Guide · 8 min read · updated 2026-09-17
Where to dump in San Joaquin and Sacramento counties — every gate and every rate, 2026
Current tipping fees, hours, what each facility accepts, and the $269 mistake most people in Lodi make.
Why this page exists
Because the price difference between two gates twelve minutes apart is larger than most people's entire disposal budget, and nobody publishes it side by side.
Every rate below was read from the operator's own published sheet. Rates change; the effective dates are noted.
The $269 load
Take a realistic Lodi cleanout load: 1.25 tons of mixed household waste, two mattresses, one refrigerator.
North County Landfill, 17720 E. Harney Lane, Lodi — $60.93/ton weighed, $20 per freon appliance. That load is $96.16.
WM Lodi Transfer Station, 1333 E. Turner Road — $107.76/ton, $72.29 per mattress at business rates, $86.14 per freon appliance. That load is $365.42.
Twelve minutes apart. $269 difference on one load. If you are self-hauling a cleanout, this single fact is worth more than everything else on this page.
(Fair caveat: WM's sheet is ambiguous about whether per-item fees stack on top of weight or replace it. Even the reading most favorable to WM loses this comparison.)
Every gate, ranked by cost
Foothill Sanitary Landfill — Linden, San Joaquin County. $40.64/ton, effective 01/01/2026. Accepts C&D. Cheapest rate in either county, and San Joaquin *cut* rates 12% in October 2025 while Sacramento raised theirs. But the county lists it as closed to the general public (facility page, read 09/18/2026), so it is not a self-haul option. If you are hauling your own load, start with North County.
North County Landfill — Lodi, San Joaquin County. $60.93/ton, $32.50 minimum, effective 01/01/2026. Accepts C&D. Open seven days, 7a–4p, strictly enforced. No cash — cards or business checks only. Freon appliances $20.
Kiefer Landfill — Sloughhouse, Sacramento County. $61.35/ton, $45 minimum, effective 01/01/2026. Accepts C&D. Open seven days: weekdays 6:30a–4:30p, weekends 8:30a–4:30p. Takes cash, cards and checks. You do not have to live in Sacramento County to use it.
Lovelace MRF & Transfer Station — Manteca, San Joaquin County. $78.78/ton, $38.50 minimum, effective 01/01/2026. Accepts C&D, tires and refrigerators. Open seven days, 7a–4p, strictly enforced. No cash — cards or business checks only.
North Area Recovery Station (NARS) — North Highlands, Sacramento County. $89.90/ton, $50 minimum, effective 01/01/2026. Open seven days: weekdays 6:30a–6p, weekends 8a–6p. Convenient for north Sacramento and expensive everywhere else.
WM Lodi Transfer Station — Lodi. $107.76/ton, $37.58 minimum, effective 08/15/2024, plus a weekly-variable energy surcharge and a 14.50% waste water charge, so the real number is higher than printed. Does not accept C&D. Mattresses $72.29, freon appliances $86.14, loose furniture $25.11 at business rates.
The operational rules that follow from this
Leave the last job by 3:20 p.m. if you are going to North County. The 4:00 gate is enforced with no exceptions and a loaded trailer overnight is a wasted morning.
Sunday is a genuine competitive advantage in Lodi. North County is open; WM's transfer station is not. Any hauler who tips at WM structurally cannot run Sundays.
Tarp every load. Untarped loads are surcharged at effectively double at most gates, and it is a CHP stop besides.
Carry a card. North County does not take cash.
A 14-foot trailer exceeds the "8 feet or less" flat-rate tier at most gates, so you are on tonnage, not flat rate. Plan for it.
Household hazardous waste — none of these take it
Paint, solvents, motor oil, pesticides, pool chemicals, fluorescent tubes, car batteries and propane tanks are household hazardous waste and no landfill gate or junk hauler can legally take them in a mixed load.
Both counties run free HHW drop-off for residents. San Joaquin County operates HHW facilities and periodic collection events; Sacramento County runs year-round HHW sites. Check the current schedule with the county before you load — it changes.
Any hauler who says "sure, we'll take the paint" is either lying or dumping it somewhere you would not want your name attached to.