Plug in project type, square footage, and ZIP code. Get back waste by material, dumpster recommendations, county tipping fees, and EPA hazmat flags — all in under 200ms.
POST https://api.wastecalcapi.com/v1/estimate
Authorization: Bearer wc_live_••••••••••
Content-Type: application/json
{
"project_type": "renovation",
"square_footage": 2500,
"material_types": [
"wood", "drywall", "metal"
],
"zip_code": "30301"
}{
"waste_by_material": {
"wood": { "tons": 1.8 },
"drywall": { "tons": 0.9 },
"metal": { "tons": 0.4 }
},
"dumpster_recommendation": {
"size": "20-yard",
"count": 1
},
"tipping_fee": {
"zip": "30301",
"rate_per_ton": 42.50
},
"recycling_diversion_percent": 68,
"hazmat_flags": []
}Contractors use outdated rule-of-thumb estimates, overbuy dumpsters, and waste money on every job. There's no reliable, real-time data source — until now.
Haulers get hit with unexpected fees because county rates aren't published anywhere useful. One surprise at the transfer station can wipe out an entire job's margin.
Project managers scramble at closeout to calculate recycling diversion %, often missing credits worth thousands. Planning it upfront takes hours of manual research.
WasteCalc API fixes all three with a single REST endpoint.
Three steps from project details to a complete waste estimate — no complex setup, no data cleaning.
POST your project parameters to a single endpoint. Takes seconds to integrate.
project_type
square_footage
material_types[]
zip_code
Our engine runs five parallel calculations in under 200ms — no waiting, no polling.
Structured JSON with every number you need — ready to display or store immediately.
One API. Six data points. Zero guesswork.
Wood, drywall, metal, concrete, C&D mixed — each broken out by tons and cubic yards using EPA generation rates. Know exactly what you're hauling before the dumpster is ordered.
Recommends dumpster size and count with a 15% compaction buffer built in. No more guessing between a 10-yard and a 20-yard — and no more ordering two when one would do.
County-level rates with a 4-level fallback: ZIP → county → state → national average. We never return null. Your app always gets a rate — even for the most rural ZIP codes.
Calculates diversion percentage and flags LEED credit eligibility (MR Credit 5). Required for green building certification. Know your diversion target at project start, not closeout.
Flags asbestos, lead paint, and PCB risk by building age and project type. Critical for pre-demo planning — surface the risk before crews are on site, not after.
Redis-cached tipping fees (7-day TTL), 1-hour estimate cache. Fast enough for real-time quoting workflows. Your users get instant results, not loading spinners.
One endpoint for the full estimate. RESTful, JSON in, JSON out. Authenticate with a Bearer token — that's it.
curl -X POST \
https://api.wastecalcapi.com/v1/estimate \
-H "Authorization: Bearer wc_live_your_key" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"project_type": "renovation",
"square_footage": 2500,
"material_types": ["wood", "drywall", "metal"],
"zip_code": "30301"
}'import requests
response = requests.post(
"https://api.wastecalcapi.com/v1/estimate",
headers={
"Authorization": "Bearer wc_live_your_key",
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
json={
"project_type": "renovation",
"square_footage": 2500,
"material_types": ["wood", "drywall", "metal"],
"zip_code": "30301",
},
)
estimate = response.json()
print(estimate["waste_by_material"])
# {'wood': {'tons': 1.8}, 'drywall': ...}const response = await fetch(
"https://api.wastecalcapi.com/v1/estimate",
{
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Authorization": "Bearer wc_live_your_key",
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({
project_type: "renovation",
square_footage: 2500,
material_types: ["wood", "drywall", "metal"],
zip_code: "30301",
}),
}
);
const estimate = await response.json();
console.log(estimate.dumpster_recommendation);
// { size: '20-yard', count: 1 }WasteCalc API is designed to plug into your existing workflows — not replace them.
Auto-quote dumpster sizes during checkout based on real project data. Reduce wrong-size orders by 40%+. Customers get the right dumpster the first time — and you stop sending second trucks.
Add waste budgeting to project planning from day one. Show material-level breakdown and tipping fee estimates inside your project dashboard. Stop sending PMs to spreadsheets.
Pre-calculate tipping fees before accepting a job. Never be surprised at the transfer station again. Dispatchers see the cost before the truck rolls — and margins stay intact.
Start free, scale as you grow. No overage charges — upgrade when you're ready.
7-day free trial, no credit card required. Cancel anytime.
We source county-level tipping fees from state solid waste authority publications, EPA ECHO, and manual county-level research. Data covers all 50 states with a 4-level fallback: ZIP → county → state → national average. We never return null — you always get a rate.
Our waste generation rates are based on EPA's "Estimating C&D Materials Amounts" studies (2003 and 2021) — the most authoritative public data on construction waste. Estimates are within ±15% of actual for standard project types.
Yes. ZIP code coverage spans all 50 states. Tipping fee granularity varies by state — high-density states have county-level data, while some rural areas fall back to state averages.
We support renovation, demolition, and new construction. Each has different EPA waste generation multipliers. Material types: wood, drywall, metal, concrete, mixed C&D.
The API returns recycling diversion percentage and flags LEED credit eligibility (MR Credit 5). For formal LEED documentation, you'll still need material manifests from your hauler — but our data is a strong starting point for planning.
Rate limits are per plan: Starter (10 req/min), Pro (60 req/min), Business (300 req/min). If you need higher limits, contact us for Enterprise pricing.
Yes — 7-day free trial, no credit card required. You get Pro-level access during the trial so you can evaluate the full feature set before committing to a plan.
Join construction platforms and waste haulers already using WasteCalc API.