How Big Is a 40 Yard Dumpster?
About 22 ft long, 7.5 ft wide and 6.5 to 8 ft high, taller than most people. See it to scale below.
Drag to turn. The figure is a 5 ft 9 in person.
40 yard dumpster in numbers
- Inside size drawn: 22 ft long × 7.5 ft wide × 6.5 ft high
- Volume: 1,072 cubic feet · 39.7 cubic yards · 30.4 m³ · 8,023 gallons
- Medium moving boxes (18 x 18 x 16 in): about 358 by volume
- Full contractor bags (42 gallon, about 5.6 cu ft): about 141 by volume
- 3-seat sofas (84 x 36 x 34 in): about 18 by volume
- Queen mattresses (60 x 80 x 10 in): about 39 by volume
- Refrigerators (36 in wide, kept upright): about 22 by volume
- Washing machines (27 in wide, kept upright): about 66 by volume
- Cubic yards of dirt or mulch (3 x 3 x 3 ft): about 40 by volume
"By volume" is total space divided by item size. Real loads leave gaps; the 3D view above counts how many fit when packed tightly.
A 40 yard dumpster holds 40 cubic yards, or 1,080 cubic feet. With the usual 22 by 7.5 foot footprint, the sides run around 6.5 to 8 feet, so most adults cannot see over them. Compare the person in the 3D view.
By volume it is about eighteen full-size pickup loads. It is mostly used on commercial jobs, demolitions and very large cleanouts with light, bulky debris.
Most haulers do not allow heavy material like dirt or concrete in a 40 yard because a full load would exceed road weight limits.