Hiring a skip can be a bit daunting when you’ve never done it before. But it doesn’t need to be. The following skip hire advice should hopefully make the process of rubbish clearance a lot less stressful.
Sometimes on the same day, but usually on the following day. The cheapest prices showing on skipandbin.com tend to be from skip hire companies with the most capacity, so you should normally be able to get a skip delivered very quickly.
Basically anything hazardous and also certain materials that for environmental reasons need to be disposed of separately. Here is a list of the most common things you cannot put in a skip. Always ask your skip hire provider for their advice if you are unsure.
The ideal skip size depends on the amount of waste you think you’ll be creating and how much space you have to put the skip. Go to our skip size guide for detailed help and advice:
The price covers delivery, collection, and disposal. No labour is included although some operators may offer this for extra. Typical hire period is for a week to 10 days but skip hire companies are usually quite flexible about when they collect provided you give them adequate notice.
Waste disposal fees for skip companies are based on weight not volume of waste. The heavier the material, the more it costs to dispose of. So skip loads comprising denser, heavier materials like rubble, soil and concrete cost more than lighter loads of bulkier waste like furniture, paper & packaging, and flooring materials.
Normally yes, but you will need a skip permit from the council before doing so. The largest skip any council will allow on a road is 8 yards. Go to our skip permit page for more information and advice, including a useful look-up tool for instantly checking how much a skip permit costs in your area. Simply type in your postcode and press go. Once you know how much a permit will cost, you can then search for skip firms in that area. Some skip companies will sort out the permit for you, for an additional fee.
If you’re planning to have a skip on your property rather than on the road, always check with the skip hire operator beforehand how much access is required. Skip lorries are normally at least 8 ½ feet wide, with some as wide as 9 ½ feet.
It depends on what waste you have, where you are in the UK, and also the skip hire operator you use. Skip hire companies are recycling more and more to avoid the cost of sending waste to landfill. Some skip companies operate their own waste processing facilities and some use third party facilities. There’s nothing wrong with a skip company taking your waste to another waste facility, but every operator should be able to tell you what happens with the waste they collect. If they cannot tell you, let us know!
All of the skip hire operators listed on skipandbin.com are licensed by the Environment Agency to remove waste. Those whose Waste Carrier’s Licenses have been approved independently by SkipandBin have a rosette next to their name.
Yes, if the skip is placed on a public highway it must be covered overnight and have adequate lighting to be seen by passers-by. There is no such requirement for skips placed on private property.
Many of the waste household and garden materials that are put in a skip as a result of DIY projects or home and garden clearances can be recycled. When choosing a skip hire company it’s worth checking out the nature of their materials recycling policy.
Once you’ve identified an approved and licenced skip hire company, hiring a skip is simply a case of giving them a call and providing the details of your requirements and delivery address. In some cases, it will be possible to deliver your skip on the same day that it’s ordered, but usually it will be delivered the following day.
Whilst many skip hire companies will allow you to hire a skip for a single day, some insist on a minimum skip-hire period. On average, most customers rent a skip for between seven and ten days although this period can be extended.
The capacity of a skip is measured in cubic yards. As a rule of thumb, one cubic yard will contain up to one metric tonne (1,000 kilograms) of waste. Putting this into context, one metric tonne = roughly 340 standard house bricks. If you’re filling a skip with soil or rubble, you can’t hire anything larger than an 8 yard skip, because the lorry won’t be able to pick up a larger size skip filled with a heavy load.
Skip bags are a convenient and lightweight alternative to traditional metal skips for the easy disposal of waste generated by household or garden clearances or simple renovation or DIY projects. Skip bags are delivered flat-packed, which means that they can be stored until you are ready to use them.
Whilst the majority of household and garden waste is perfectly suitable for putting in a skip, certain items which may pose a risk to health and safety must not be put in a skip and a safe alternative method of disposal must be employed, in accordance with regulations laid down by the Environment Agency. Click here for more info.
The best place to start is at skipandbin.com as all of our suppliers are fully licenced. To check that your chosen skip hire firm is an Approved Waste Carrier, you can use the Environment Agency’s online public register of waste carriers.
The trade body for UK skip hire companies. The National Skip Hire Association was established in August 2007 in order to provide a means of allowing skip hire customers to easily identify ethical and professional skip hire companies.
If you think we have missed any skip hire advice or information that would be helpful to include, please feel free to drop us a line.
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