We’ve all seen the big green bags sitting in people’s driveways, so they must be a good value right?
The answer is as loaded as our dumpsters…
3 bagsters = $600 vs 1 14yd dumpster = $399
No doubt, the bagster is marketing genius at work, but from our experience, they’re really only a good value if you have a very small amount of stuff/debris to dispose of. Bagsters hold a maximum of 3 yards (about the volume of a heaped pickup truck load), and ask anyone who’s ever thrown anything away how quickly a bagster, dumpster, pickup truck, etc fills up, and you’ll quickly realize they’re not a good value for the consumer.
Dumpster Bags by the numbers:
- Initial bag cost: $30
- Pick-up cost: $170 (Brooklyn Park as of January 2025)
- Total cost $200 plus taxes
- Divided by the 3yd capacity, your cost per yard in a bagster is $67/yard plus tax
Other bagster issues:
- Solid waste management taxes are charged on all dumpster bag pickups, and the debris is dumped as trash, regardless of what the load actually contains. This matters to the customer, as these taxes are 9.75% to 44.5% depending on the county you reside in.
- Dumping demolition debris as trash is irresponsible, expensive, and not environmentally friendly.
- The bag is $30, and goes directly into the landfill with your debris, again, not environmentally responsible.
- The weight maximum in a bagster is 1 ton (2,000lbs). Too much sheetrock, brick, tile, shingles, etc, your bagster will not get picked up.
- The bagster must be placed next to the curb. WM will not drive their truck in your driveway, and will refuse pick-up if it is not on the curb. This means you must carry all of your debris down to the curb.
- You must allow a week for the bagster to get picked up, so your trash will sit there for up to a week after you’re done with your project before getting picked up.
Our dumpsters by the numbers:
- 10yd $375 = $37/yard
- 14yd $399 = $28/yard
- 20yd $465 = $23/yard
- Taxes are based on type of debris being disposed of. Why pay 9.75% to 45% tax to dispose of construction debris that is only taxed at $0.60/yard?
Other benefits of dumpsters over bagsters:
- Loading debris into a steel box is much easier than a floppy plastic bag.
- Debris is disposed of in the most environmentally responsible and cost effective manner.
- The dumpster doesn’t get thrown away at the dump site or landfill, only the trash does.
- Dumpsters can handle a lot of weight! We can haul up to 5 tons in our dumpsters, you’re not limited to 1 ton.
- Dumpsters don’t tear or rip open when you’re filling it or when it’s being loaded on the truck!
- We can place the dumpster where you need it near your project, placement is not limited to the curb.
- Pickup can be scheduled for any weekday, we won’t give you a “1 week window” for pick-up “at our convenience”.
As you can see, the bagster is not the most convenient way to dispose of your debris, and it’s only really cost effective if you truly only have 3 yards, or about a pick-up truck worth of debris. As soon as you fill the first bag and go buy the second one, you’re going to be money ahead ordering a dumpster. Given that a bagster pick-up requires only 1 visit to your property versus 2, and the fact that they can fit 10+ of them in a truck load before heading to the dump, we really can’t figure out why they’re so expensive to get picked up.
4 bagsters = $800 vs 1 20yd dumpster = $465
We believe the big green bags are great for it’s creator, there’s no question it’s marketing genius at work. But given that we rarely see anyone with just one bag out by their curb, and our experience of customers very rarely wishing they had ordered a smaller dumpster, we believe the dumpster bag is bad for the consumer’s wallet and the environment. So whether you’ve considered a bagster, or are maybe already “in too deep” give us a call, and we’d be happy to set you up with a far more cost effective and convenient option to dispose of your debris!