Your Guide: Skip Hire vs Skip Bags

Whether it’s small-scale home improvements, large-scale landscaping or completely clearing out a shed, many people come to the same conclusion when it comes to rubbish removal; “We’re going to need a skip!”.

However, what some people don’t yet realise is that waste removal has got a brand new bag. Offering a more flexible, efficient and aesthetically-pleasing alternative to managing waste removal, skip bags can do everything that a skip can do, as well as more besides.

At Your Convenience

Our skip hire service is as convenient as hiring a skip can be. Our online, hassle-free booking service can guide you through the process of exactly which size skip you need, organise your skip permit (if applicable) and book your next day delivery. Or, if you prefer a more personal touch, our friendly office team can do all of this with you over the phone.

Your skip will arrive via an HGV at your allotted time and placed either on your driveway, on the road or in a parking bay (the latter two are dependent upon skip permits and permissions). You’re then free to start filling. It couldn’t be much easier.

Or could it? Either flat-packed, folded or rolled, skips bags are space-saving and easy to store. Our skip bags can also be delivered to you through the post during the following business day. The rest is completely up to you: the skip bag is yours to unpack and fill at your convenience.

Because you can unpack the skip bag whenever you are ready to use it, there’s less chance that neighbours might be tempted to add an item or two when no one’s looking. What’s more, you can take your skip bag to a different address should you decide to move house, clear out your holiday home or help out a family member.

With Clearabee, there are even a variety of ways in which your bag can be collected. Should your bag be used to remove just a bulky item or two (such as a washing machine or an armchair), we may send a rapid reaction, ‘man and van’ waste clearance team to remove the bag, as opposed to an HGV. This is not only more efficient but is of less detriment to the environment.

Driveway Damage

Heavy, cumbersome and imposing, skips can take up an awful lot of space on your driveway. Not only that, they can often leave behind an unsightly reminder.

With every skip hire that we undertake, there is always the utmost care taken in order to ensure that there is as little damage to property as possible. Unfortunately, sometimes the logistics of placing a skip on your property means that damage may occur to block-pave, tarmac driveways or lawns, even when pallets or similar buffers are used to protect the surface that the skip sits on.

Skip bags, however, are a completely different animal. These poly woven bags weigh next to nothing in comparison to a skip and they can still be moved around your property, as long as the weight inside the bag is manageable. As long as you’re careful with the loading of your skip bag (especially with bulky and heavy items) then there is little chance of your driveway being damaged. What’s more, you don’t even need an enormous driveway in the first place.

All Sorts of Sizes

From midi-skips to XL skips and beyond, it’s safe to say that there’s a skip size for everyone. Unless the amount of waste is quite modest, that is. Even the smallest available skip can seem excessive in size, especially when you see the Heavy Goods Vehicle backing up to your drive to deliver it. This is another area where skip bags come into their own.

Mini Bags are the smallest skip bags available and hold 25 kg or 42 litres per bag, making them ideal for clearing garden cuttings or getting rid of several small items. Plus, as they don’t take up a lot of room (and they come in a 10 bag roll) you can use as many of them as you need.

At the opposite end of the scale are the Large Skip Bags, with dimensions of 210cm x 165cm x 100cm, or 4.5 yards and able to hold 1500 kgs. These are tailor-made for larger clearances of mixed waste but are not suitable for complete loads of bricks, rubble or soil. That’s where a skip comes up trumps.

What Can Go In A Skip Bag?

A skip bag can be filled in much the same way as a skip and there are similar restrictions. For example, if you’re planning on getting rid of any plasterboard, then it will need to be collected in its own dedicated skip bag as it can putrefy and generate hazardous amounts of hydrogen sulphide if it becomes wet or mixed with any other waste. And we don’t want that.

White goods such as washing machines and dishwashers need to be moved in a dedicated WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) skip bag and will be collected by our ‘man and van’ rubbish removal service, as opposed to an HGV.

Food waste is not a suitable waste stream for a skip bag ar all. Instead, our ‘man and van’ waste removal service is able to effectively remove organic food waste. Hazardous waste is not suitable for a skip bag either. Our ‘man and van’ service can responsibly remove ‘household’ bulky hazardous waste such as fridges, tvs and lights. In any eventuality, we are not able to remove chemicals, solvents or liquids.

In any case, a discussion with a member of our office staff will ensure that we are aware exactly what waste we are due to remove and we can make sure that it is appropriately collected.

Time Is On Your Side

Whenever you are planning home improvements or rubbish clearances, organisation is key. Many people coincide their skip hire to begin on the very day their project begins and book it in advance to have the skip collected just as soon as their project ends. This means that even though the usual skip hire period is 14 days, the more organised you are, the less time the skip has to spend on your drive.

But that doesn’t mean that you can prepare for every eventuality. Whether that’s the weather, labourers letting you down, or the kind of unprecedented event which we’ve experienced lately, unforeseen events can either leave you without a skip to store your waste or having to pay extra to extend your hire period.

With skip bags, however, you have a 6 month window within which to use your bag and book your collection. This means you can unpack your skip bag at the very last second or leave it out to slowly fill it over a 6 month period. The choice is all yours.

If you’re ready to make that choice and you’re ready to choose Clearabee, then you can use our fast, hassle-free online service to get a skip bag quote or contact us to speak to our friendly office staff.

Removing rubbish. It’s what we do.