Taking down an above-ground pool: which dumpster, and what to do with the sand

September 18, 2026 · 6 min read · Megabac Team

A dismantled above-ground pool — steel or resin walls, rails, ladder, liner, wood deck — goes in a mixed-waste dumpster: a 10 yard for the pool alone, a 20 yard if the deck comes down with it. The sand underneath never goes in that box: at about 100 lb per cubic foot, it weighs tons and travels in the soil, rocks and sod dumpster. Here is what goes where, and the real weight.

An above-ground pool is three jobs in one

September and October are the months an above-ground pool comes down: the water is out, the ground is not yet frozen. The surprise, for anyone doing it for the first time, is that the pool itself is the lightest part of the job.

The structure. A galvanized steel wall — or resin, on newer models — held by rails, uprights and a top ledge. Taken apart: a wall you roll or fold, a bundle of rails, a box of bolts.

The liner. A sheet of flexible PVC; once the water is gone, it folds up. It weighs little, but it is bulky and usually still wet.

The sand. Under the liner, manufacturers recommend a bed of masonry sand at least 2 in thick, sometimes 3 in, plus a cove against the wall. That is the real weight of the job — and it does not travel in the same box as the rest.

What a 21 ft or 24 ft pool really weighs

The numbers come from suppliers. A complete 24 ft round pool kit — steel wall, frame, liner and skimmer — ships at 417 lb, about 190 kg. The steel wall alone, as a replacement part, weighs 142 lb for a 21 ft pool and 190 lb for a 24 ft. In other words: the whole dismantled pool weighs under a quarter of a ton.

The sand is another story. A 2 in bed over the floor of a 21 ft round pool is about 58 cu ft; over a 24 ft, about 75 cu ft. Dry sand weighs around 100 lb per cubic foot, wet sand up to 120 lb — and the floor of a pool you just drained is wet. With the cove, suppliers count 2.5 to 3 cubic yards of sand for a 21 ft pool, 3 cubic yards for a 24 ft.

What comes down	21 ft round	24 ft round	Where it goes
Steel wall alone	142 lb	190 lb	Mixed dumpster
Complete kit (wall, frame, liner, skimmer)	—	417 lb (about 190 kg)	Mixed dumpster
Floor sand, 2 in bed, dry	about 5,800 lb (2.6 t)	about 7,500 lb (3.4 t)	Soil, rocks and sod dumpster
Same sand, wet	about 6,900 lb (3.1 t)	about 9,000 lb (4.1 t)	Soil, rocks and sod dumpster

Shipping weights published by suppliers (24 ft kit: 417 lb; replacement walls: 142 and 190 lb). Sand: floor area × 2 in, at 100 lb/cu ft dry and 120 lb/cu ft wet, rounded to the hundred.

What goes in the mixed dumpster — and what never does

A dismantled pool is a light, bulky load: the textbook case for a mixed dumpster. Three things are excluded, and they get settled before delivery.

In the same box, no sorting

The structure — the steel or resin wall, rolled or folded, the rails, the uprights, the ledge covers and the hardware.
The liner — folded and drained. Flexible PVC does not go in the recycling bin; in the mixed dumpster, it leaves with everything else.
Everything around the pool — the wood deck, its railings and stairs, the ladder, the emptied filter, the pump, the hoses, the solar blanket and its reel.

Never in that box

The floor sand. Heavy material: it rents in the soil, rocks and sod dumpster, 20 yard only, 7 tons included. Slipped into the mixed box, it would push the load into overage.
Concrete — a pad under the filter, a poured patio around the pool: the concrete dumpster, separately.
Chemicals — chlorine, algaecide, acid, opened containers: to the écocentre, never in a dumpster. Clear them out of the pump shed before the first bolt.

Is the sand leaving too? Work it out before you order

The soil, rocks and sod dumpster calculator: the pool's diameter as length and width, the sand bed as depth, and it returns the cubic yards and the tons.

Calculate the sand The size guide

10 or 20 yard: the deck decides

The pool alone: the 10 yard. Wall, rails, liner, ladder, filter — under a quarter of a ton, and a volume that packs: the rolled wall lies flat in the box, the rails stack along the side. The 10 yard is 14 ft by 8 on the ground and 2.5 ft high, 1 ton included. It is a 20 yard filled halfway, and you pay for the 10; we adjust only if the 20 was actually used.

The pool and its deck: the 20 yard. A treated-wood deck, its railings and its stairs double or triple the volume without adding much weight. The 20 yard — 14 ft by 8 and 5 ft high, 2 tons included — takes it all in one rental. If the deck is a real two-level patio, mention it on the phone: that is the only case where the 40 comes up.

The sand, if it leaves: a second dumpster. Many homeowners leave it in place, levelled, to seed over. If it has to go, it travels alone in the soil, rocks and sod dumpster: 20 yard, 7 tons included, filled to three quarters at most. The floor of a 24 ft pool — about 3 cubic yards, between 4 and 5 tons depending on moisture — fits in a single box, tonnage included.

A pool comes down in a weekend: Libération Express credits you $50 if you free up the dumpster within 48 hours of delivery — offer valid during the high season, March through October.

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The questions that follow the teardown

Can the pool sand go in the mixed dumpster?

No. At about 100 lb per cubic foot, the floor of a 24 ft pool is several tons on its own — well past the 2 tons included with a mixed 20 yard. It rents in the soil, rocks and sod dumpster, 7 tons included, or it stays on site, levelled.

How much does the sand from a 24 ft pool weigh?

A 2 in bed over a 24 ft floor is about 75 cu ft: around 7,500 lb dry (3.4 t) and up to 9,000 lb wet (4.1 t). With the cove, suppliers count 3 cubic yards of sand for that size. A 3 in bed adds half again.

Can the pool liner be recycled?

It is flexible PVC, and it does not go in the recycling bin. In Quebec, Récup Estrie sends it to the garbage and advises checking with your écocentre first. In the mixed dumpster, it leaves folded with the structure — drain it first.

Can I take the steel wall to the écocentre instead of renting?

Yes: metal walls are accepted at écocentres, in Montreal as in Estrie. The dumpster earns its place when the deck, the liner and the filter come down at the same time — it is the volume, not the steel, that makes the trips.

I am also tearing down the wood deck. Which size?

The 20 yard. The pool alone fits in a 10, but a deck with its railings and stairs doubles or triples the volume. The 20 is 14 ft by 8 and 5 ft high, 2 tons included: everything leaves in one rental.

Pool coming down this fall?

A two-minute call confirms the size, the price and the date. Delivery Monday to Friday, PROTEC-O-SOL planks included to protect your driveway.

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