builder's skip - Staffordshire Skip Hire

What is a builder’s skip?

Whether you are landscaping your garden, relaying your driveway or clearing out your garage, you are no doubt wondering which type of skip is best for you.

There is a number of choices of skips and rules and restrictions for each different type. This is why Staffordshire Skip Hire has put together this post to tell you all about Builder’s Skips in closer detail.

What can be added to a Builder’s Skip?

Our 10 tonne Builder’s skip is one of the largest skips we offer, which can be positioned on the road with the relevant skip permit. They can be used for disposing of all manner of construction waste including bricks, concrete and rubble, bulky items such as tables, chairs, sofas, desks and wardrobes plus garden waste such as turf, soil and gravel. You can also use a skip to dispose of general household waste.

As with any skip, you should ensure that you do not fill it beyond the Level Load line. The line is there to make sure that loaded skips can be transported safely to a Waste Transfer Station with reduced risk to HGV drivers, site operatives and members of the general public.

If a skip is filled beyond the Level Load line, your skip may not be collected and you could be charged a Wasted Journey fee.

What can’t be added?

  • Anything exceeding the Level Load line
  • Waste electric and electronic equipment items
  • White goods such as fridges, freezers and dishwashers
  • Hazardous waste such as laptops, TV’s, lighting tubes
  • Paints, liquids, chemicals and solvents
  • Plasterboard/gypsum waste
  • Food waste

Need to know more? Contact us today

If you have any questions about Staffordshire Skip Hire’s range of Builder’s Skips, please do not hesitate to get in touch now. We are the leading provider of skip hire for customers right across Stoke on Trent and the surrounding areas.

16 yard skip - Staffordshire Skip Hire

Everything you need to know about a 16-yard skip

Staffordshire Skip Hire‘s range of 16-yard skips can clear a substantial amount of waste from industrial and commercial sites.

This includes shop fittings and construction sites where light and bulky waste are produced plus they can also be used by domestic clients for large projects, including a complete house renovation.

A 16-yard skip is often referred to as a Maxi Skip, alongside the other larger skips in our portfolio, such as 8 cubic yard and 12 cubic yard skip.

What jobs are 16-yard skips suitable for?

Our 16-yard skips are popular amongst businesses for commercial clearances because they often have bulky waste that will not fit in smaller skips.

You can fit a lot of bulky items into this type of skip. 16-yard skip hire allows you to deal with all kinds of waste, such as furniture, large waste and large amounts of general waste.

This type of skip, if packed correctly is a cost-effective solution for any job.

What waste is unsuitable for this type of skip?

Skips of this size suffer from many of the same limitations that other skips must adhere to. Here are some of the waste types which can be placed in a 16-yard skip –

  • Waste Electrical Equipment & Electronics (WEEE)
  • Hazardous Materials (Including Asbestos & Plasterboard)
  • Gas Cylinders
  • Tyres
  • Chemicals
  • Aggregates such as Soil & Earth, Gravel, Loose Stones and Sand

This skip is also not suitable for heavy waste such as bricks, soil and clay.

Our skips require good site access or a permit for highway use. It can be very easy to underestimate the size of skip you need and in some instances consumers who don’t research first end up ordering 2 skips when a slightly bigger one would have worked fine.

Get in touch for more information

If you have any questions about any of the skips we have available here at Staffordshire Skip Hire, please do not hesitate to contact us now. Our team of specialists will be more than happy to help.

skip hire

Facts you didn’t know about skip hire

Skips are known as large open-topped waster containers designed to be removed by lorries, as opposed to being emptied by bin lorries.

While this is something you probably already know, Staffordshire Skip Hire will share a handful of other facts about skip you may not know.

What you didn’t know about skip hire

Where did the term skip come from?

The word ‘skip’ originally came from the old Scandinavian word ‘skeppa’ which means basket. The North Germanic people of the Early Middle Ages began an emigration in the 8th century bringing with them their language and culture. The word ‘Skeppa’ was absorbed into old English as the word ‘skep’ eventually became the term ‘skip’ we are familiar with today.

Why are skips the colour they are?

When skips started to become commercially available and popular, the UK Highways Act imposed regulations on skips stating that it should be visible in the dark and the colour that was regarded as the most easily visible in low light was yellow.
Today it is different with many skip companies choosing colours that more closely align with their businesses branding and they make their skips for visible with lights and cones.

Are there any restrictions on placing a skip?

Skips placed on a public highway must be licensed or permit and have the required safety lights and markings. Otherwise the skip provider could face fines of up £1000. To obtain this permit, you need to be an authorised skip hire contractor. This licence is obtained from the Local Highway Authority, as detailed under section 139 of the Highways Act 1980 and lasts for a maximum of 15 days.

Skips placed on private land do not have the same restrictions.

Why do skips exist?

Basically, convenience and cost. Let’s face it, it is much easier for people to simply fill up a large container and have someone else to take it away from the.
It is also often much more economical to a waste company that specialises in recycling such as Staffordshire Skip Hire to deal with your waste as we have the scale and facilities to effectively deal with it on a large scale.

When were skips first used in the UK?

Prior to 1960, some companies used carts or wagons that had the same function as skips. The introduction of builders skips as we know them now coincided with the widespread availability of portable machinery capable of lifting and shifting the weight.

Get in touch for more information

If you have any questions about skip hire, please do not hesitate to contact us today.

skip hire

How to maximise skip hire vehicle use

It may feel daunting if you have not hired a skip before, or you are already in the process of hiring one. Navigating the do’s and don’ts may seem straightforward but Staffordshire Skip Hire is here to help you maximise your skip hire vehicle.

Moving house or a shop renovation project could accumulate waste, bulky items such as sofas, fridges, and dusty insulation materials.

Whatever materials you need to dispose of, having a place to put it and ensure it’s recycled (if possible) effectively will give you peace of mind.

You will have more time to focus on the task at hand plus there are plenty of benefits of hiring a skip, some of which you may already know.

Choose the correct skip size

Thinking about how much waste you need to get rid of, is essential for choosing the right size skip. Picking the right size container can be tricky if you have not hired a skip before. Here at Staffordshire Skip Hire, we offer a wide range of different sizes to suit different customer’s requirements.

What you can and can’t put in skips

There are certain items that need to be disposed of elsewhere, such as a recycling centre that accept items that could include harmful chemicals.

Hazardous waste such as fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, batteries due to the possibility of lead inside, electrical equipment and appliances, solvents, and paints (unless the paint has solidified) cannot be put in a skip.

Another less obvious example is tyres and more specifically plasterboard which can release toxic gas when mixed with other materials.

Although there are some materials that should not be added to a skip, there are plenty of items that can, including –

  • Domestic waste
  • Gas cookers
  • Rubble
  • Construction waste
  • Non-electrical fittings
  • Solidified paint
  • Metal
  • Food and its packaging
  • Garden waste
  • Soil
  • Wood

Safely using skips

Making sure your skip is placed on a flat surface and the materials are distributed as evenly as possible to avoid accidents when it’s full. Place flat items down first and break up large items into smaller pieces. If you and someone else are able to lift larger items, load them in first and add lighter items last.

Our final bit of advice is to not overfill your skip.

Get in touch for more information

If you have any questions about hiring a skip from Staffordshire Skip Hire, please do not hesitate to contact us today. We are the leading provider of skip-hire vehicles across Stoke on Trent.

National Allotment Week

Making the most of National Allotment Week

National Allotment Week is an annual event (which takes place between 9th-15th August) that allows budding gardeners to learn more about how allotments work and how they can get started.

For this blog, we will tell you all you need to know about this awareness week and how Staffordshire Skip Hire can support you.

Now it’s time to grab your spade and get stuck in!

National Allotment Week explained

Ran by The National Allotment Society, this engagement event first started in 2002. The main focus is to build unity in communities and promoting the growing and eating of fruit and vegetables to help maintain health and nutrition at home.

Each year, there is a different theme, with 2021’s being ‘Plotting for the Future’, allowing participants to celebrate allotments’ contribution to a sustainable future.

The NAS will host a virtual allotment show for avid allotment gardeners, where viewers can judge entries and prepare to enter next year.

The benefits of allotment gardening

There are several benefits of allotment gardening, from community building to improving health and wellbeing. Here are just some ways to get your fingers green and enhance your life.

Become more social – Allotments are a great place to meet like-minded people who enjoy gardening and sharing some wisdom.

There is also a big online community you can become part of. You will be able to share knowledge and tips whilst meeting new gardening friends you may have not met in real life.

Improve your health – Physical exercise benefits your health, with gardening a great way to keep fit. You will be doing a lot of bending and pulling while breaking up the soil and digging up roots, using muscles you may not have used in some time.

Vitamin D helps keep your muscles healthy and spending 15 minutes every day in the sun helps with this. When it comes to gardening, time can fly by, meaning you must protect your skin with sun cream and dress appropriately to protect yourself from the sun.

Clearing your allotment area

Your allotment plot may need a lot of clearing and preparation before you start growing.

This is where you could consider hiring a skip from Staffordshire Skip Hire. This way, you can avoid multiple trips to the tip to get rid of garden waste and get rid of it all in one place.

Get in touch with any questions

If you have any questions about allotments and getting rid of garden waste using skip hire, please do not hesitate to contact Staffordshire Skip Hire now.