Name: Waste Central
Address: 51 Eastern Way, Letchworth Garden City, SG6 4PG, SG6 4PG, GB
Telephone: 0203 780 8888
Price range: ££

Question 1

How quickly can you deliver a skip?

Accepted Answer

Same-day delivery is available on orders placed before 12:00, subject to a local supplier having a lorry and a container free; after that, the next working day is standard. Because the job is arranged with the licensed carrier nearest your postcode rather than run out of one yard, availability is a local question — the booking page shows the dates that supplier can actually do rather than a general promise. Deliveries run Monday to Saturday; Sundays and bank holidays are not available. If the date you need is tight, say so when you book and we will tell you honestly whether it can be met.

Question 2

How do I book a skip?

Accepted Answer

The quickest way is online: enter your postcode, choose the container and waste type, pick a date and where it is going, and pay. You see the price before committing to anything, including the council permit fee if the container is going on the road, and nothing is added afterwards that was not on the page. If you would rather talk it through, call 0203 780 8888 or message us on WhatsApp and we will arrange it for you — the line is open Mon-Fri: 7am - 6pm
Sat: 8am - 1pm.

Question 3

How long can I keep the skip?

Accepted Answer

Hire periods are flexible rather than fixed to a standard fortnight. Tell us roughly how long you need it when you book and collection is arranged to suit; when you are finished, call or message and we will book the lorry. If the job runs longer than expected that is usually fine. The one thing to watch is a container standing on a public road, because the council permit covering it runs for a set period and has to be extended rather than allowed to lapse — a skip sitting on an expired permit is the customer's problem, not the supplier's, which is exactly why we watch the clock and contact you before it runs down.

Question 4

Do I need to be there when the skip is delivered?

Accepted Answer

Not usually. If the drop spot is clear and you have said where it goes, the driver can deliver without anybody present — the delivery instructions travel with the booking rather than sitting in somebody's inbox. Access matters more than attendance: the lorry needs room to pull alongside and swing the container down, so a car parked across the spot will stop the delivery even if you are standing next to it. If the placement is awkward, or the only route in is through a gate or a shared yard, being there for five minutes is worth it.

Question 5

Which areas do you cover?

Accepted Answer

England, Scotland and Wales. We work through licensed carriers local to the job rather than from one yard, so coverage is a question of which operator serves your postcode rather than how far you are from a depot — enter it and you will get a price and the next available date, or a clear answer that we cannot reach you. Some areas have their own page with the local authorities and permit rules written up, but coverage is not limited to those. If a postcode falls outside the network we will say so rather than take a booking that cannot be fulfilled.

Question 6

Do I need a permit for my skip?

Accepted Answer

Only if it stands on a public road. On your own driveway or private land, no permit is needed and the question never comes up. On the road, the council's own fee is shown as its own line while you book — theirs, not ours — and we apply for the permit on your behalf, so you never contact the council. Councils work in working days and each sets its own notice period, so if the date you have chosen is too tight for yours we will tell you and either push it for you or move the delivery by a day, rather than letting a skip arrive without a permit under it.

Question 7

How much does a skip permit cost?

Accepted Answer

The council sets it, not us, and it varies widely between authorities — which is why two quotes for the same skip in different towns are not directly comparable. Whatever your council charges is shown as its own line while you book, before you commit, rather than turning up on an invoice weeks later. Some authorities also charge separately to suspend a parking bay, where the container needs the space a car would otherwise occupy. You only pay a permit at all if the container stands on a public road: on a driveway or private land there is nothing to apply for and nothing to pay.

Question 8

Where should the skip be placed?

Accepted Answer

Ideally on firm, level hardstanding such as a driveway, with clear space above and around it so the lorry can lower and lift it. Ground condition matters more than people expect — a loaded container is heavy enough to sink into a lawn or crack block paving, so boards are worth putting down where there is any doubt. If there is no room off-road we will place it on the road under a council permit, with the lamps and markings that requires. Tell us about slopes, gateways, overhanging branches or a narrow entrance when you book rather than on the day, when the lorry is already outside.

Question 9

How much access space do you need?

Accepted Answer

The lorry pulls up alongside the drop spot and works its arms or chains directly overhead, so the clearance that matters is above as much as beside. Keep the area free of parked cars, low branches and overhead cables on the day, and allow room in front for the lorry itself rather than just for the container. Width through a gateway is the other common blocker. If access is tight, say so when you book — a smaller container that can actually be delivered beats a larger one that cannot, and a grab lorry can sometimes load over a wall where nothing can be set down at all.

Question 10

Do you offer wait and load?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The lorry arrives, the load goes on, and it leaves in the same visit, so nothing is left standing on your property or on the road afterwards. That answers two things a standing container cannot: there is no permit to apply for, because nothing remains on the highway, and there is nothing sitting on a shared forecourt for a week collecting somebody else's rubbish. Some councils will not licence a standing skip on certain streets at all, which can make it the only workable option. It suits a couple of hours of clearance rather than a job that fills gradually over several days.

Question 11

What sizes of skip do you offer?

Accepted Answer

From a 2-yard mini skip for a small clear-out, up through 4, 6 and 8-yard builders skips that cover the common domestic range, to 12, 14 and 16-yard maxi skips for bulky but lightweight clearances. Above those are 20 and 40-yard roll-on/roll-off containers for commercial and construction work, and grab hire where nothing can be set down at all. Heavy waste such as soil, rubble and plasterboard is capped at 8 yards whatever the volume, because the lorry has to be able to lift it — on those streams weight, not space, is the limit you meet first.

Question 12

How much does skip hire cost?

Accepted Answer

It depends on three things: the container size, the postcode, and what is going in it. Waste is priced by what it is as well as by how much — soil and rubble are heavy and cost more to dispose of than the same volume of light household clearance. On top of that sits the council permit fee if the container stands on a public road, which is the council's charge rather than ours and is itemised separately. Enter a postcode and you will see live figures for every available container, with the extras shown on the page rather than added afterwards.

Question 13

Which skip size do I need?

Accepted Answer

As a rough guide: a 2 to 3-yard mini suits a garden tidy-up or small DIY job; a 4-yard midi a bathroom or small kitchen strip-out; a 6 to 8-yard builders skip most home-improvement work; and a 12-yard or larger maxi bulky but light clearances such as furniture and packaging. The common mistake is sizing on volume alone. If you are filling it with soil, rubble or concrete you will reach the weight limit long before the container looks full, which is why those streams are capped at 8 yards. If you are unsure, describe the job and we will point you at the right one.

Question 14

What is the difference between a skip and a roll-on/roll-off container?

Accepted Answer

Size, and how they are handled. A skip runs from 2 to 16 yards and is lifted on and off by a lorry using chains or arms. A roll-on/roll-off is 20 or 40 yards, arrives on a hook-loader that rolls it off the back, and needs considerably more room — both for the container itself and for the lorry to manoeuvre into line with it. RoRo suits sustained volume, such as a strip-out or a construction phase, rather than a one-off clearance, and it is priced by the tonne as well as by the container. If you are unsure, price both against the postcode and compare.

Question 15

Are your prices inclusive of VAT?

Accepted Answer

Every price on the site states its VAT treatment beside it, and the total you will be charged is confirmed in full before any payment is taken. Nothing is added afterwards that was not shown to you on the page — including the council permit fee, which appears as its own line rather than being folded quietly into the hire rate. If you need the breakdown for accounts, it is on the confirmation sent after booking.

Question 16

What can I put in a skip?

Accepted Answer

General household junk, furniture, garden waste, soil, bricks, rubble, timber and most renovation materials are all fine. What matters is that the load matches the waste type you chose when booking, because that is what both the price and the disposal route are based on: a container booked as light household waste and filled with concrete will be weighed and re-charged at the facility. If you are clearing a mix, choose the type that describes the bulk of it and mention anything unusual when you book. Keeping heavy materials such as soil and rubble in their own container is usually cheaper than mixing them through the rest.

Question 17

What can't go in a skip?

Accepted Answer

Four things never: asbestos, paint and liquids, batteries and chemicals, and loose electrical items — each needs a separate route, and most of those we can still arrange for you. A handful of others do go in a skip but have to be declared when you book, because each is handled separately at the facility: fridges and freezers, gas bottles, mattresses, tyres, plasterboard and upholstered furniture. They are priced on the page rather than added to your invoice afterwards.

Question 18

Can I put plasterboard in my skip?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but it has to be kept separate from general waste — gypsum cannot be landfilled alongside biodegradable waste, so it is collected as its own load. Declare it when you book and it is priced on the page. Plasterboard is also one of the heavy streams capped at 8 yards, for the same reason soil and rubble are: the lorry has to be able to lift it.

Question 19

How full can I fill the skip?

Accepted Answer

Level with the top rim, and no higher. An overloaded container cannot legally be carried on the road, because the load has to be sheeted or netted and nothing may project above the sides — so a driver arriving to find one heaped over the top may not be able to take it, which costs a wasted visit rather than saving a second container. Weight is the other limit, and with soil, rubble or concrete it is the one you meet first: those reach the lorry's lifting capacity well before the container looks full, which is why the heavy streams are capped at 8 yards.

Question 20

Are you a licensed waste carrier?

Accepted Answer

Yes — we are a registered upper-tier waste carrier and broker, and our registration number is on every page of this site, hyperlinked to the Environment Agency's public register so you can check it before you book rather than take our word for it. Every carrier we arrange work with is checked against that same register, and re-checked every day.

Question 21

What happens to the waste you collect?

Accepted Answer

It goes to a permitted facility, and your waste transfer note records which one — that note is issued automatically and is the document that proves your duty of care was met. We arrange the work rather than process the waste ourselves, so what happens to a load is done by a licensed operator and evidenced on paper rather than promised on a website.

Question 22

What is a waste transfer note?

Accepted Answer

It is the document recording a load of waste changing hands: what it was, who produced it, who carried it, and where it went. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 the duty of care stays with whoever produced the waste, and the transfer note is how you demonstrate you discharged it. No broker or carrier can take that responsibility off you, and anyone claiming they can is selling something they cannot deliver. What we can do is make sure the evidence exists without you chasing it: one is issued for every load and filed against your booking, so the paperwork is assembled before anybody asks for it.

Question 23

How do I pay?

Accepted Answer

By card online when you book, or over the phone if you would rather arrange it with somebody. The full price, including any council permit fee, is confirmed before payment is taken. Businesses placing regular work can apply for a trade account and order against agreed terms instead of paying job by job, with one statement per period covering every site. Whichever route you use, the figure you agree is the figure charged — anything extra is declared and priced up front rather than appearing afterwards.

What people ask before they book.

Booking & delivery

Permits & placement

Skip sizes & prices

What can go in a skip

Recycling, licensing & payment

Still have a question?