What Is A Skip Bin And When Do You Need One?

Defining a Skip Bin

A skip is a large open-topped steel container, delivered to your property by truck. You fill it at your own pace. Then the hire company collects and empties it. The distinctive tapered shape lets a specialised truck lift the whole container. That is what makes the model work. Instead of you carting waste to the tip load by load, the tip effectively comes to you once.

Sizes are measured in cubic metres, and one cubic metre holds about one level 6×4 trailer load. The HandiSkips SA range runs from a compact 2m³ Mini up to an 8m³ Monster for major projects. In fact, the Mini fits in a single car space. Additionally, every one features a walk-in drop-down door. So waste is carried or wheeled straight in rather than lifted over the side. Hire is priced by size and waste type, fixed and all-inclusive, with the standard period up to 4 days. It is worth knowing what the model replaces, too. A typical council hard rubbish collection takes a limited list of items once or twice a year. Meanwhile, a trailer run to the tip costs fuel, tip fees and a weekend morning every single time. The hire model rolls all of that into one delivery, one unhurried load and one collection.

Common Projects That Require a Skip Bin

The test is simple. If the job would take three or more tip trips with a trailer, the hire pays for itself in fuel, tip fees and Saturday mornings. On top of that, you load at your own pace over several days instead of racing closing time.

How to Choose the Right Skip Bin

Two decisions, in this order. First, the waste type, because it sets the rate. Green waste is cheapest, general household waste sits in the middle, and renovation loads price higher. Meanwhile, heavy quarry material such as bricks, concrete and soil has its own rate. It fits the 2m³ and 3m³ sizes only. Keeping a load pure keeps it at its correct rate. Otherwise, mixing garden waste into a general load means paying the higher price for all of it.

Second, the size, using the trailer test. Estimate how many level trailer loads the pile represents, then match the number to the cubic metres. A weekend garden tidy is Mini territory, while a garage clear-out suits the 3m³ Midi. Similarly, a bathroom strip-out fills a 4m³ Maxi. Whole-home clean-outs call for the 6m³ Mega or 8m³ Monster. When your estimate lands between two sizes, take the bigger one. The price step is small. However, a second hire because the first ran out of room never is.

The Skip Bin Hire Process

That is the whole picture. A container sized to your job, priced by what goes in it, and delivered to your door. Then it is recycled at the other end. Every size, rate and waste type is on our full Adelaide hire page. Alternatively, Lisa answers first-timer questions happily on (08) 8351 5555, seven days a week.