If you’re looking to declutter your home while the sun is still out, this might be the best time to do so. If it’s a whole house you’re planning to clean up and reclaim space in by getting rid of some stuff, you must be ready for the resulting mess.
In this case, you may need to get a skip hire to help you with your cleaning. Here’s everything you need to know about skip hiring.
What is a ‘skip hire’?
A skip is a large open-topped trash collection container designed to be fit onto a special type of collecting. Think of it as a dump truck, but instead of a truck that collects trash one by one per house, the dump truck is able to leave its bed for residents to leave their waste for collection.
Usually, waste management services leave a skip on the street so nearby residents can dump their waste. When it’s full or after a scheduled amount of time, the truck returns, replaces the full skip with an empty one, loads the full skip to the back of the truck, and then takes it to a landfill to dump waste or a waste management facility to properly sort out the garbage for proper disposal, recycling, or treatment.
Skip hire is when you employ the services of a waste management company that rents out skips. If you’re doing a deep clean of your home and have plenty of large garbage bags and larger items that need to go to disposal, you might need your own skip on your driveway or (if it’s legal in your area) on your side of the street.
So, you rent a skip from a waste management company, and they deliver a skip to your home or business. The size can vary, depending on your needs. They leave the skip with you for as long as you need it while cleaning your home. Once your finished, the company will pick up the skip and dispose of the waste for you.
Who needs a skip hire?
While the average American produces around four pounds of trash in one day, in some cases, there may be more trash than this. Which is why it might be necessary for instances for people to rent a skip. A few of these examples include:
- Spring cleaning and you find plenty of items in your house to dispose;
- Construction work, and you’re trying to dispose of the debris during clean-up;
- Companies that prefer to rent a skip to dispose of old equipment and furniture when redesigning the office or are moving out or closing down;
- People that prefer to hire eco-friendly skips rather than use public waste disposal facilities that dump garbage into landfills.
There are various skip hiring businesses everywhere. Take note that some skip hiring businesses have varying policies. For example, some skip rental businesses will refuse old furniture like sofas and couches. Others may refuse toxic chemicals, dangerous materials like certain cleaning agents that can cause chemical reactions, and items like batteries that can leak harmful materials. And for more eco-conscious individuals, there are some businesses that promise green and eco-conscious disposal.
The rental prices of these skip services can vary based on a lot of factors: the size of skip you’re renting, the item you’re disposing of, your location, and the handling and service fees of the company you’re renting from.
Why rent a skip?
There are many reasons people would hire a skip. Perhaps they’re remodeling or getting ready to sell the house. Here are a few more reasons to hire a skip:
Deceased estate
When a person dies, their heirs may want to dispose of their old furniture and belongings that cannot be sold or reused. Hiring a skip can provide enough space for their disposal needs.
Gardening and landscaping
After gardening and landscaping, you may be left with a lot of debris like leaves, branches, weeds, rocks, and other unsightly items for disposal. If composting is not a solution, renting a skip may be the next best option.
Construction
When remodeling, renovating, or doing major changes to your home, there may be debris or rubble that other waste management methods will not accept. As such, it’s best to have a skip just outside your home to deal with the additional waste.
Cost-Effective and Convenient
When a public skip is full or your trash collector refuses to take certain types of garbage, you have two options: personally take your trash to a dumpsite (which can cost you time and money for the gas spent driving to the site) or you can hire a company to leave a skip outside your home where it’s convenient and then just give them a call when it’s time to pick up your waste.
Hiring a skip
Hiring a skip is easy—what’s difficult is hiring a reliable one. The first thing you need to ask is if they have all the licenses and permits. If your property is small, you could ask for their public liability insurance in case of an accident and if they hit your property while doing their business.
Next, you have to make sure that the company you hire has the right size of skip available. It’s a waste of money if you hire a skip company whose smallest skip is still too big for your needs. At the same time, if you get one that is too small, you may be charged extra for the added weight capacity.
There are two options for skip rentals: off-property, meaning on the streets, or on your property, meaning your driveway.
Type of skips
Size matters when it comes to ordering the right skip. Skips typically come in five sizes. It’s best to estimate the amount of garbage you’re planning to dispose of (waste management companies can often help you with a free estimate) and choose one that is just right for the project you have in mind.
- Mini Skips. This is the smallest in the bunch. It is perfect for domestic and commercial users and it comes in 2 and 3-yard capacities.
- Midi. Not too small and not too large, it is ideal for small to medium-sized jobs. It comes in 4 and 5-yard sizes, and the size allows it to be placed in the driveway, which eliminates the need for a skip permit.
- Builders’. This is the skip that you will commonly see on building sites. It comes in 6 or 8-yard capacities and is perfect for home improvement projects.
- Maxi. This is big and comes in different sizes, starting from 10 yards all the way to 18 yards. It is ideal for commercial use and in larger residential communities.
- Roll-on Roll-off. This is the largest size available. The capacity is anywhere from 20 to 40-yard, which makes the skip ideal for industrial clients. The space required is also significantly larger.
Where does my garbage go?
Cheaper skip rental companies may send your garbage to a landfill or dumpsite. However, the more mid-range and high-end skips will opt to send your garbage to be recycled. Some companies may even have their own sorting center to handle the recycling themselves before taking it to the appropriate disposal centers.
Approximately sixty to seventy percent of the waste in the skip will be recycled. Ask your skip company what their procedures are because some of them have their own waste processing facility. It also depends on the type of wastes you have put in.
Items not usually allowed in skips
Fair warning, though: while you might be lucky and find skip rentals willing to take in any type of garbage, it’s common for most businesses to refuse these types of waste as they post a hazard to those handling the skip and where your garbage can end up. These include:
- Vehicle tires – there may be a specific way of disposing of tires depending on where you live.
- Batteries – disposable batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and special batteries for different types of tools and equipment can leak hazardous chemicals, so many areas have regulations on how to properly dispose of batteries
- Refrigerators and freezers – units can leak out coolants that can be harmful to the environment
- Gas canisters/gas bottles/spray cans – can explode when punctured, which can be flammable
- Large appliances like TVs, computer monitors, kitchen appliances, etc. – certain areas have regulations on how to dispose of these
- Fluorescent tubes – can be harmful for the environment, and broken tubes can be a hazard for those handling your waste.
Should you hire a skip hire?
Getting a skip hire is a way to go if you’re decluttering for whatever reason or have garbage that your regular disposal methods cannot apply to. By hiring a professional skip hire company, you can be sure that a responsible waste management system will be applied to your trash.
It may be an added cost, but getting a skip hire is the responsible and convenient way of getting rid of your trash. It’s a cleaner option, and you can easily find a waste management service that caters to your needs and has the right skip size for you.
