Skip Hire Waste Restrictions Guide

Our Restrictions List

All companies set their regulations and restrictions, so it’s always good to double-check with your skip provider about their guidelines. If you’re unable to follow these restrictions, legal action can be taken. Here are our waste restrictions:

Sofas and Upholstered Furniture (POPs)

New regulations also known as POP were introduced to the UK at the beginning of 2023. This changes how upholstered furniture such as sofas, armchairs, and footstools are disposed of. The chemicals within these items don’t break down in the environment and can accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals and humans. The way these items are stored, processed, and treated in a specific way in order to avoid contamination. To be sure that they are taken to an appropriate facility always use a reputable waste disposal service. We can help you, however, please be sure to contact us to find out if you need to pay a POP charge.

Electrical Appliances and Equipment

We see so many people trying to put their old electrical goods in our skips but it is strictly prohibited. All of these items have the potential to be very hazardous. So, if it needs a plug, batteries, or a charger to run, then it can’t go in a skip. We ask that they are taken to an electrical recycling point near you. You can find your local one here.

Mattresses

We’re perfectly able to responsibly get rid of your mattresses but we do ask for an extra cost of £45 – £50 + VAT per mattress. If you’d like us to take care of your mattress, you just need to let us know before putting it in the skip.

Plasterboard

Although it’s a great building material, unfortunately when mixed with water and some other waste items, plasterboard can give out very toxic fumes. This is why we can only accept 1 or 2 bin bags of plasterboard which are placed on top of your skip. If you’d like to rid of more than please give us a call and order a plasterboard-only skip. If plasterboard is found within your normal skip you can be given a sorting fee of around 50% of the hire price of the skip.

Batteries

Batteries contain harmful chemicals and substances such as lead, meaning they simply can’t just be put into a skip. They are especially harmful if they leak so we need to be cautious for our skip operators and prohibit them from going in a skip. Before being sent to the landfill, they need to be properly cleaned which is why they need to be taken to a battery bin so that process can take place. This goes for all batteries from AAA’s to car batteries.

Asbestos

If you find asbestos anywhere during a project then a professional removal company needs to be contacted immediately. It’s one of the most dangerous, hazardous materials in the world as if you are exposed to it with no protection, it can increase your chances of lung disease and cancer.

Gas Cylinders

Even though you might think you’re done with your gas cylinder and it’s empty, they aren’t. There is always some residue that makes them dangerous to be placed in a skip as they are very combustible. If you’d like to dispose of them, you can contact the manufacturer or a specialist who should let you know what to do with them.

Medical Waste

We include needles (used or unused), bodily fluids, and others under the term medical waste. We don’t accept these as there is a risk or contamination and infection with all these items. We wish to protect everyone involved in the disposal of your waste so we ask that these be disposed of responsibly, not in skips. For more information about the dangers of medical waste please visit the Department of Health for more information.

Glass

Due to all our skips being general mixed waste, you can only put a few pieces of glass or mirrors in the skips. However, if you have large quantities of glass that you’d like to dispose of then you might be interested in booking a glass-only skip over the phone. The reason we don’t allow much glass in our normal skips is that because it needs to separated at the landfill, we want to eliminate the risk of harm caused by broken glass.

Tyres & Other Items

In some cases with rubber items like tyres, we can help out and dispose of them for you but an extra cost. Any other items that you may have and you’re not sure if they can go into a skip or not, it’s best to check with your local council first.

Paint, Solvents, and Fuels

Very obviously, these three items cannot be placed in a skip. There have a very high risk of combusting which could cause major harm such as chemical burn and injury to others and yourselves. This is why we ask that they do not get put in our skips, but rather taken to a specialist center where they can be taken care of properly.

Ready to Hire a Skip in Brighton?

Skips are a great useful tool in helping you dispose of a large quantity of waste. Even with these restrictions, they can still hold so many different types of waste from garden waste to large building materials. They’re so convenient, especially matched with our efficient, high standard service. 

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