Skip Hire Facts – With waste management being a vital service, skip hire is an important part of waste disposal efforts around the world. Here in the UK, there are some things you need to know about skip hire services.
To make sure that you’re well-informed about skip hire, this blog post from the experts at Skip Hire Wigan will help you to learn more. Here are seven skip hire facts you simply can’t afford to ignore.
1) Skip hire should include eco-friendly waste disposal
With landfills in Northern England expected to reach capacity in the next few years, it’s more important than ever for skip hire in Bolton and across the northwest to be more sustainable.
When booking a skip, you must use a licensed waste carrier to ensure that your waste doesn’t end up fly-tipped. Any responsible skip company will also recycle at least 90% of the waste they collect.
At Wigan Skip Hire, we carefully sort the contents of every skip at our facility, sending on as much recyclable material as we can. We incinerate non-reusable materials before resorting to landfill.
2) You can’t put a skip on the road without a permit
We’re sure you’ve seen many a skip on the road before, but did you know that this requires a licence? The local council will charge a fee for the permit to place a skip on a public highway.
Skip hire companies like us can sort out the permit on your behalf, including the fee in the final cost of your booking. The price of a skip permit varies from place to place, but it’s usually £30 to £40.
It can take a few working days for the council to process an application, so you have to book in advance if you need one. You won’t need a permit if you’re putting the skip on your private land.
3) Cheap skip hire doesn’t mean high-quality skip hire
It’s understandable that you’d want to look for the lowest price possible when hiring a skip, but if it’s unbelievably cheap then the level of service is likely to match. You get what you pay for, after all.
With the UK disposing of more than 220 million tonnes of waste a year, fly-tipping fines of £400 to £50,000, and the ever-growing climate crisis, you can’t afford to be conned by a cowboy company.
We offer a range of competitively-priced skip hire options, so you’re sure to find a solution within your budget from Wigan Skip Hire. You can also enquire about our affordable tipping facilities.
4) You have to follow safety rules for skip placement
A skip needs to sit on flat, solid, and stable ground, with a clearance area around it for access. The delivery truck also needs enough space to unload and later collect the skip, with no obstacles.
Legally, a skip must not be within 15 feet of a junction, and must not block any entrances, exits, or utilities. You should never attempt to move a skip yourself if you’re not happy with where it is.
When placing a skip on a road, which requires a permit, you have to surround it with safety cones and set up lights to make it visible at night. We can provide these items with the skip if needed.
5) Skips have a weight limit for how much you can put in them
Every skip should have a line around the inside to indicate the maximum level that you can fill it up to. Overfilling the skip above this line can make the skip too heavy to lift, and even cause accidents.
Things can easily fall out of an overloaded skip and injure people or animals, or damage property. It’s illegal to line a skip with ‘greedy boards’ to try and raise the height of the sides to fit more in it.
As a general guide, skips can hold one tonne of waste for every cubic yard. So, for example, a 4-yard skip can contain up to 4 tonnes of rubbish. If your skip is too full, we may not be able to collect it.
6) There are some things that you can’t put in a skip
Most domestic waste can go in a skip, but some materials are prohibited. This means that you cannot put certain types of waste into your skip, due to the risk of serious hazards to health.
Hazardous waste includes things like liquids, chemicals, solvents, aerosols, and electricals. If you need to check whether you can put something in your skip, please contact us for more information.
Not only can putting hazardous materials in your skip cause physical harm, but it can also result in you having to pay a fine when it’s found. We can also refuse to collect a skip containing hazards.
7) You can only hire a skip for a limited time
The timeframe for skip hire can vary from company to company, but each type of skip will have a set price for a certain duration of hire. This hire period is generally between 1 to 4 weeks per payment.
At Wigan Skip Hire, we offer 2-week hire for 2- and 4-yard skips, and 3-week hire for 8-yard skips. Of course, you can renew and extend the hire period by making another payment if you need to.
However, collections don’t automatically happen when the hire period expires. You need to contact our office to let us know when you want us to come and pick up the skip, whether it’s early or not.
Contact Skip Hire Wigan to book a skip
If you’re looking to hire a skip soon, then hopefully these facts will help you get the most value out of the experience. You can book a skip online whenever you’re ready, up to a month in advance.
From skip hire in Bolton to Wigan and beyond, you can rely on us for efficient and friendly skip hire services. Should you have any questions about hiring our skips, just give us a call on 01942 597 358.