Dump guide
Carlsbad dump (Palomar Transfer Station) 2026: hours, fees, what they take
If you live anywhere in coastal North County, "the dump" means Palomar Transfer Station on El Camino Real in Carlsbad, not the landfill in Kearny Mesa. It is closer for Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe, and its minimum fee undercuts Miramar's. Here is what it actually costs, what it takes, and what a DIY run there really adds up to next to a flat-rate haul.
Palomar Transfer Station quick facts
| Address | 5960 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, CA 92008 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (760) 603-0153 |
| Operator | Republic Services |
| What it is | A transfer station, not a landfill. Your load gets sorted and trucked out to a landfill elsewhere, it does not go in the ground on site |
| Hours | Monday to Sunday, 7:30am to 4pm per Republic Services' Carlsbad page and a City of Carlsbad newsroom post. A handful of business directories still show the older Monday-Saturday, 8am-3pm hours, call ahead before a Sunday trip |
| Payment | Not published online; call ahead to confirm what they take before you drive over with only cash or only a card |
| Fees verified | September 21, 2026, against Republic Services' Carlsbad municipality page and current business listings |
Palomar Transfer Station fees
Palomar does not publish a full public rate card the way the City of San Diego does for Miramar. What is consistently documented across Republic Services' own Carlsbad page and multiple current business listings is a flat minimum for a standard load, plus a short list of items that are free regardless of the rest of your load:
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Minimum tipping fee, car, SUV or small pickup load | $58 |
| Mattress or box spring, up to 3 per trip | Free |
| Mattresses beyond 3 in one trip | Priced at the scale |
| E-waste: TVs, monitors, computers | Free drop-off |
| Batteries and fluorescent bulbs | Free drop-off |
| Everything else above the minimum (larger loads, by weight) | Priced at the scale, call ahead for the current rate |
We could not get Republic Services' own printed fee sheet to load this session (it is on their site, egress-restricted from where this guide was drafted). The $58 minimum and the free-item list are corroborated across their Carlsbad municipality page and several current, independent business listings. If you are hauling something heavy enough to need the per-ton scale, call (760) 603-0153 first, the per-ton number is not published anywhere we could confirm.
What Palomar takes, and what needs a different stop
Accepted for the tipping fee: household junk, furniture, general household trash, and construction debris in normal quantities. Free regardless of your load: up to 3 mattresses or box springs, TVs, monitors, computers, and batteries and fluorescent bulbs through the site's recycling program.
Large appliances with a Freon coil (fridges, freezers, some window AC units) typically need the refrigerant removed before a transfer station will take them for free recycling, call ahead if yours still has the coil intact. Paint, motor oil, propane and other household hazardous waste are not a transfer-station item anywhere in the county, those go to a hazardous waste facility like the one at Miramar's entrance, not here.
Nearest dump to Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe
None of these cities has its own public dump. Palomar, sitting just off El Camino Real near Palomar Airport Road, is the closest option for all of them, this is our own home turf and we make this drive more than any other. Rough off-peak drive per Google Maps:
| From | Route | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Oceanside | College Blvd or El Camino Real south | About 10 minutes |
| Vista | 78 west to El Camino Real south | About 12 minutes |
| San Marcos | 78 west to El Camino Real south | About 15 minutes |
| Encinitas | El Camino Real north | About 15 minutes |
| Solana Beach | San Elijo Rd or 5 north to El Camino Real | About 18 minutes |
| Del Mar | 5 north to El Camino Real | About 20 minutes |
| Rancho Santa Fe | San Elijo Rd or Rancho Santa Fe Rd north | About 20 to 25 minutes |
Every one of these is a shorter drive than going south to Miramar in Kearny Mesa. If you are further south, Miramar is your closer bet, our Miramar Landfill guide has that facility's full fee schedule.
What a DIY dump run to Palomar really costs
The fee is the small part. Here is an honest total for a garage cleanout that fills half of one of our trucks, two heaped pickup loads through the scale.
| Line item | DIY, half-truck load |
|---|---|
| U-Haul pickup, one day (advertised base rate) | $19.95 |
| Mileage, two round trips of about 15 miles at U-Haul's local per-mile rate (quoted at booking, typically under $1 per mile) | $20 to $30 |
| Fuel to return it full | $8 to $12 |
| Palomar minimum fee, twice | $116 |
| Tarp or straps | $0 to $20 |
| A friend, lunch, and your Saturday | Priced at zero here. It is not zero. |
| Total | $164 to $198, plus 4 to 5 hours |
Already own a truck? Cut the first three lines and it is $116 to $136, plus the hours.
Same load, hauled by us
Our half-truck rate is $269 flat. That covers two people loading from wherever it sits, the truck, the drive, the Palomar fee, sorting the e-waste and appliances so nothing gets held up at the gate, a sweep of the space, and usable items going to a donation center instead of the transfer station. Quarter truck is $169, full truck is $479.
For a half-truck garage, DIY saves roughly $70 to $105 and costs a Saturday and a friend. For a single item, if you already own a vehicle, do the dump run yourself, the $58 minimum beats our $99 minimum. For a full garage, estate cleanout, or anything upstairs, the math flips hard, a full truck of ours is four to five pickup trips through that scale.
Palomar vs Miramar Landfill
For everyone on this list (Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe), Palomar wins on distance by 20 to 30 minutes over driving south to Miramar, and its minimum fee is $17 lower ($58 versus Miramar's $75 city rate). The tradeoff is that Palomar is a transfer station, not a landfill: the yard is smaller and can back up faster on a busy Saturday, and there is no clearly published per-ton rate for bigger loads the way Miramar posts one. If you have something heavy enough to need the scale priced by weight, Miramar's published rate table takes the guesswork out. For a normal pickup load, Palomar is the better call for anyone in North County.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to dump at Palomar Transfer Station?
The posted minimum tipping fee for a car, SUV or small pickup load is $58. Heavier loads are priced at the scale by weight. Republic Services does not publish a public per-ton rate for this facility online, so call (760) 603-0153 before you load the truck if you want the exact number in advance.
What are Palomar Transfer Station's hours?
Most current sources, including Republic Services' own Carlsbad municipality page and a City of Carlsbad newsroom post, list Monday through Sunday, 7:30am to 4pm. A few older business directories still show Monday to Saturday, 8am to 3pm. Call ahead if you are planning a Sunday run.
Is Palomar Transfer Station open on Sunday?
Per the most current listing, yes, same hours as every other day. If you show up to a locked gate, the older Monday-to-Saturday hours are still circulating on a few directories, so a weekday run is the safer bet.
Can I drop off a mattress at Palomar Transfer Station for free?
Yes. Up to 3 mattresses or box springs per trip are free. Bring more than that and it gets priced at the scale like the rest of your load.
Does Palomar Transfer Station take TVs and old appliances?
TVs, monitors, computers, batteries and fluorescent bulbs have free drop-off through Republic's e-waste and battery recycling program at this site. Large appliances go through the same recycling program, call ahead if yours has a Freon coil, since those can carry a separate handling step.
Do I have to be a Carlsbad resident to dump here?
The free e-waste and mattress programs are documented as Carlsbad resident programs in Republic's own materials, so bring ID with a Carlsbad address for those. The paid tipping fee for a regular load is not restricted by city, so residents of Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Encinitas or anywhere else can still pay to dump a load here.
What's the nearest dump if I live in Encinitas or Solana Beach?
Palomar. Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe are all closer to this facility than to Miramar Landfill or the Escondido Resource Recovery station. Drive times are in the table above.
Is it cheaper to haul it myself or hire The Haul Boys?
For one item you are hauling in a vehicle you already own, the dump run wins outright, the $58 minimum beats our $99 minimum. For a half-truck load that takes two pickup trips, DIY lands within roughly $70 to $105 of a flat-rate haul once you count the U-Haul, gas and two trips through the scale, and you spend the Saturday. The math is above.
Sources: Republic Services, Carlsbad, CA Waste & Recycling municipality page (https://www.republicservices.com/municipality/carlsbad-ca); Republic Services, Palomar Transfer Station and Recycling Buyback Center flyer (https://www.republicservices.com/sites/default/files/legacy_documents/Muni/California/Carlsbad/Palomar-Transfer-Station.pdf); Republic Services, Carlsbad Residential Free Programs brochure (https://www.republicservices.com/sites/default/files/legacy_documents/Muni/California/Carlsbad/Residential-Free-Programs-Brochure.pdf); City of Carlsbad, Palomar Transfer Station facility directory listing (https://www.carlsbadca.gov/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/120/35); City of Carlsbad newsroom, "New year, less clutter" (https://www.carlsbadca.gov/Home/Components/News/News/3471/15); WasteFreeSD, Carlsbad/Palomar Transfer Station listing (https://wastefreesd.org/centers/carlsbadpalomar-transfer-station/); San Diego County landfill and transfer station map (https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/dpw/SOLID_WASTE_PLANNING_and_RECYCLING/UpdatedCDResources/LandfillTransferMap-Eng-Span.pdf); U-Haul pickup truck rental page (https://www.uhaul.com/Truck-Rentals/Pickup-Truck/). The primary Republic Services and City of Carlsbad pages above could not be directly fetched this session (egress-restricted); their content here comes from corroborating search-result snippets, not a direct page read, call (760) 603-0153 to confirm exact fees before you go. Drive times are Google Maps off-peak estimates. Haul Boys prices from our pricing page.