If you have recently been decluttering or undertaking home improvement or garden projects, you may be considering hiring a skip to dispose of your waste. Skip prices vary by size, the type of waste in them, where you place them and where you live. They vary from around £150 to £350. Luckily Anyjunk have produced a handy 2020 skip survey where you can check out the average price of a skip in cities across the UK.
Below are some great practical tips to help make sure you don’t pay over the odds when you hire a skip yourself. If you require more detailed background on how skip hire works and guidance on how best to use, check out this skip hire guide.
The bigger the better
The bigger the skip, the cheaper it costs per cubic metre to hire. So, if you have enough waste to dispose of, you’re normally better off hiring the largest skip available.
The issue with smaller skips is we often underestimate how much waste we have and end up overfilling skips. If you fill your skip past the ‘level load’ (the top of the skip), you could be charged extra or, in some cases, the extra waste is removed and left on your property. The transportation of an overfilled skip is extremely dangerous – this is why it’s important to be aware of the maximum level.
So, if in doubt, go for the larger sized skip. Use it as an opportunity to finally shift the unwanted items you’ve been harbouring in your garages, lofts and sheds.
Share a skip
It’s worth asking your neighbours if they want to team up to order a bigger skip and split the costs. This will help save you money whilst also offering a solution which doesn’t involve them sneaking rubbish out of their houses in the dead of night into your skip!
Off-road not on-road
Placing your skip on a public road costs money as you’ll need a skip permit from the council which can be costly (normally around £50). Also, if you live in a pay and display or resident permit area, this adds a CPZ suspension fee onto the price, which can be a whopping £100 a day in some areas of London!
So, if you have the space on your front garden or driveway, your best option is to place the skip here as it helps keep the cost down.
Protect your driveway
Skips can cause costly damage to block-paved or soft tarmac driveways. To prevent this happening, make sure your skip supplier protects your driveway. This can be done by resting the skip on planks of wood, spreading the heavy load and ensuring no damage to the surface. Ask your skip company to provide some planks or pop down to your local timber merchant.
Break down and separate your waste
Skips are normally hired at a flat rate instead of based on the weight of the waste inside. This means it’s better value for money if you try and fit as much waste as possible into the skip without overfilling it. The best way to do this is to break down and flatten the waste so it takes up less space.
If you have lots of heavy, inert waste like earth or rubble in a mixed waste skip, the extra weight charges are more likely to be added, so keep this in mind. Although, if you do have enough inert waste to fill an entire skip, companies may charge less as it’s more recyclable and brings their disposal costs down. The same goes for metal, green waste and paper/cardboard. If you have lots of these types of waste, we recommend making the skip supplier aware in advance and see if they’ll reduce the price.
For more information on hiring a skip or if you’re looking to book a skip, consider Anyjunk.
