How Much Is a Cubic Yard?

A cubic yard is a unit of volume equivalent to a cube with a length, width, and height of 1 yard. One yard is 3 feet, or 36 inches, long, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet high, so one cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. A standard washing machine is about 1 cubic yard, which gives you an idea of how big that is.

The size of a dumpster is measured in cubic yards because it looks like a long cube. Don’t confuse cubic yards with regular yards, which measure a two-dimensional area. Cubic yards are used to measure volume in three dimensions, like a pile of garbage. If you know how to figure out how many cubic yards, you have and how much waste you have, you can choose the right size container for your project.

What Does a Cubic Yard Cost?

Trying to figure out how to measure cubic yards? It’s so much easier than you think.

Locate the area

First, figure out how big it is in feet. Divide the number of inches by 12 to get the number of feet. Measure the length, width, and height (or depth) of your debris. To do this, use a tape measure. A measuring wheel might be useful for bigger areas.

Determine the Volume

The next step is to multiply the length, width, and height. Divide this number in half by 27. This will tell you how much space there is in cubic yards. Using the picture above as an example, here are the steps to figure out how many cubic yards something is:

• First, convert inches to feet: 1 foot = 12 inches
• Then, multiply the length by width by height: 9 x 3 x 1 = 27.
• Divide the result by 27 to get 1 cubic yard: 27 27 = 1 cubic yard.

You can also easily calculate cubic yardage by converting all three dimensions of your material into yards and multiplying them. For example, if you dig up a flower bed that is 9 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 12 inches deep, you will have one cubic yard of dirt. This is how it breaks down:

• 3 feet equals 1 yard, so 9 feet equals 3 total yards in length.
• The width of 3 feet equals 1 yard.
• The height/depth is 12 inches (1 foot), which equals one-third of a yard.

By multiplying the length, width, and height or depth, you can find out how many cubic yards of junk you have. In this example, 3 yards x 1 yard x 1/3 yard = 1 cubic yard of dirt.

What Is the Dimension of a Cubic Yard?

Even if you know how to measure in cubic yards, it may be difficult to imagine how much a cubic yard is. The same amount of volume can fit in dumpsters of different sizes. Some may be long, some may be tall, and some may be short, but they may all hold the same number of cubic yards. You can think of a cubic yard as a wheelbarrow full, a garbage bag full, or a pickup truck full. Here’s how they roughly break down for some of our most popular dumpster sizes:

How much does a cubic yard of junk weigh?

Choosing the right dumpster size also depends on how much your junk weighs and how much of it you have. Each dumpster has a limit on how much weight it can hold, which is different from how much space it can hold. Cubic yards are a way to measure the size of something, not how much it weighs.

So, the weight of two full 10-cubic-yard dumpsters could be very different, depending on what you’re throwing away. Our weight calculator can help you figure out how much your different types of waste weigh. Here are the approximate weights of the materials that make up 1 cubic yard:

How to Pick the Right Dumpster Size for Your Debris

Now that you know “What is a cubic yard?” it’s easy to choose the right size dumpster. Think about the size and weight of the things you want to throw away, as well as the typical dumpster sizes listed below:

• 10 cubic yard dumpster—14′ long, 7.5′ wide, and 3.5′ high
• 20 cubic yard dumpster — 22′ long x 7.5′ wide x 4.5′ high
• 30 cubic yard dumpster—22′ long, 7.5′ wide, and 6′ high
• 40 cubic yard dumpster — 22′ long x 7.5′ wide x 8′ high

Call our staff at (515) 305-2206 if you need guidance choosing a dumpster rental for your project.