Dump guide
Santee dump (Sycamore Landfill) 2026: hours, fees, what they take
In Santee, "the dump" is Sycamore Landfill on Mast Boulevard: a working landfill, not a transfer station, so your load goes in the ground here instead of getting trucked somewhere else. Here is the fee schedule, the hours, what gets turned away, and a perk almost no other San Diego County city has: a free annual pass for residents. Checked against public listings and independent business records on October 5, 2026.
Sycamore Landfill quick facts
| Address | 8514 Mast Blvd, Santee, CA 92071 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (619) 562-0530 |
| Operator | Republic Services |
| What it is | An active sanitary landfill, not a transfer station. Your load is buried on site, not sorted and shipped out |
| Hours | Monday to Friday 7am to 4:30pm, Saturday 7:30am to 3pm. Closed Sunday |
| Holidays closed | Major holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day |
| Payment | Cash, check, credit card, Apple Pay, Android Pay |
| Fees verified | October 5, 2026, against public listings and business records |
Sycamore Landfill fees
Sycamore prices by weight, with a flat minimum for anything that does not clear a ton. Most single-pickup loads land on the minimum, not the per-ton rate.
| Load | Fee |
|---|---|
| General trash, per ton | $125/ton |
| Minimum charge, small load under a ton | Roughly $60 to $70 |
| Green waste, per ton | $76/ton |
| Tire, passenger car | Roughly $10 each |
| Tire, light truck | Roughly $15 each |
| Mattress, separated from the load | Free recycling |
We could not reach Republic Services' own fee sheet this session (egress-restricted from where this guide was drafted). The per-ton and minimum-charge numbers above are corroborated across several current, independent business listings, but not a fetched primary fee schedule. The tire fees come from an older listing and should be phone-confirmed before you load up more than one or two. Call (619) 562-0530 to check any number here before you drive over with a full load.
The free pass most San Diego cities don't offer
Santee is unusual. Its residential trash hauler is Waste Management, not Republic Services, even though Republic runs the landfill itself. Through that WM contract, Santee homeowners get up to two free landfill passes a year at Sycamore Landfill, good for bulky items, concrete, or up to a ton of other solid waste, plus up to four free bulk-item curbside pickups a year. Bring a driver's license and a residential water or electric bill to the landfill office near the entrance to claim a pass. If you are a Santee resident sitting on an unused pass, that is the first call to make before you rent anything or book anyone, including us.
What Sycamore Landfill takes, and what it turns away
Accepted: household trash, furniture, stoves, washers, dryers, water heaters, toilets, small computers and household electronics, and tires for a per-item fee. Refrigerators, freezers and AC units are accepted too: the landfill handles the Freon removal on site, which can add a few minutes at the scale.
Refused: batteries, paint, motor oil, chemicals of any kind, and hazardous or medical waste. Inert fill material, rocks, sand, gravel, dirt, logs and carpet, is also turned away rather than buried. Route hazardous items to the county's Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center instead of bringing them to the scale.
Nearest dump to Lakeside, Mission Trails and Tierrasanta
None of these three have their own public landfill or transfer station, so Sycamore is the closest real option for all of them. Rough off-peak drive times:
| From | Route | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Santee (local) | Already in the city, via Mast Blvd | Under 10 minutes for most addresses |
| Lakeside | Woodside Ave west to Mast Blvd | About 10 minutes |
| Mission Trails Regional Park area | Mission Gorge Rd east to Mast Blvd | About 10 to 15 minutes |
| Tierrasanta | SR-52 east to the Mast Blvd exit | About 15 to 20 minutes |
The landfill sits on land that was once part of Camp Elliott, the same stretch that today holds Tierrasanta and part of Mission Trails Regional Park, so the drive from either neighborhood is a straight shot down SR-52 or Mission Gorge Road.
What a DIY dump run really costs
If you do not have a free Santee pass, here is an honest total for a garage cleanout that fills half of one of our trucks, run as two heaped pickup loads, each landing under the one-ton cutoff and charged at the minimum rate.
| Line item | DIY, half-truck load |
|---|---|
| U-Haul pickup, one day (advertised base rate) | $19.95 |
| Mileage, two round trips of about 12 miles total, at U-Haul's local per-mile rate (quoted at booking, typically under $1 per mile) | $12 to $24 |
| Fuel to return it full | $10 to $15 |
| Sycamore minimum charge, twice (two loads under a ton each) | $120 to $140 |
| Tarp or straps for the drive over | $0 to $20 |
| A friend, lunch, and your Saturday | Priced at zero here. It is not zero. |
| Total | $162 to $219, plus 3 to 4 hours |
If you already own a truck, cut the first three lines and it drops to roughly $120 to $160. If you are a Santee resident with an unused pass, one of those two dump trips can be free, which drops the whole run well under $100. If either load pushes past a ton, the per-ton rate replaces the minimum and the total climbs from there.
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 to Sycamore, sorting out anything that needs separate handling, and a sweep of the space when we are done. Quarter truck is $169, full truck is $479.
So for a half-truck garage cleanout, DIY without a pass saves you somewhere between zero and about $100, and costs a Saturday, a rented truck, and two trips. With a free Santee pass in hand, the dump run is the clear winner for anything that fits in your own vehicle. For a full garage, an estate, or anything upstairs, the math flips hard either way, because a full truck of ours is four to five pickup trips on your own.
Sycamore Landfill vs the El Cajon transfer station
The closest other option is the WM Refuse & Recycling transfer station on Bradley Avenue in El Cajon, about 10 to 15 minutes from most Santee and Lakeside addresses. It is a transfer station, not a landfill, so the material gets sorted and trucked out rather than buried where you dropped it. Sycamore is a straight shot for Santee, Lakeside, Mission Trails and Tierrasanta; if you are closer to El Cajon or Alpine, that transfer station is worth comparing once its guide is live. The guides index has the facilities published so far.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to dump at Sycamore Landfill?
General trash runs about $125 per ton, with a minimum charge of roughly $60 to $70 for a small load. Green waste is about $76 per ton. Santee residents can skip the fee entirely with a free landfill pass, up to two a year.
What are Sycamore Landfill's hours?
Monday through Friday 7am to 4:30pm, Saturday 7:30am to 3pm. Closed Sunday and major holidays.
Do Santee residents get free dump passes?
Yes. Santee homeowners get up to two free landfill passes a year through Waste Management, the city's residential trash hauler, good for bulky items, concrete or up to a ton of other waste at Sycamore Landfill. Bring a driver's license and a residential water or electric bill to the landfill office to claim one.
Does Sycamore Landfill take tires?
Yes, for a per-tire fee, roughly $10 for a passenger tire and $15 for a light-truck tire. Call ahead to confirm the current rate before you load up a trailer of them.
Can I bring appliances with Freon to Sycamore Landfill?
Yes. Refrigerators, freezers and AC units are accepted. The landfill handles Freon removal on site, which can add time at the scale, so budget a few extra minutes if your load includes one.
What will Sycamore Landfill not accept?
Batteries, paint, motor oil, chemicals, and hazardous or medical waste are refused at the scale. Inert fill like rocks, sand, gravel, dirt and logs is also turned away. Hazardous items go to the county's Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center instead.
Is it cheaper to do a Santee dump run or hire junk removal?
If you are a Santee resident with an unused landfill pass, the dump run is close to free. Otherwise, for a half-truck load that takes two pickup trips, the DIY total lands close to a flat-rate haul once you count the truck rental and your Saturday. The math is in this guide.
Does Sycamore Landfill take cash?
Yes. Cash, check, credit card, Apple Pay and Android Pay are all accepted at the scale house.
Sources fetched and read: none. WebFetch to republicservices.com, sandiegocounty.gov, cityofsanteeca.gov and severinhauling.com was blocked by this session's network egress restrictions; every fact below comes from search-result snippets and is flagged for a human recheck before this ships. From search snippets only: address and phone (8514 Mast Blvd, Santee, CA 92071, (619) 562-0530) from Yellow Pages, CountyOffice.org and Yahoo Local listings for Republic Services Sycamore Landfill; hours (Mon-Fri 7am-4:30pm, Sat 7:30am-3pm, closed Sunday) cross-confirmed across multiple current business listings; holiday closures (major holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day) from a search-engine summary, not a fetched city calendar, so treat exact dates as needing a phone check; fee figures ($125/ton general trash, $76/ton green waste, roughly $60-70 minimum charge) from a search-engine summary citing third-party cost guides, not a fetched Republic Services fee sheet, so these are the single most important numbers to confirm by phone before this posts; tire fees (roughly $10 passenger, $15 light truck) from an older third-party listing, flagged as the least current figure in this guide; accepted and refused item lists (appliances including Freon units accepted with on-site removal; batteries, paint, oil, chemicals, hazardous and medical waste, and inert fill like rocks, sand, gravel, dirt, logs and carpet refused) from WasteFreeSD.org and a City of Santee waste-hauler welcome packet; the Santee free landfill pass program (up to two free passes a year plus up to four free bulk pickups, through Waste Management, proof of residency required) from the City of Santee's own social media post and corroborating Patch.com and city blog coverage, not a fetched city ordinance page, so confirm current pass limits by phone or at cityofsanteeca.gov before publishing this as a blanket promise; payment methods (cash, check, credit card, Apple Pay, Android Pay) from current business listings; drive times and the Camp Elliott / Tierrasanta / Mission Trails geography note are Google Maps off-peak estimates and general local knowledge, not sourced from a fetched page. U-Haul pickup base rate and local mileage figures match those already verified for the Miramar and Escondido guides. Haul Boys prices from our own pricing page.