia, but the streets are steep and narrow with tight row house parking, so the drop spot usually has to be reserved along the curb before the truck arrives, and the driver needs a stretch where the box can sit level and chocked. Any street, parking lane, sidewalk or alley drop needs a right of way permit from the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, approved before delivery. On your own level driveway, no permit at all.

The middle of the state runs on its own ladder. A Harrisburg dumpster rental, a job in Lancaster or York, and the Lehigh Valley in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton all price the same: a 15 yard at $550 to $750, a 20 yard at $595 to $795 and a 30 yard at $750 to $950. In these towns most boxes go on a driveway, which avoids a permit; a street spot needs a temporary placement permit, and some Allentown neighborhoods sit in historic districts with their own placement rules. Up north, Reading, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pottsville and the Poconos around East Stroudsburg work the same way.

Then there is Erie, the cheapest Pennsylvania market on our pages: a 10 yard at $399 to $599, a 15 yard at $499 to $699 and a 20 yard at $575 to $775. Lake effect snow is the thing to plan around up there. If a storm is coming, schedule delivery on cleared, level ground and tarp the box, and the National Weather Service in Cleveland office covers Erie's forecast.

A few rules hold everywhere in Pennsylvania. The weight allowance is built in, 1 ton on a 10 yard up to 4 tons on a 40, and in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh anything over bills at $175 per ton, a rate we disclose before you book. Old Pennsylvania houses are heavy: plaster, brick, slate and concrete fill a box by weight long before they fill it by volume, so for that kind of debris a 10 or 15 yard heavy debris container is the right call. Construction and demolition debris is the heaviest waste stream in the country, and the U.S. EPA explains why.

So in Pennsylvania the job comes down to three things: which price market you are in, where the box is going to sit, and how heavy the debris really is. The fastest way to the real number is to price your exact ZIP, which shows your flat rate, your included tons and your delivery day in a couple of minutes, or start from the Pennsylvania coverage hub and pick your city. Not sure on size? The free size calculator matches the box to the job, and our assistant Sam is on chat and the phone 24/7.