Five things the data shows

Key takeaways

• 1Price transparency is the exception, not the rule. 106 of 300 facilities (35.3%) publish no dollar figure anywhere in their fee schedule — the single largest group in the dataset.
• 2Where a per-ton rate is published, the median is $47.80 — but the spread is 5×. Across the 44 facilities that post a per-ton rate, prices run from $20.00 to $100.25 per ton (mean $52.79). The cheapest published household rate is $21.82/ton (City of McAllen Residential Drop-Off Site, residents only); the highest published rates are $100.25/ton (Somervell County Transfer Station, bulk trash) and $100.00/ton (City of Fredericksburg Sanitary Landfill, regular waste).
• 3The typical “get in the gate” charge is $15. Among the 41 facilities that publish a numeric minimum or starting charge, the median is $15.00 — ranging from $0.25 per 20 lbs of brush (Nelson Gardens, San Antonio) to an $85.00 one-ton minimum (Garden-Ville Evans Road, San Antonio).
• 4Hazardous material is the #1 gate refusal in Texas. Of the 290 facilities that publish a prohibited list, 184 (63%) name hazardous materials, 103 (36%) refuse liquids, and 70 (24%) turn away tires.
• 5Nearly half the state has a free option — if you’re a resident. 148 of 300 facilities (49%) mention at least one free disposal program, almost always restricted to local residents with proof of address. In Houston, all 12 listed facilities have a free-resident component; only 2 publish a dollar price.

What a ton costs

Every published per-ton gate rate in Texas

Only 44 of 300 facilities (14.7%) publish a per-ton rate. Here is every one of them, ranked cheapest to most expensive, with the facility’s own wording on what the rate covers. Some rates apply only to residents, to specific materials (brush, C&D, soil), or carry surcharges — read the coverage column before you drive.

Distribution of the 44 published per-ton rates. Median $47.80 · mean $52.79.

The minimum to show up

The 15 cheapest published ways through a Texas gate

41 facilities publish a numeric minimum or starting charge. The median is $15.00. These are the fifteen lowest, with each facility’s own description of what the charge buys.

The remaining 26 published minimums run up to $85.00; each appears on its facility page with the full fee schedule.

The big-city picture

Metro snapshot: free for residents, opaque for everyone else

The metro pattern is consistent: cities fund resident drop-off through utility bills, so gates are free with proof of address — and publish little or nothing for anyone else.

The ten cities with the most listed facilities. “Free option” almost always requires local residency plus a utility bill or matching ID — check the facility page before you go.

What gates turn away

The most commonly prohibited items at Texas facilities

290 of 300 facilities publish a prohibited list. Share of those 290 that name each item:

On the acceptance side: 222 of 300 facilities (74%) take household/municipal waste, 169 (56%) take brush and yard waste, 155 (52%) take bulky items like furniture and mattresses, 103 (34%) take construction & demolition debris, and 74 (25%) take tires — usually with per-tire fees or count limits. Only 24 (8%) accept household hazardous waste, which is why it tops the refusal list everywhere else.

How fresh this data is

Every record verified in the three weeks before publication

All 300 records were checked against the operator’s own published rate sheet or fee page between June 18 and July 5, 2026. The median record was verified on June 24 — 16 days before this study was published — and 54 records (18%) were re-verified in the final week. Every facility page on this site shows its own “last verified” date, and every record links to the operator source it was taken from.