Cheap Dumpster Rental Near Me: The Selection Guide

You type “cheap dumpster rental near me” into the Google search bar and start browsing the results. There are a dozen or two-dozen different possibilities for you to choose from, each promising a convenient dumpster rental at an affordable price.

 How do you narrow down the selection to find the right dumpster rental? Perhaps more importantly, how do you make sure that you aren’t sacrificing quality of service to get a cheaper-than-average price? Below, we’ve outlined a few tips you can follow to get a bargain price and a killer service at the same time.

Tip #1: Remember that price isn’t everything

This point is important to remember. Even if you are a starting your search with a “cheap dumpster rental near me” Google query, that doesn’t mean you should just find the lowest-priced dumpster rental and call it good. A low-priced dumpster rental company could merely be offering great value, or they could be trying to undercut the competition on price because they offer lousy service and have a bad reputation. You’ll never know if you don’t take the time to look beyond the dollar amount.

Tip #2: Read reviews (but take them with a grain of salt)

One good way to find out if a cheap dumpster rental is a good deal or not is to read customer reviews. Who better to tell you about the experience of being a customer than someone who has already rented a container from the dumpster rental business you are considering? Reading reviews can tell you a lot about a junk removal company you might not find out on their website—like whether they are timely with dumpster drop-offs and pickups, or whether their billing system is misleading thanks to hidden fees. You should take reviews with a grain of salt, since the customers most likely to review a business online are almost always the ones who have had a bad experience. However, if you remember that online reviews for most businesses tend to skew negative, you can still learn a lot from going down the Yelp or Google Reviews rabbit hole.

Tip #3: Figure out the company’s invoicing system

Comparing prices for different dumpster rental companies isn’t always easy, only because not every dumpster rental company uses the same billing scheme. Most commonly, you will be asked to pick a container size and then pay a flat rate for the amount of capacity space you are renting. In other words, you’ll pay more to rent a 30-cubic foot container than you would to rent a 10-cubic foot bin. In other cases, though, you might be billed based on the amount of dumpster space you use or even based on how much your container weighs at pickup time.

If you are looking for the cheapest option, then you might be drawn to the flat-rate billing system, simply because it’s more predictable. You can go into a 20-foot dumpster rental knowing exactly how much you are going to pay, which isn’t the case when you are being billed based on the amount of trash you deposit in your bin. Contrary to popular opinion, though, the flat-rate model often results in customers overpaying. When you must predict how much junk you are going to have, the tendency is to overestimate, which means you end up throwing money away on space you don’t need. With a use-based billing model, you only pay for the amount of dumpster space you actually fill, which is better for keeping costs down.

Tip #4: Try to get a sense of the company’s customer service

This one is important, but it gets overlooked because customers assume that dumpster rentals are totally DIY. If you are filling the bin yourself, how much does customer service matter? Customer service does matter, especially at the beginning and end of your rental. Do you want to know exactly when your bin is coming, or do you want a driver to show up in your driveway unannounced when you aren’t ready? Similarly, do you want to know exactly when you can expect your dumpster to be picked up, or do you want to sit around all day waiting for a pickup that could happen at any time? A dumpster rental company with strong customer service will notify you about drop-off and pickup times, so you don’t end up wasting hours waiting around for no reason.

There are a few strategies you can use to assess a company’s customer service. Start with the website. A detailed website with a variety of different pages and lots of content is typically a sign of a company that cares about its customers. If you can find the answers to all your questions on the website, that means the business in question is thinking about customer needs and pain points. Interactive tools—such as digital pricing estimators—are also good things to look for, since they are clearly there for your convenience.

If you need extra convincing, call the company’s phone number and ask their customer service representative a few questions about pricing, fees, rental durations, or what have you. A representative who is attentive, engaged, knowledgeable, and helpful indicates a business where strong customers service is a core part of the culture.

Tip #5: Ask about restrictions

One question you should ask while you are on the phone with a customer service rep is what kind of restrictions or limitations a dumpster rental company places on its bins. Any dumpster rental company is going to have a list of items they don’t accept. In some cases, that list will be concise, featuring hazardous waste (gasoline, motor oil, lighter fluid, etc.) and not much else. Other companies have long lists of items you aren’t allowed to place in their containers, including hard-to-dispose-of items such as refrigerators, mattresses, and televisions.

Obviously, you don’t want to get your dumpster rental from a company the disallows an item on your junk list. If you need to get rid of an old stereo receiver, you probably don’t want to rent from a business that doesn’t accept any electronic waste.

Tip #6: Look for extra perks

Just because you are looking for a cheap dumpster rental near you doesn’t mean you have to be satisfied with a bare bones service. There are dumpster companies out there that provide special perks and unique services while still offering bargain pricing.

One perk you might be on the lookout for is that of the “green dumpster rental.” The upside of renting a dumpster for a cleanout or renovation project is that you can discard everything into the same container. You don’t have to worry about sorting out different kinds of junk (for recycling, donation, or the like), which means you can operate at full speed and efficiency. The downside of this practice is that a lot of stuff ends up in landfills. If you’d like to enjoy the convenience of a dumpster rental while still protecting the environment, a green dumpster rental is the right choice for you. Companies that offer this kind of service will sort your junk for you, taking your dumpster back to a processing center to pull out anything that can be recycled, donated, or otherwise reused. When you use this kind of service, you ensure that a much smaller portion of your junk ends up in a landfill somewhere.

Start the Search for a “Cheap Dumpster Rental Near Me”

Now you’re ready to start your search. Armed with the tips above, you’ll be able to find a bargain dumpster rental company nearby while also getting the best service possible. So, type “cheap dumpster rental near me” into Google right now and start your search! Good luck.

As you compare dumpster rental costs, though, try to find companies that will give you concrete estimates or quotes. Services that are cagey about price quotes will often try to hit you with unexpected fees after the fact. Reading online customer reviews should also help you spot—and avoid—these dumpster rental companies Call us for more information at (888) 888-JUNK.