What to do about the pile of dirt in my yard?

Question

I had some plumbing problems and they had to dig up the front of my yard to replace piping in the ground. It's all clay and huge rocks that they dug up. Because of this, they had a hard time getting it all back in the hole. Now I have a mound of dirt that's about 3ft high about 3 feet wide and about 6 feet wide. Any suggestions on how to get it to settle? Also, I don't believe that there is any way that it would all settle into the hole. Any suggestions on the easiest way to get rid of it? (ie. what type of company? Tools that we could get cheap? Is there something we can rent to shovel the dirt into and someone comes and hauls it away? lol)

I'm a new home owner and know absolutely nothing about this sort of thing! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Answer 1

Place a big sign out that say's "FREE FILL DIRT"

Post it on craigslist under free section and also freecycle.org.

Answer 2

Check with your local advertisers for a handyman. Get them to quote a price and stick to it. Also don't put your money up front.

Answer 3

Its a common problem that the amount of stuff removed to make a hole is always greater than what you can put back in. Its not a law of something, but that what is in the hole has been compacted over time. When you dig it out, it is no longer compacted to the same degree and therefore becomes bigger in volume than the hole. It would fit if you could compress the waste enough, but no-one has the time or facility to do this, so they always have some left over. With the volume you have, the most practical way to get rid of it is to hire a skip. I know its not a cheap option (Government green taxes again) but it will be quickly disposed of compared to making several dozen trips to the local "tip".