The skip for a clearance
| The job | The skip | Holds | Guide price (incl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-bed flat clearance | 8 Yard Skip | about 80 bin bags | from £450 |
| Loft clearance | 12 Yard Skip | about 120 bin bags | from £576 |
Each line is a job our size guide matches to that skip. Guide prices are for a private-property (driveway) delivery with general mixed waste at a London postcode. Get the price for your postcode. Bag counts assume full 60-litre bin bags — about 10 to a cubic yard. Bulky items take more room than bags.
Every skip on sale, by what it holds:
| Skip | Holds | Guide price (incl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Yard Skip | about 40 bin bags | from £366 |
| 6 Yard Skip | about 60 bin bags | from £438 |
| 8 Yard Skip | about 80 bin bags | from £450 |
| 12 Yard Skip | about 120 bin bags | from £576 |
| 16 Yard Skip | about 160 bin bags | from £672 |
Furniture takes more room than bags, so size up rather than down. The biggest skip on sale is 16 yards, about 160 bin bags. For more than one skip takes, book a second skip, or a roll-on/roll-off container, which starts at 20 yards and needs more room for the lorry. Every size compared.
What a clearance turns up, and where it goes
| What it turns up | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Wardrobes, tables, bed frames, shelving and other wooden furniture | In the skip, as general waste. Take large pieces apart. |
| Clothes, books, crockery, toys and general household junk | In the skip, as general waste. |
| A sofa, an armchair or other padded seating | Only if you declare it when you book. The foam and fabric can contain persistent organic pollutants, so it is incinerated separately. It is priced as its own line before you pay. |
| A mattress | Only if you declare it when you book. It is taken apart and processed on its own. It is priced as its own line before you pay. |
| A fridge or freezer | Only if you declare it when you book. The refrigerant gas has to be removed before the unit is recycled. It is priced as its own line before you pay. |
| A television or monitor | Not without asking first: tell us before you book and we will say whether it can be taken and what it costs. |
| A car tyre | Only if you declare it when you book. Tyres cannot go to landfill; they go to a tyre recycler. It is priced as its own line before you pay. |
| Carpets | Fine in small amounts. Where it makes up more than about a tenth of the load there is an extra charge, so say so before you book. |
| Paint, oil and chemicals from the garage or shed | Fuels, oils and loose or leaking liquids never go in. Empty, dry paint tins are fine; a tin with paint still in it, or a container of any other chemical, needs asking about before you book. |
| A gas bottle | Not without asking first: tell us before you book and we will say whether it can be taken and what it costs. |
| Household and lithium batteries | Never. They are a fire risk in a tipped load, and have their own recycling route. |
| Medicines and anything clinical | Never. Clinical waste has its own licensed collection. |
Asbestos never goes in a skip. The Health and Safety Executive says it may be part of any home built or refurbished before 2000, and lists water tanks, asbestos cement roofs and flues, and floor tiles among the places it can still be found. If you are not sure what a material is, do not break it up: HSE's advice is not to try to remove asbestos yourself without training, and that some materials, insulating board among them, should only be removed by a contractor it licenses. The environmental health officer at your council can advise.
Is it yours to clear?
Under the terms you confirm that the waste is yours to dispose of. If the contents belong to somebody else — a former tenant, or an estate you are not acting for — settle that before anything goes in the skip.
A skip or a cage van?
Both take a clearance. The difference is how the job runs.
| A skip | A cage van | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | It stands on site and you fill it over the hire | It waits while you load it through the rear doors, then leaves with the waste |
| Suits | A clearance done over several days, or with heavy waste in it | Light waste that is ready to go in one visit |
| Takes | Household, garden and building waste | Light waste only: bags, boxes, packaging, furniture and light timber |
| On a public road | Needs a council permit | No skip permit: nothing is left standing |
You load either one yourself. A cage van has a set loading time: if loading is not finished within it, the driver may leave with what is loaded, and collecting the rest is a new booking — so have everything gathered at the door first. Half Load Cage Van from £360; Full Load Cage Van from £504, including VAT. See cage vans.
If somebody else is taking it away
Any business that takes waste away must be a registered waste carrier. A householder's part is to take reasonable steps to make sure the waste goes only to someone authorised to take it: with a private firm, by checking that it is a registered waste carrier on the regulator's public register.
That is the rule for the household waste of your own home. Waste from clearing a property after it has been vacated, by a landlord or letting agent for example, is not household waste, and a transfer note is needed for it. What a waste transfer note is, and who needs one.
Loading a clearance into a skip
- Take furniture apart where you can. A wardrobe loaded whole wastes most of the space inside it.
- Flat things against the sides, bags and small waste in the gaps.
- Level with the sides, and no higher. A skip heaped above the rim cannot be carried on the road, and under the terms a wasted journey costs £60 plus the return visit at cost.
- Keep anything from the never list out: check the garage, the shed and the loft before loading.
Where the skip will stand
On your own drive or land there is nothing to arrange. If the skip has to stand on a public road it needs a council permit, which is arranged for you and shown as its own line in the price before you pay; each council sets its own fee and notice period. The fee for every council, and the options if you have no drive.
Where these figures come from
The sizes, what each holds and the prices are our own, read from our catalogue and updated about hourly; each job is matched to a size by our size guide's own lines. What has to be declared is what the booking offers today, and what never goes in is our Acceptable Waste Policy, which is part of our terms. Where asbestos can still be found is the Health and Safety Executive's guidance.