Can anyone educate me on the ins and outs of skip hire please

mics_chick2

Hi

My OH and I are going to be emptying an elderly relative's property who has recently gone into a care home. There is a lot of rubbish as they were a bit of a hoarder so we're thinking of hiring a skip.  Anythng of any value or use will be donated to local charities.

Their property is at least a 45 minute drive from our house so we're thinking of getting a covered skip to stop other people filling it with their rubbish.

I'm also confused about whether you can mix rubbish in a skip or not? There's a lot of paperwork, bits of broken furniture, a small bit of rubble from a collapsed front wall and probably some other rubbish that I can't think of now.

Hope this makes sense and someone is able to help

Cheers Gail

Silvertabby

I think you will need to tell the skip hire company that it is for mixed rubbish, as that may affect the price.

When we hired a mini skip to dispose of a house full of just carpet and underlay, it was priced accordingly (something to do with how much it costs the hire company to further offload/recycle the contents).

And, yes, we nearly had to rugby tackle a neighbour to stop them from tipping in a load of garden rubbish.

casper_gutman

The only definitive way to find out what's allowed is probably to ask the company you're planning to rent the skip from - the rules may vary somewhat. Generally you can mix types of waste and most things can be put into a skip, but there will likely be rules about not accepting things like car oil, asbestos, old fridges that contain CFCs, solvents, pesticides and other dangerous chemicals.

Don't underestimate the size of skip you'll need. We're currently in the process of slowly helping declutter a relative's house, and so far we've filled two small skips just from the single garage!

casper_gutman

One company lists the following items that cannot be placed in their skips:

• Asbestos
• Batteries
• Clinical or medical waste, including syringes
• Fluorescent tubes
• Fridges, freezers and air conditioning units
• Gas canisters and gas bottles
• Hazardous & toxic materials
• Liquids
• Oil, petrol, diesel
• Paint & Cans of paint
• Plasterboard*
• Tyres

*They will take plasterboard, but it has to be in a separate skip.

benson1980

Grab bags are a bit more convenient I find- fill them up at your leisure (not necessarily all at once and this might prevent others trying to dump rubbish in them) and then you can book collection whenever you like.

I suspect they might work out a bit cheaper as well. The company I use just stipulate that plasterboard needs to be separate. Everything else can be mixed.

Jonboy_1984

Generally they will ask about the intended contents and price accordingly. Mixed loads attract the highest costs as they assume it will all go to landfill and price accordingly.

Fly tipping can be a problem, but if you can trace the contents via addresses or similar feel free to return them.

Check out your local** council tips policy on waste recycling centres, some allow hire vans if on a less than three/five day hire, and/or if you can demonstrate a local connection.

**either to the house being cleared or yourselves.

If there is any scrap metal leave on the front of the drive and it will likely be gone in the time you take make a cup of tea, or gone from the skip overnight anyway…

baser999

Not sure what you mean by a covered skip? Thought they were all open, and as such prone to being used by anybody when you’re not around. 

Someone’s suggested bagging up the rubbish, piling it outside and then paying a rubbish clearance firm to take it; may even be cheaper

Jonboy_1984

Generally a covered skip has welded plated over one end and the top. The other sloped end has hinged panels that can be padlocked shut.

House_owner

Maybe look into a company that collects rubbish (make sure they are properly licensed and don’t fly tip) I did this when I had a garage load of stuff to get rid of. It worked out cheaper than a skip and all the stuff was taken away at once - just had to move it to the front of the garage ready for removal on the day.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

baser999 said:

Not sure what you mean by a covered skip? Thought they were all open, and as such prone to being used by anybody when you’re not around.

Something like this,

Keep_pedalling

You certainly don’t want this happening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl5us_7Myyg