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5 Things You Need To Know Before Hiring A Skip

Skip Hire

5 Things You Need To Know Before Hiring A Skip

Whether you’re hiring a skip for the first time or you’ve hired one in the past – there’s always 5 important things you need to know before booking your skip: know the skip size you need, the location for the drop off and pick up, whether you need a license, what must not go inside the skip and what happens to the waste once it’s all collected. To know the answers to these 5 important things, read on!

1. What size skip do I need?

4 Yard Skips

Ideal for bathroom and kitchen refurbishments, small domestic projects, garage clearouts and garden maintenance. A 4 yard skip will generally fit 25 large black bin bags.

6 Yard Skips

Slightly bigger projects that include removing soil and bricks, household waste and hardcore. A 6 yard skip will generally fit 60 large black bin bags.

8 Yard Skips

Hardcore and rubble, household waste from large projects such as kitchen fitouts and redecorating, in order to get rid of mixed construction waste. An 8 yard skip will generally fit 80 large black bin bags.  

10 Yard Skips

Clearing out homes, removing large bulky items of furniture and construction waste. A 10 yard skip with generally fit 90 large black bin bags.

12 Yard Skips

Great for getting rid of plasterboard, fencing, and large pieces of furniture. A 12 yard skip will generally fit 110 large black bin bags.

14 Yard Skips

Shop fitouts and refurbishing projects, excellent for lighter materials such as wood, plastic and metal. A 14 yard skip will generally fit 120 large black bin bags.

16 Yard Skips

Commercial projects that involve lots of furniture, packaging and large but light waste is perfect for this skip size. A 16 yard skip will generally fit 150 large black bin bags.

Roll-On Roll-Off Skips s

These 20-40 yard skips are for large amounts of heavy waste. Used for commercial work to allow easy access when loading with hardcore, rubble (20 yard skip) but the 40 yard skip is better suited to lighter waste for transportation reasons.

2. Where should I position my skip?

If you’re wondering where to place your skip, you need to take into consideration the land you are on.

Placing a skip on private land

You can pretty much put your skip anywhere. However, it must be accessible for the lorry so that it can be dropped off and picked up with ease. It’s also important to note that skips, when full, can be excessively heavy – so you will want to decide on a location that will take the weight (a reinforced section of land would be perfect).  

Placing a skip on public land

If you wish to place the skip on the road, you will need to acquire a permit before placing your skip there.

3. Do I require a skip license?

A skip license must be obtained before placing a skip somewhere that is not private land. Once you have a council permit, you will then be able to position the skip you have hired, on the public road outside of the property.

4. What can’t go inside a skip?

It would be irresponsible to mix toxic materials with ones that can be reused and recycled – not to mention – a health hazard to humans and animals. Contaminated recyclable materials will end up in landfill or may not even be collected at all. Below are a list of items that should not be placed into a skip:

  • Spray cans
  • Asbestos
  • Batteries
  • Fluorescent tubes
  • Food
  • Fridges and freezers
  • Oils
  • Paint cans, solvents
  • Electrical equipment
  • Tyres

5. What happens to the waste once it’s taken away?

Responsible waste management is incredibly important because it affects the planet we live on. Once your waste is taken away, it is it then sifted through by professionals who care for environment and work hard to improve the recycling process of materials, in order to decrease the amount of waste that ends up in landfill.


At Enfield Skips Ltd, we take great care in waste management and do everything we can to recycle as much as possible. If you’re looking for a great service and a responsible team of professionals who can collect and dispose of your waste – for both domestic and commercial projects – call us today! We work throughout Enfield, Hertfordshire and North London.

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