California / Local rental guide

Dumpster rental
in Palo Alto.

In Palo Alto you choose a box size, not a company. The City's refuse utility gives GreenWaste of Palo Alto the exclusive right to haul mixed debris, and the City Council publishes the box prices. Use a Clean Up Day for furniture and bulky items. For a remodel or cleanout, order a GreenWaste box and keep it in the driveway. Apply to Public Works for an encroachment permit only if the lot truly has no room.

Sources checked November 14, 2026 · Guide updated November 14, 2026
Independent research · No paid placements · Research method

The first decision in Palo Alto

Check the city boundary first.

There is no second company to compare: GreenWaste of Palo Alto is the only hauler allowed to collect mixed debris generated in the City, and its prices are set by the City Council. The real choices are size and sorting. Mixed loads are billed about twice the source-separated rate (for example $808.68 versus $411.83 for a 20-yard haul, plus $136.26 delivery). The 7-yard box takes only concrete, dirt, sod or tar-and-gravel roofing, and every box is capped at 8 tons with a $61.80 per-ton overweight charge up to 10 tons. For a few bulky items, the two Clean Up Days a year already in your refuse bill may make a box unnecessary.

Your local checklist

Confirm the parcel is inside the City of Palo Alto: Stanford campus homes with Palo Alto addresses are unincorporated Santa Clara County, and East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Mountain View and Los Altos Hills have different haulers.
Order the box from GreenWaste of Palo Alto at (650) 493-4894 at least 24 hours ahead, say whether the load is mixed or a single sorted material, and ask how many days you may keep an on-call box.
Plan for the driveway; if the lot has no room, get a Public Works Encroachment Permit (pwecips@cityofpaloalto.org, 650-329-2151) before ordering, and if you are demolishing a house, check the City's deconstruction and 80% diversion rules first.

Plan a rental in Palo Alto

Published details, side by side

Start with the City’s residential provider.

Listings are an editorial starting point, not a complete market ranking. Supplier-published amounts are not Dumpsterly quotes. Confirm address eligibility, material acceptance, dates and the full delivered total.

01 / SOURCE-CHECKED LISTING

GreenWaste of Palo Alto (City of Palo Alto refuse contractor; exclusive hauler of mixed debris)

Published sizes: 7, 15, 20, 30 and 40 cubic-yard debris boxes, plus 2- and 4-yard bins. GreenWaste's construction materials guide gives the 20-yard box as 16 x 8 x 5.3 ft and the 40-yard as 21 x 8 x 7.5 ft. It says the 7-yard box is only for concrete, dirt, sod or tar-and-gravel roofing, and its request form says the 2- and 4-yard bins are only for deconstruction projects.
Rental & weight terms: Boxes are on-call: schedule each delivery or haul at least 24 hours ahead by calling (650) 493-4894 or emailing pacustomerservice@greenwaste.com, or use the online request form. The City's rate schedule sets an 8-ton weight limit per debris box, charges $61.80 per ton (or fraction) from 8 up to 10 tons, and says GreenWaste cannot move a box heavier than 10 tons. It adds a $78.28 non-use fee when a box is not used within 14 days, a $190.85 charge for contaminated construction and demolition loads, and surcharges for afternoon, evening and weekend service. A rental-day limit for an on-call box is not published, so ask how long you may keep it.
Price basis: City-set on-call prices (rate schedule R-C, effective July 1, 2026): $136.26 delivery for any size, plus a haul charge for mixed material (Category A: garbage and mixed construction debris) of $696.69 for a 7- or 15-yard box, $808.68 for 20 yards, $1,035.01 for 30 yards and $1,128.14 for 40 yards. Source-separated single-material loads (Category B) cost $354.73 (7 or 15 yards), $411.83 (20), $527.77 (30) and $575.35 (40). These rates appear on the City's commercial schedule; confirm with GreenWaste that a house order is billed the same way and get the total in writing.

This is the only lawful provider for a mixed-debris box at a Palo Alto house. The City Council's rate schedule R-C states that GreenWaste of Palo Alto has the exclusive rights to haul any and all mixed material (garbage, generic C&D or mixed recyclables) generated in Palo Alto. The City's deconstruction page and GreenWaste's City-footed construction materials guide (revised May 10, 2023) both say construction projects using bins or debris boxes must use GreenWaste of Palo Alto. GreenWaste's debris box rentals page calls it the exclusive hauler of debris boxes in the City. GreenWaste's contact page lists its corporate office at 2540 N First St, Suite 300, San Jose, CA 95131 (408-283-4800); the Palo Alto customer-service line is (650) 493-4894.

Sources: [11] · [12] · [13] · [14] · [15] · [1] · [4]Visit supplier website Direct link · No referral tracking

Get the missing numbers in writing.

Ask for delivery, pickup, included tons and days, per-ton overage, extra-day charges, fuel, tax, prohibited-item fees, swaps and blocked-trip charges. “Quote required” means the reviewed source did not establish a usable fixed total.

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Keep the box in the driveway; a street box needs a Public Works encroachment permit, and only when there is no other option

Public Works' Debris/Roll-Off Box and Storage Container Placement Guidelines for residential areas say debris and roll-off boxes must go on private property, such as the driveway. A box may go in the street next to the curb only if the owner shows, and a Public Works inspector confirms, that it cannot fit on the lot for reasons other than convenience, such as no driveway or low tree branches. Then the property owner must get an approved Encroachment Permit from the Engineering Division (pwecips@cityofpaloalto.org, 650-329-2151) before ordering the box. The permit needs a signed application and a sketch showing driveways, street trees, hydrants, signs and utility vaults; the fee is in the City's Municipal Fee Schedule, which we did not read. A street box may stay up to four weeks, with a possible four-week extension. It must sit in front of your own property unless the neighbor signs consent, at least 6 feet from any driveway and 15 feet from crosswalks and hydrants, and not in a bike lane, bus stop, no-parking or time-limited zone. It is not allowed on two-way streets narrower than 36 feet with parking on both sides. The box must show a serial number, a posted copy of the permit and corner reflectors. Book only the days the job needs and have GreenWaste pull the box as soon as you finish.

Read the local government source

Open local permit instructions

What matters locally

Two Clean Up Days a year are already in your refuse bill

The City's Clean Up Day page says each Palo Alto household gets two pre-scheduled Clean Up Days a year, when GreenWaste collects bulky items, extra recyclables and yard trimmings at the curb, and reusable furniture and textiles may be passed to reuse partners. The City's residential rate schedule R-1 lists the clean up day program among the services covered by the monthly refuse charge. Call GreenWaste of Palo Alto at (650) 493-4894 with your utility account number to get your next date; renters in larger complexes without their own City refuse bill go through the property manager. Outside a Clean Up Day, R-1 prices single special-item pickups, for example $15.45 for a mattress or upholstered piece and $41.20 for a refrigerator or freezer, plus an $82.40 surcharge when the item is not part of a Clean Up Day. For a couch and a few boxes, this can be cheaper than any debris box.

Check the source

Paint, batteries and chemicals go to the Embarcadero Way HHW station, not the box

The City's Household Hazardous Waste Station at 2501 Embarcadero Way, near the Baylands, is open Saturdays from 9 to 11 a.m. and on the first Friday of each month from 3 to 5 p.m., with no appointment needed. You must show proof of Palo Alto residency, and each visit is limited to 15 gallons or 125 pounds in containers of 5 gallons or less. It takes paints, solvents, motor oil, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, pool and garden chemicals and limited asbestos, but not ammunition, explosives or pressure-treated wood. Clear these out of the garage before a cleanout box arrives so they do not end up in a GreenWaste load.

Check the source

Before you book

Questions about renting in Palo Alto.

Can I rent a dumpster from any company for my Palo Alto house?

Not for mixed debris. The City Council's commercial refuse rate schedule says GreenWaste of Palo Alto has the exclusive rights to haul any and all mixed material generated in Palo Alto, including garbage and general construction and demolition debris. The City's deconstruction page also says construction projects that use bins or debris boxes must use GreenWaste of Palo Alto. Contractors may still self-haul sorted material in their own trucks to a City-approved facility. For a household cleanout or remodel box, call GreenWaste at (650) 493-4894.

Sources: [1] · [4]

Can the debris box go on the street in front of my Palo Alto home?

Usually not. Public Works' placement guidelines require debris and roll-off boxes at homes to sit on private property such as the driveway. Street placement is allowed only when an inspector agrees the box cannot fit on the lot for reasons other than convenience, and the property owner must get an Encroachment Permit from the Engineering Division before ordering. A permitted street box may stay up to four weeks, must be in front of your property, at least 6 feet from driveways and 15 feet from hydrants and crosswalks, and must carry a serial number, the posted permit and corner reflectors. The permit fee is set in the City's Municipal Fee Schedule.

Sources: [8] · [9]

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Sources & checked dates

These are supplier and government sources, not customer reviews. Published terms can change. Where a source is incomplete, we leave the detail unknown. Street guidance is a starting point; the responsible local authority decides what your address needs.

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