A Guide to Hiring Skips for Garden Waste

Battling with branches, bags of grass and piles of topsoil? Why not get a skip for all your garden waste? A skip is a great way of dealing with any and all garden waste, and this month at SCS Waste, we’ve created a complete guide to hiring skips for garden waste to help you do it quickly and without hassle.

Read on to learn the benefits of skip hire for garden waste, how to pick the right skip size for your project, answers to common garden waste questions and the alternatives to a garden skip.

Benefits of skip hire for garden waste

Clearly, when you’re generating any amount of waste in your garden, you’ll want to get rid of it as soon as possible, so what are the benefits of using a skip for this? Here are just some of the great benefits to garden waste skips:

• It’s environmentally responsible – Because we aim to recover as much of your waste as possible, you know that by throwing your garden waste in one of our skips will help lower your impact on the environment. Let’s face it, it’s a much better idea than a garden fire, which could land you with a hefty £5000 in some areas.
• Great alternative to a man and van service – A man and van service will cost you roughly twice the amount a skip will because it comes with the cost of labour as well, something you’re unlikely to need for garden waste at home.
• Avoids overfilling your garden bin – Most homes will now have some sort of provision for garden waste, usually in the form of colour-coded bins. However, when you’re tackling anything bigger than some weeding or lawn mowing, you may well find your overfill your bin. A garden waste skip will help you avoid this and gives you plenty of room for branches, fence panels, gravel, turf, concrete and more.
• Keeps your car clean – A lot of people take a chance by filling their car with their garden waste to take it to a local authority site. Not only does that cost you petrol, but it also could damage the interior of your car. Scratches from branches, leaves and grass sprayed across your interior and general mud spreading could ruin your car or at best, leave it needing a thorough clean. Avoid this – and the multiple trips – with one easy skip hire service.

The right skip for the right project

Depending on the work you’re doing in your garden, you’ll want a different sized skip. Thankfully, at SCS Waste, we have a range of sizes to meet any project. To help you avoid over or underestimating what you need, we’ve got some examples of the right skip sizes paired to the right tasks.

• Seasonal work – The needs of your garden change in line with the seasons. At certain times of the year, you’ll want to do a mass trimming of all hedges, trees, bushes and vines, while at other points you may need to change your soil for a new season of vegetables and flowers.
  For this, we’d recommend a 2-yard skip or a 4-yard skip depending on how big your garden is (they carry approximately 45 and 85 bags of waste respectively).

• Landscaping projects – If you’re landscaping your garden you’ll be moving a lot larger quantities of turf, soil and rubble. A lot depends on how large your garden is and how much you’re planning to do, but skip hire is a great way to easily get rid of all that waste.
  For these types of projects, we’d recommend a 6-yard skip or an 8-yard skip, but be sure to scope out dimensions first to match the size of your garden.

• Construction projects – Garden work isn’t always grass and soil, it can often involve the construction of outbuildings, walls, extensions and other outdoor living spaces. It’s important to note that materials such as bricks, concrete and bulky waste will fill a skip quicker and could be heavier.
  For your construction projects, dependent on the size and scale, we recommend our 12-yard skip, often referred to as our ‘Monsta’ skip.

Please note: these are just rough examples to give you a guide, you can always consult our team if you’re unsure what you need.

Common garden waste questions

Do I need a permit for a skip?

The answer to this question depends on where the skip is placed. If you have it placed in your garden or on your driveway, then the answer is no, while if it must be placed on the road, you will probably require a permit from your local council. At SCS Waste, we can help you decide if a permit is needed and apply on your behalf if it is required.

Is there any garden waste I can’t put in a skip?

Since most of your garden waste will be natural, organic material, there aren’t too many restrictions. Tree roots are too difficult to process, so we can’t take them, while asbestos or plasterboard from the demolition of any outbuildings is also prohibited in skips. Take a look at our full list here.

Can I have my skip refreshed?

If our biggest skip still isn’t enough, you can, of course, arrange to have a filled skip taken away and replaced with a new skip. However, you will need to pay for each skip you order. Simply speak to our team and we can arrange this with you.

Are there any alternatives to a garden skip?

If you can’t have a skip placed on your land or on the road, there are other ways we can help… take a look at our next section!

Alternatives to a garden skip

When skip hire won’t work for you, we can offer another service to help you get rid of your waste:

• Wait and load service – Our wait and load skip service means we’ll arrive with a skip, you’ll have a window to fill it while we wait, and we’ll take the filled skip away immediately. This is a prompt and efficient service for those who don’t want a skip on their premises but want to clear their site to carry on with their work.
  

• Composting – This is something you can do at home on a regular, ongoing basis to help reduce the amount of waste you need to get rid of. Leaves and grass trimmings make great composting materials – but if you find yourself overwhelmed with the amount you need to get rid of, you now know just how useful a skip can be.

If you’re planning garden work of any kind and want a responsible, efficient way to get rid of your waste which limits your impact on the environment, look no further than SCS Waste. We have over 20 years of experience and can help you find the best possible skip for your requirements – our high levels of customer satisfaction is something we pride ourselves on.

Call today or use our skip booking form to submit your request and we’ll be happy to help.