Roll-on/roll-off
The container you order when a skip is not enough.
A roll-on/roll-off is a large open container delivered by hooklift lorry, from 15 to 40 cubic yards. It suits sustained work that produces waste for weeks rather than an afternoon. You are billed for the tonnage that leaves the site, not for the size of the box.
40 Yard RoRo
Commercial roll-on roll-off
- Size
- 20ft × 7ft 6in × 8ft
- 6.1 × 2.29 × 2.44 m
- Includes
- 4 tonnes
Is this the right thing to order?
Sometimes it isn't.
We would rather tell you now than send a lorry that cannot do the job.
- A site producing waste for weeks — a strip-out, a groundworks phase, a demolition.
- Heavy material in volume. Soil, hardcore and concrete are a fraction of the mixed-waste rate per tonne, and a RoRo is the only way to move a lot of it legally.
- Anywhere you would otherwise book the same big skip four times, since each exchange is one movement rather than four deliveries.
- Segregated streams — one container per material keeps the cheap rate cheap instead of everything being billed as mixed.
- A one-off clear-out. The minimum tonnage means a half-empty RoRo costs more than the right-sized skip.
- A site the lorry cannot reverse straight into. It needs a clear run and level, load-bearing ground — see below.
- Anywhere with overhead cables, low branches or a canopy: the hook arm lifts high above the cab.
- A short driveway or a terraced street. That is a skip, or a grab if it can be reached from the road.
How it's priced
What you are actually paying for.
A minimum tonnage, then a rate per tonne
The quoted figure covers the minimum for your waste stream. Everything above it is weighed at the facility and billed at the published rate for that material.
Haulage per movement
Every delivery and every exchange is a lorry journey, and each one carries its own haulage. Collecting the container at the end is part of the last movement, not an extra one.
Which is why the size is nearly free
Containers sharing a minimum tonnage quote the same figure, so a bigger box costs no more until you fill it. Take the larger one — an empty half is free.
Access & siting
What it needs from your ground.
The thing that stops a delivery on the day is almost never the price. Worth thirty seconds now.
- Corridor width
- ~3 m
- Headroom
- ~5.5 m
- Level, load-bearing ground — a loaded container plus lorry is around 30 tonnes on four axles.
- The hook arm lifts well above the cab, so overhead cables, branches and canopies decide the spot as much as the floor does.
- No tight turns: the container is set down in line with the lorry, so it lands where the lorry can reverse straight.
Typical figures for UK vehicles, not a specification — length and turning vary by lorry, and the supplier checks against your actual site before the day.
Wherever the site is
Check your postcode.
We arrange every job through the licensed supplier nearest the site.
Check your postcode
Enter your postcode for live prices and the next available dates.
Roll-on/roll-off
Common questions
- How many skips is a RoRo worth?
- A 20-yard roll-on/roll-off holds roughly what two-and-a-half 8-yard builders' skips hold, and a 40-yard about five. Volume is usually not the reason to choose one, though — the weight allowance is. A large skip cannot legally be taken away full of soil or rubble, so heavy material in quantity means a RoRo whatever the volume works out to.
- Do I need a permit for a roll-on/roll-off?
- Only if it stands on the public highway, which is unusual for a RoRo — they are almost always sited on private ground because of the space and the load-bearing the lorry needs. Where one does go on the road, the council's own fee applies and we arrange the permit; the cost is shown before you commit.
- Can I have it exchanged when it is full?
- Yes, and online rather than by phone. An exchange is one lorry movement: the full container leaves and an empty one is set down in the same place. You can book it from the site without ringing anyone, which is the part most suppliers still do by phone.
- What happens if I go over the included weight?
- Nothing stops or gets refused — the load is weighed at the facility and the tonnage over the included weight is billed at the published rate for that waste stream. The rate is on our prices page before you book, so an overweight container is a bigger bill rather than a surprise one.
Get a number, or ask a person.
Both work. Only one of them needs a phone.