The main purpose of hiring a skip is of course to dispose of a large amount of waste at a time when you will have created or developed an unusual amount or when you’re moving house.
Regular reasons include home renovations, the removal of old furniture, garden development or a house move or clearance.
The trouble is knowing exactly what can and cannot be disposed in them, as plenty of people assume they can take anything, which isn’t true.
What you CAN use them for
First of all, it’s best to be clear what you can actually throw in that skip you have hired. All of these are OK and safe:
- Soil (non-contaminated)
- Domestic Waste
- Bricks and Rubble
- Metals
- Wood
- Furniture
- Non-Electrical Appliances
- Plastics
All of these are OK to dispose of because in short they are either biodegradable, recyclable or easy to dispose of.
What you CANNOT use them for
There’s a collection of goods which all skip hiring companies will not accept in the UK, these include:
- TVs/monitors
- Plasterboard
- Asbestos
- Batteries
- Tyres
- Medical Waste
- Fluorescent Tubes
- Gas Cylinders
- Electricals
- Solvents
- Paint Tins
- Fuels
Speaking to skip hire company Reds Skip Hire in Basildon, they outlined that “all of these things cannot be disposed of in a skip because they don’t belong in regular landfill.”
“Any one of these items is potentially hazardous and harmful so needs to be disposed of in a controlled, individual environment.”
Where to dispose of the rest
Obviously this might be bad news to anyone sat on a pile of gas cylinders or a stack of old tyres. Thankfully there are other places you can go.
The list above can roughly be broken down into two main groups, things that can be taken to your local tips and things which will need professional waste management companies to help you with.
When it comes to your local tip/recycling centre, they will generally accept gas cylinders, electrical appliances, batteries, fridges/freezers, TV’s/monitors, plasterboard and paint tins as they will have specific areas of the centre to collect these.
Obviously throwing all of these things in landfill would stop them being filtered to be recycled so skips cannot take them, but careful consideration and the extra effort of running them down to the tip means they can be re-used.
If you have recently moved or are not clued up on your local recycling centres, enter your postcode into this helpful search tool from Directgov.
If you are still landed with the likes of asbestos, medical waste, solvents or oils, you are going to need to contact a specialist waste disposal firm.
When you next consider doing any home renovations, landscaping or mechanical work, remember to consider your waste disposal options early so that you aren’t landed with a fridge or a stack of tyres clogging up your garden space.
