How much is skip hire?
If you’re looking at hiring a skip for a DIY or clearance project, you’re going to want to know how much it’s likely to cost. Whilst prices vary from company to company there are some general rules of thumb that can help you. In this guide, we’ll show you the factors that affect skip hire prices, what the average costs are across the UK, and give you some other things to think about before you take the plunge.
A skip used for a house clearance
What affects the price of skip hire?
There are a few things that influence the price of skip hire but the two main ones are the size of the skip you need and where you live.
Size matters.
All things being equal, the bigger the skip, the more you’ll pay. Why is that you might ask? Well, first of all, bigger skips cost more for the company to buy (because they are made from more materials), and second, if a skip is bigger you can fit more rubbish in it. This means there is more waste for the hire company to sort and process, and because the skip is heavier they will use more fuel transporting it to and from your house. Both these costs are passed onto you as the customer in the form of higher hire fees.
Location, location, location.
Skip hire prices vary massively across the country. Generally, you’ll pay less in the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, while hiring in the southeast and most notably London will cost you the most.
To put this into perspective, in Manchester you’ll be paying around 11% less than the national average, in Glasgow you’d be looking at a saving of 15% on the average while in Liverpool, hire costs can be 20% less than average. In London however, you can expect to pay around 15% more than the average.
Other factors
There are a couple of other things that affect the cost of skip hire which are worth mentioning, they are:
The type of skip you hire- there are different types of skips, lidded skips and crane tipping skips for instance, which will cost you more to hire than normal open topped skips.
What you are putting in the skip- skip hire companies have strict rules on what you can and can’t put in them. Some will let you put in certain items such as tyres and plasterboard but will charge you extra for it.
Where the skip is dropped- if you don’t have a driveway or other area of private land to store the skip and have to put it on the road you’ll need to get a skip permit from the local council. Prices vary depending on where you live but are usually between £15-£70 and can be purchased through the hire company.
How long you hire the skip for- Most companies will let you hire a skip for 1-14 days but after this they may start to charge extra.
A large skip used on a construction site
Average prices
Below we’ve listed the different skip sizes, how much rubbish each one will hold, and the price range across the UK. You may have seen skip sizes in yards or tonnes, they are the same thing, one cubic yard is roughly 1 tonne, so a 6 yard skip would hold 6 tonnes.
2-3 yard - Roughly 30 bin bags - £60-£130
4-5 yard - Roughly 40 bin bags - £100-£250
6 yard - Roughly 60 bin bags - £120-£300
8 yard - Roughly 80 bin bags - £160-£370
10 yard - Roughly 100 bin bags - £180-£400
12 yard - Roughly 120 bin bags - £220-£440
14 yard - Roughly 145 bin bags - £240-£460
16 yard - Roughly 170 bin bags - £250-£500
18 yard - Roughly 195 bin bags - £280-£550
20 yard roll-on roll-off - Roughly 220 bin bags - £300-£600
30 yard roll-on roll-off - Roughly 330 bin bags - £350-£650
40 yard roll-on roll-off - Roughly 440 bin bags - £400-£800
Hopefully, this short guide has given you an idea on what you’ll pay when you hire a skip. When planning your project it’s a good idea to call a couple of companies to get an idea of the price in your area., there will be some variations but they should be reasonably close to each other. Beware of any very low prices, however, as this can be a sign that a company is not legitimate.
If you’d like more information on skip hire, check out this guide we wrote covering everything you’d need to know, including how to choose the right skip hire company, what you can and can’t chuck in your skip and much more. If you have any more questions about skip hire and waste management, please contact us today. Thank you for reading.
Sources:
https://www.homehow.co.uk/costs/skip-hire
https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/cost-guides/skip-hire-prices/
