3 Questions to Answer before Getting a Skip Bin for Major Waste Disposal

Getting rid of unwanted waste from your property after major work can be hassle, since most council waste-management services exclude certain kinds of rubbish. So, what do you do when you need to get rid of that pile from your most recent renovation project or spring cleaning endeavour? Hiring a skip bin is the best solution, since you can carry large amounts of trash in a single skip, ensuring that they are disposed of in an environmentally-sound way. Before getting a skip bin onto your property, consider the following to get the most out of it:

1. What waste are you getting rid of?

Identify the things that you need to remove from your home so that you can get the right size of bin. Skip bins are ideal for getting rid of domestic waste, wood, plastics, rubble, plastic, organic waste, metal, cardboard and furniture. You can also remove plasterboard material, but it should be packed separately—either in special skip bags or in its own skip bin.

Knowing the materials you'll remove beforehand will not only help you to select the correct bin size, but also facilitate planning to ensure that you make the most of your skip. If you don't have enough trash to fill up the smallest skip, consider partnering with a neighbour who also wants to get rid of lots of trash.

2. Do you have to throw it in the skip?

As a general guideline, you should only put in your skip bin what cannot go anywhere else. If you've carried out renovation in your house for instance, can your dirt, top soil, sand, gravel, bricks and concrete be sold as clean fill for another building project? Can you take your old furniture to a pawnshop, or a carpenter nearby to see whether the wood can be used for something else? Is there a junkyard to which you can take metallic objects like old car parts? Try to find ways to recycle or upcycle some of your waste so that it's not all thrown away.

3. Do you have potential hazards?

Certain items in the home need careful consideration when disposing using a skip bin. If you were renovating an old home for instance, there's a chance that your house could have had asbestos-containing materials in some parts. Even before starting on renovation, you should have had asbestos testing done on your house to prevent exposure once the work starts. Such materials, if present, need careful removal by licensed experts so don't just load them onto your skip.

Instead, talk to the skip provider to find out their protocols for handling various hazardous materials. These include sump oil cans, paint cans with paint, batteries, tyres, chemicals, medical waste etc. (you can ask them for a complete list). These can be disposed of by skip bin hire services, but at an additional cost.

Sneaking hazardous materials into the skip could potentially contaminate non-hazardous materials that you had packed, increasing the weight of hazardous materials that will be paid for separately. Pack them separately to make it easier for the removal company to dispose of them properly; it will cost you less since they don't have to dig through your trash to get them out.


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