Dirt Removal in Douglas County: Options, Rules and Costs

If you have a pile of dirt, soil or mixed yard debris to get rid of in Douglas County, you have three realistic routes: haul it yourself to a facility that accepts clean fill, rent a container, or pay a crew to load and take it. Which one fits depends on how much material you have, whether it is clean soil or mixed with trash, and how much heavy lifting you want to do. This guide walks through each route, the local rules that apply, and how our trailer-load pricing works if you would rather not shovel.

TL;DR

• Dirt is heavy and often mixed with other debris, so what is in the pile decides where it can go and what it costs.
• Douglas County does not provide residential curbside trash pickup, so you arrange your own disposal (Douglas County).
• The county’s seasonal slash-mulch site takes listed green yard waste only, not appliances, household trash, lumber, roots or stumps, and contractors cannot drop off there.
• We price by trailer load, from $120 for a minimum load to $840 for a full trailer, and you can get a quote by sending a photo.

Table of Contents

• What counts as dirt removal, and what does not
• Your three options in Douglas County
• Local rules that catch homeowners off guard
• What affects the price of getting rid of dirt
• How our pricing works
• Perspective: why mixed piles are the real problem
• Get a quote from a photo
• How to prepare for a removal job
• When the job is bigger than dirt
• Choosing between DIY and a crew
• FAQ
• Sources

What counts as dirt removal, and what does not

People use “dirt removal” for several different jobs, and the differences matter because each ends up in a different place.

Clean soil and fill. Excavated dirt from a patio, a garden bed, a pool or a foundation project. If it is free of trash, rock-heavy debris and roots, it is the easiest to place.

Landscaping debris. Sod, grass clippings, weeds, leaves, brush, tree limbs. This is green waste, not dirt, and it follows different rules than soil.

Mixed debris. A pile that started as soil and picked up broken concrete, old lumber, plastic sheeting, roots, a rusted grill or the remains of a shed. Once it is mixed, it is no longer a clean fill load. It is junk, and it is handled as junk.

Demolition leftovers. Soil that comes with a removed deck, fence or shed. The material and the structure both need to go.

The practical test: stand over the pile and ask whether you could scoop it with a shovel and nothing else would come with it. If yes, you have a soil job. If you see boards, wire, bags, roots or old furniture, you have a junk removal job with some dirt in it.

Your three options in Douglas County

Option 1: Haul it yourself to a disposal site

There is no curbside collection to lean on. The county states that it does not provide residential curbside trash pickup and that residents are responsible for finding their own disposal arrangements (Douglas County Public Works).

For clean soil, a landfill that lists clean fill among its accepted materials is one place to start. The Sedalia Landfill, operated by Waste Connections, lists clean fill soil, concrete and asphalt, and construction debris among its accepted materials (Waste Connections). Call before you load: facilities set their own rules on load size, fees and what counts as acceptable, and the operator asks you to check ahead if you are unsure about a material.

Self-hauling makes sense when you have a few yards of clean soil, a truck or trailer you trust with the weight, and an afternoon to spare. It stops making sense when the material is mixed, when you have no suitable vehicle, or when the pile is in a back yard with a narrow gate.

Option 2: Use the county’s yard waste site for green waste only

Douglas County runs a seasonal slash-mulch and green yard waste site in Sedalia. It accepts listed yard waste only while it is open and staffed. Appliances, household trash, lumber, tree or bush roots and stumps are not accepted, and contractors cannot drop off there (Douglas County).

In its 2025 guidance, the county asked residents to separate slash (tree limbs, pine needles, shrubs and brush) from green yard waste such as grass, sod, leaves and weeds before unloading (Douglas County). The site runs on a seasonal schedule, so check the county page for current days and hours before you drive out.

Notice what is missing: dirt. This site is for plant material. If your pile is half soil and half brush, plan to split it.

Option 3: Hire a crew to load and haul

When the material is mixed, when you do not have the equipment, or when you want the area clean at the end of the day, a hauling crew is the practical choice. You pay for labor, loading, hauling, disposal and cleanup in one price, and you skip the trips, the tool rental and the sore back.

A roll-off container is a fourth path some homeowners consider, but you still do all the shoveling and loading, and you need space for the container and, depending on where it sits, possibly permission to place it.

Local rules that catch homeowners off guard

A few rules apply regardless of who does the work.

Do not store soil in the street. Castle Rock prohibits storing landscape materials such as mulch, gravel or soil in the street, because it creates traffic hazards and contaminates stormwater. Those materials must be kept on your property. The town also prohibits dumping anything, including yard waste, into storm drains (Town of Castle Rock). If a delivery or a dig leaves a pile at the curb, move it onto your lot.

Do not burn it. Open burning of domestic refuse and construction materials is prohibited in Castle Rock (Castle Rock Fire and Rescue). Burning a pile of scrap lumber and yard debris is not a shortcut.

Check permits before tearing out structures. If your dirt job comes from removing a building, a structure or part of one, Douglas County requires a demolition permit. The fee is $47 per structure, and inspection, administrative, processing and plan-review fees may apply (Douglas County Building Division). Ask the building division whether a shed, deck or similar structure on your property needs one.

Keep hazardous items out of the pile. Paint, solvents, pesticides and similar products do not belong in a hauling load. Douglas County residents can arrange household hazardous waste collection for $30, with one collection appointment per calendar year (Douglas County Health Department).

City and town rules differ across the county. If you live in Parker, Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch or Lone Tree, a quick call to your municipality or HOA is worth it before the project starts.

What affects the price of getting rid of dirt

Whatever route you choose, the same few factors drive the cost.

1. Volume. How many cubic yards, or how much of a trailer, the pile fills.
2. Weight. Soil is dense. A pile that looks small can weigh a great deal, which limits how much one trip can carry.
3. Cleanliness. Clean soil is easier to place than a mix with trash, roots, concrete or treated lumber.
4. Access. A pile beside the driveway takes minutes. A pile behind a locked gate, down steps or across a lawn takes longer.
5. Labor. Hand-shoveling is slow. More people and more time mean a higher bill.
6. Extras. Items buried in or sitting on the pile, such as appliances or a hot tub, are priced as their own line.

Because these vary so much, be wary of any flat “per yard” number you read online without knowing what is included. Ask what the price covers: labor, loading, hauling, disposal fees, cleanup.

How our pricing works

We are a family-owned crew based in Parker, and we price by how much of our trailer your material fills. Labor, loading, haul-away and cleanup are included. Here are the published trailer-load prices from our pricing page:

additional labor is $50 per hour per crew member when a job needs more hands. Specific items are priced on their own: a mattress is $150, a washer or dryer is $100 each, a treadmill is $150, and a couch is $150 for a 2–3 seat couch, $250 for a sleeper, and $350 for a large sectional. Refrigerators run $150, plus a $100 per-unit fee for appliances that contain Freon. Hot tub removal runs $400 flat rate for a small tub, $500 flat rate for a standard spa (4–6 people), and $700 flat rate for a large spa or swim spa depending on the tub.

For a typical yard cleanup, the question is usually how much of the trailer the pile fills, and that is something we can read from a photo.

Perspective: why mixed piles are the real problem

Most of the calls we get that mention dirt are not really about dirt. Someone tears out a fence or a deck, or clears an overgrown corner of the yard, and the pile that is left holds soil, boards, wire, old planters, a broken grill and a few bags of trash. Nobody can ship that to a clean fill site, and nobody wants to sort it by hand on a Saturday.

Our advice is to decide early what is in the pile and be honest about it. If it is clean soil and you have a truck, a facility that accepts clean fill may be the cheapest route. If it is mixed, or if you also have furniture, appliances or construction debris to clear, one trailer-load price that covers everything beats three separate trips. Because we quote from photos, you can find out the cost before anyone drives to your house, and you can show us the whole yard rather than guess at what to mention.

We also care about where things end up. Donation and recycling are part of how we work, and we would rather reuse or recycle what we can than send it all to a landfill. You can read more about what that means in practice in our guide to eco-friendly junk removal in Denver.

— Ben

Get a quote from a photo

You do not need to measure anything. Take a few photos of the pile and the area around it, send them through our instant estimate page, and we will come back with a price based on how much of the trailer the job fills. Include the whole picture: the pile, the path to it, and anything else you want gone.

We serve Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker and the surrounding Denver metro area. If you are weighing the trailer sizes, our pricing page lists every load and item price. Tell us what is actually in the pile when you send the photos, so we can confirm the job fits our service before we schedule.

How to prepare for a removal job

A little prep makes any hauling job faster and cheaper.

1. Sort what you can. Set aside anything hazardous, such as paint, chemicals or fuel. Those need household hazardous waste collection, not a trailer.
2. Move the pile onto your property. If anything is in the street, relocate it, since storing material there is prohibited in Castle Rock and creates hazards elsewhere.
3. Clear the path. Unlock gates, move vehicles, and make sure the crew can reach the pile without carrying through the house.
4. Photograph everything. Include items beside or under the pile.
5. Mark what stays. Flag sprinklers, drip lines, plants and anything you want to keep.
6. Check permits. If a structure is coming down, confirm with the county before work starts.

Property managers and business owners can follow the same steps, then add access details such as loading dock hours, elevator rules or HOA requirements. Our commercial junk removal and house and estate cleanout pages cover larger jobs.

When the job is bigger than dirt

Yard projects rarely come alone. Here is how the common companions are handled.

• Old appliances. The county lists private appliance pickup and recycling options (Douglas County Health Department). We handle appliance removal too, and Freon-containing units carry a $100 handling fee because the refrigerant needs proper treatment.
• Hot tubs. Removing a spa from a backyard is a job of its own, with the tub, the pad and often the wiring. See our hot tub removal page.
• Sheds, decks and fences. Light demolition leaves wood, hardware and often soil. Confirm the permit question first, then include the debris in your photo quote.
• Furniture and mattresses. Often hiding in a shed or garage you are clearing. Our mattress and bulky item removal page lists what we take.
• Metal. For scrap metal, Metal Man Recycling in Castle Rock specializes in metal and scrap recycling and offers curbside pickup (Town of Parker).

You can see the full list on our what we take page.

Choosing between DIY and a crew

None of these is wrong. The right one is the one that matches the pile you actually have.

FAQ

Does Douglas County pick up dirt or yard waste at the curb?

No. The county does not provide residential curbside trash pickup, and residents arrange their own disposal. For green yard waste, the county runs a seasonal site in Sedalia that does not take soil, household trash, appliances or lumber.

Can I drop dirt at the county slash-mulch site?

The site accepts listed green yard waste such as grass, sod, leaves and weeds, plus slash like limbs and brush, while it is open and staffed. It does not accept roots, stumps, lumber, appliances or household trash, and contractors cannot use it. Check the county page for current hours.

How much does it cost to have a pile hauled away?

Our prices are per trailer load: $120 for a minimum load, $240 for a quarter trailer, $420 for a half trailer and $840 for a full trailer. Labor, loading, haul-away and cleanup are included. Extra labor beyond the quote is $50 per hour per crew member.

Can you do it the same day?

Availability depends on our schedule and the size of the job. Send photos early in the day through our instant estimate page and we will tell you what the soonest opening is.

Do I need a permit to remove a shed or deck?

Douglas County requires a demolition permit to permanently remove a building, structure or part of one, at $47 per structure plus possible additional fees. Ask the county building division whether your project qualifies before the work starts.

Sources

• Douglas County: Trash and landfills
• Douglas County: slash-mulch site seasonal opening
• Douglas County: 2025 yard waste guidance
• Douglas County: Household waste management
• Douglas County: Demolition permit
• Waste Connections: Sedalia Landfill
• Town of Castle Rock: Customer Service
• Castle Rock Fire and Rescue: Burn permit requirements
• Town of Parker: Recycling

Recommended

• Concrete Disposal in Douglas County: Where It Goes and What It Costs
• Construction Debris Removal Highlands Ranch CO
• Yard & Landscaping Debris Highlands Ranch CO