The five things to decide first
| Decide | What to know |
|---|---|
| Where it will stand | On your own drive or land there is nothing to arrange. On a public road, pavement or verge it needs a council permit, which is arranged for you and shown in your price. |
| What is going in | The load has to match the waste type you choose. A few items must be declared when you book, and some can never go in. |
| The size | Choose by the job, not by guesswork — and with heavy waste, weight is the limit rather than space. |
| Access | The lorry pulls up alongside the spot and lifts the skip down from above, so it needs room beside and overhead. |
| The fill line | Level with the rim and no higher, or the skip cannot be taken. |
Choosing the size
| Skip size | Good for | Guide price (incl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Yard Skip | A small clear-out | from £366 |
| 6 Yard Skip | A small home job | from £438 |
| 8 Yard Skip | A 1-bed flat clearance | from £450 |
| 8 Yard Enclosed Skip | A 1-bed flat clearance | from £438 |
| 12 Yard Skip | A whole-room renovation | from £576 |
| 12 Yard Enclosed Skip | A whole-room renovation | from £564 |
| 16 Yard Skip | A builder's job | from £672 |
These are guide prices for a private-property (driveway) delivery with general mixed waste at a London postcode. Get the price for your postcode, or read which size fits which job.
With heavy waste you reach the weight limit long before the skip looks full, which is why soil / subsoil and hardcore / rubble go in skips of 8 yards or less.
Booking it
You book online: enter your postcode, choose the container and the waste type, pick a date, say where the skip is going, and pay. You see the price before committing to anything, including the council permit if the skip is going on the road, and anything that adds to the booking — an item that needs declaring, say — is in your price before you pay.
- You pay in full when you book. There is no deposit on top.
- You choose the delivery day. Deliveries can be booked from the next day, Monday to Saturday; Sundays and bank holidays are not offered.
- A skip going on the road waits for its permit. Each council works to its own notice period, so a road delivery usually cannot be as quick as one to a drive. How skip permits work.
- A confirmation is emailed with your paid invoice attached.
The day it arrives
You choose the day, not the hour: a time of day cannot be guaranteed, so plan for the skip to arrive at any point that day. You do not usually need to be in, as long as the spot is clear and you have said where the skip goes.
What stops a delivery is access, not absence. Keep the area free of parked cars, low branches and overhead cables, and allow room in front for the lorry itself rather than just for the skip. If access is tight, say so when you book.
A loaded skip and the lorry that sets it down are heavy, and driveways, block paving, lawns and drain covers are frequently not built to carry them. Boards under the skip spread the load and are worth putting down wherever there is doubt. Under the terms, ground off the public highway is at your risk — neither we nor the carrier is liable for damage to it unless it was caused by the carrier's negligence — so tell us about soft ground, slopes or drain covers before the day.
Filling it
- Only what you booked it for. The load has to match the waste type you chose. What can and cannot go in.
- Declare what has to be declared. With us that is car tyre, commercial fridge, domestic fridge, double mattress, mattress, POPs upholstered furniture: each is priced when you book.
- Level with the rim. An overfilled skip cannot legally be carried on the road, so a driver who finds one heaped over the top may not be able to take it.
Having it collected
There is no fixed hire period. If you already know the day you want it gone, choose it when you book. If you do not, you are emailed a calendar, and you pick the day that suits. If the skip is full before that, say so — you do not have to wait for the email. Keeping it longer is not charged as extra hire, though a skip on the road needs its permit extended to cover the extra days, and for a consumer the hire cannot run beyond three months in total.
Before the lorry comes, make sure the load is level with the rim and the skip can be reached. Afterwards a waste transfer note is sent to you: the document that records what the waste was and who took it.
What can add to the price
The price you pay at booking is the price of the job as booked. The terms and the waste policy name what can be charged on top, each for something that happens after you book:
| Charge | When it applies | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Wasted journey | The lorry attends and cannot deliver or collect: no safe access, a blocked space, an overfilled skip | £60 plus the return visit at cost |
| Late cancellation | You cancel within 24 hours of the delivery date | £30 |
| Cancellation after dispatch | You cancel once the vehicle has been dispatched | £60 |
| A permit already granted | You cancel after the council has granted the permit | The permit fee, if the council will not refund it |
| A longer permit | The skip stays on the road beyond its permit | The council's fee and any charge for arranging it |
| Waste not as booked | The load is not the waste type booked, or holds an item that should have been declared | Re-weighed and charged at the correct rate; a declared item at the disposal facility's charge |
| Weight over what a roll-on/roll-off includes | The container weighs more than its price covers | The rate per tonne for that waste |
Cancelling more than 24 hours before delivery costs nothing unless a council permit has already been granted, and if you booked as a consumer you also have the statutory 14-day right to cancel, counted from the day the booking is confirmed. You are told what happened and what it will cost before anything is charged. The full terms.