Skip Bin Hire For Homeowners: Pros And Cons, How To, And More
This article shares everything you need about skip bins, their pros and cons, tips for hiring the right provider, and hacks to use one properly.
10/05/2023
Waste is a standard part of life. That said, most homeowners don’t realize the amount of household waste they can produce, especially during large projects. The average Australian home can produce up to 500kg of waste per member every year. That’s over 10kg of waste per week for each family member.
Generally, most local governments have a waste disposal system in place. However, if you produce hazardous or bulky waste unsuitable for regular garbage bags, you may need to look for an alternative. This is where a skip bin hire comes in.
If you’re curious, this article shares everything you need about skip bins, their pros and cons, tips for hiring the right provider, and hacks to use one properly. Let’s start!
Defining Skip Bin Hire
First, let’s understand what a skip bin hire service is. Skip bins are large, trapezoid- or rectangular-shaped waste receptacles at their core. Generally, waste removal companies offer skip bins that can be used by anyone who needs disposal storage for large amounts of waste.
Commercial entities or rental properties often hire skip bins to collect large amounts of waste and there are companies that offer services to keep waste managed. However, skips are also suitable for residential use, especially if you’re having a renovation project, a spring-cleaning schedule, or just expecting to produce a lot of waste for the next few days.
The Pros Of Skip Bin Hire
Now that you understand a skip bin, this section enumerates some reasons to hire one for your home.
1. Streamlined Waste Disposal
Proper waste management can be complicated, especially during busy renovation or decluttering projects. Most homeowners don’t know how and where to start. Hiring a skip bin can eliminate further stress, providing a more convenient and easiest waste disposal solution.
When you hire a skip bin, you gain not only access to the garbage bin but also the services of trained professionals. The bin provider will deliver it to your property and return it to collect your waste. This saves you both stress and money on hiring a truck or vehicle to transport your home waste to the landfill.
2. Better Waste Management
Effective waste management is essential to prevent further stress when dealing with a significant renovation project. Generally, your home can become messy due to the accumulation of trash and debris, which can disrupt the process.
When you hire a skip bin, you have a designated space for all your waste, allowing you to free up space, control garbage, and streamline the process. You can prevent disruption and ensure a more efficient renovation project with less waste.
3. Save Money
Most people think that hiring a skip bin is
just another expense. However, it can help save
money on your waste removal cost.
The
pricing of bins is often based on the size. This
gives you flexibility in your expenses.
Furthermore, if you’re only disposing of minimal
waste, a bin hire service is cheaper than hiring
a garbage truck and its driver to take away your
garbage.
Even if you have more waste, a skip bin hire can save on costs. As mentioned, a skip bin rental also gives you access to the provider’s truck and a professional team to haul your garbage away. You also have the option for bigger bins that can accommodate bulkier waste, such as damaged appliances or old furniture. This helps prevent hiring a hauling truck for multiple trips to the landfill or disposal center, ultimately saving costs on gas fees.
4. A Sustainable Option
As global warming worsens, people are becoming more conscious of their carbon footprint. Proper waste management is one of the best ways to reduce your negative environmental impact. And hiring a skip bin can help you with that.
Skip bin rentals can help create a more sustainable and safer way of disposing of your garbage and trash. Often, most people don’t have the time or know the proper way of segregating and sustainable disposal of their waste. Generally, most of this garbage ends up in landfills which can harm the environment in the long term.
With skip bins, you can ensure your trash is properly disposed of. The companies that offer these bins often manage your waste. Instead of throwing them into landfills, most services have a recycling center. As such, you can ensure your waste is processed correctly to minimize its environmental impact.
The Cons Of Skip Bin Hire
Although skip bins offer numerous benefits to homeowners, they also come with drawbacks you should know. Here are the most common disadvantages of choosing skip bins.
1. Less Portability
Generally, skip bins are heavy and less portable. Once the service provider delivers them to your property and places it in the designated location, you can’t move them until the professionals pick up your waste.
2. Risk of Pests and Diseases
Trash, especially organic waste, piled up in one place can be a breeding place for pests and bacteria. If left alone for days or weeks, bacteria and viruses can grow and pose health hazards to the people around them. Moreover, stray animals and pests like rats can create a mess in your bin, causing safety and health issues.
Even if you can control the trash within the bin, the foul odor it creates can still spread around the neighborhood, which may cause respiratory diseases or angry neighbors.
3. Not Suitable for Small Properties
If you have a tight or more petite property, skip bins may be unsuitable for you. Skips, even the smallest size available, can still take up a lot of space. Not to mention that the truck that drops it off and picks it up is large and may not be able to maneuver in these tight spaces.
4. Lack Of Privacy
Generally, nothing placed in the skip bin can remain private. Even if you place the bin on private property, there’s still the risk of a curious dumpster diver trying to peek at what’s inside. Worse, dumpster divers are known to make a mess in your bin. This means you’ll need to spend valuable time cleaning up the mess they left behind.
How To Choose The Right Skip Bin: 4 Tips To Consider
Despite its drawbacks, skip bin rentals are still suitable for most homeowners. If you’re considering hiring a skip bin but don’t know how to start, this section shares essential tips to help you find the right one.
1. Know Your Trash
Before searching for a skip bin rental service, determine the garbage you must dispose of. This is important to consider since not all skip providers can accept all types of waste you’re generating.
Are you disposing of stones, bricks, or other renovation wastes? Or do you need a bit to remove heavy appliances or bulky furniture? Maybe you need a bin to remove recyclable green waste, such as grass clippings, branches, and leaves. Do you have hazardous and toxic wastes that can harm people and the environment?
Knowing the kind of trash you produce can help determine the bins you need. You also need to ask your provider if they accept the type of waste you’re disposing of.
2. Get The Right Size
Once you’ve figured out the type of waste you’re expecting to produce, you should now consider the right size you need to hire. Generally, you also need to estimate the amount of trash you expect to produce to help you find the correct skip bin size for your needs.
Keep in mind that not all companies offer all skip sizes. Some may be focused on residential services, while others may be for commercial or industrial uses. Go through the list of skip bin sizes they offer and check if it should be enough to handle your expected waste.
To be safe, you should always choose one size bigger. This way, you don’t have to hire another bin if you have more waste than expected. If you’re dealing with various types of waste, consider hiring multiple bins for proper segregation.
3. Check Business Reputation and Customer Service
When hiring a skip bin company, reputation, and customer service are critical. You don’t want to hire a company that can’t answer your questions or concerns. The best providers should be able to answer your inquiries promptly.
Ideally, the company should have several communication methods so you can easily reach out to them. In addition, they should have a strong online presence, a good community reputation, and experience.
4. Compare Prices
Once you know the size and have a list of potential providers, you can compare services and prices. Skip bins aren’t cheap, but they shouldn’t be that expensive. Be wary of providers that charge more than the typical rate. Asking for quotes and comparing prices can help you find the best deal.
3 Hacks When Using Skip Bins
To get the most out of your skip bin rental, here are some tips to consider:
1. Don’t Overfill
Most skip bins have a line indicating to which you can load them. Never go past this line, or you’ll pay extra fees. Overfilling a dumpster can pose a safety threat when loading the skip bin and may cause the contents to spill over during transport.
2. Find The Right Placement
Finding the right location for your skip bin is essential to ensure accessibility and convenience. The proper placement also helps you avoid any legal issues. If you don’t have space on your property and plan to place it on the sidewalk, you should get a permit from your local government unit and adhere to local building codes.
3. Be Strategic When Loading
Throwing trash into the skip without a second thought won’t let you maximize its use. Without strategic loading, the bin will become full before you can remove all your garbage. So, consider planning the best way to load waste and eliminate air pockets or empty spaces in between to maximize the space.
Takeaway
Skip bins are an excellent alternative for properly removing and disposing of trash and waste on your home and property. Whether you’re disposing of renovation waste, having a major decluttering project, or simply welcoming long-distance relatives and expecting to produce more waste in the next few weeks, the best skip bin hire can handle them all. Choosing a skip can effectively streamline your waste management and disposal.