Advice on what can be thrown into a skip

So you’ve finally decided to get on with that much needed property clearance. Be it a house clearance or office clearance you may have so much junk that you’ll need to invest in skip hire services. This may sound like a fairly simple procedure and having a skip can make waste removal so much easier! After all, you simply take what you don’t want in your home or office and toss into the skip a few yards away! Simple! But wait a minute… there are a few things you need to know before you apply for a skip permit and get down to rubbish clearance.

There are many items you can place in a skip including furniture, wood, packaging, plastics etc. Remember to let the skip hire company what you’ll be throwing in the skip beforehand. For example if your carrying out builders waste clearance and will be disposing of bricks and rubble, the skip company will need to be informed in advance. In addition for garden waste clearance, notify the skip firm if you intend to bin soil.

Hold your horses before you try to throw out your old television into the skip, for this is just one of several items you cannot place in there. Any hazardous or harmful items are strictly prohibited from being placed into skips. Some of these items include, computer screens, tyres (this is because the disposal process of tyres differs from that of general waste), light bulbs, asbestos, fridges, washing machines (or any other electrical items), medical waste, oil or petrol as well as diesel, fluorescent tube lighting, liquids of any kind and explosives. These are just some of the items considered to be hazardous, so remember to check with your skip company which other items they will not carry away in their skips. Throwing away old tins of paint or other solvents like glue is also usually not permitted, unless the cans are completely empty and have been cleaned.

If you want to throw out old electrical items like fridges, washing machines or dishwashers or even smaller items like microwaves, you should call your local council and they will arrange transport to the local skip or recycling plant.

Remember that while you may have approval to include builders’ waste in your skip, you cannot under any circumstances put asbestos in a standard skip. Asbestos cannot be re-used or recycled, so if you have any asbestos or other hazardous materials you will need to contact a professional waste removal company that specialise in dealing with hazardous waste clearance.

If you’re just carrying out furniture clearance, then you can rest easy knowing that you can dump all your old sofas, mattresses or other pieces of furniture in the skip. It will save you having to load a van yourself and drive your furnishings to the local skip or recycling plant.

Remember hiring a skip really is an extremely easy and convenient way to dispose of heaps of rubbish clogging up your home of office space. Most skip companies will also try to recycle all that they can, so you are choosing the most environmentally friendly means of junk removal. However if you still have some questions regarding the kinds of waste you can dispose of in your skip, why not speak to your skip hire company directly. Ask them to email you a list of all the items that can and can’t be placed in their skips, to avoid making a mistake and facing problems on your skip collection day!