Domestic guide

Skip Hire for Garden Clearances and Landscaping

Choosing a skip for soil, turf and green waste, what counts as garden waste, and how it is composted and recycled.

What counts as garden waste in a skip

Garden waste covers grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, leaves, branches, weeds, and turf. All of that is straightforward and goes into the general mix in a standard skip. Soil and rubble are a different matter. They are classed as heavy inert waste and need to be thought about separately because of how quickly weight adds up.

Why soil and rubble need a smaller skip

A cubic yard of compacted soil weighs around 1.5 to 1.7 tonnes. A 6-yard skip filled entirely with soil would weigh 9 to 10 tonnes, which is well beyond what any skip lorry can legally carry. For soil, clay, concrete and rubble we recommend a 2-yard or 3-yard midi skip filled no higher than half to two thirds. This keeps the load within the weight limit and avoids overweight charges. If you have large volumes of excavated material, a grab lorry is often more cost effective than multiple small skips.

Choosing the right skip size for a garden clearance

For a typical domestic garden tidy-up involving hedge cuttings, old pots, broken fencing and general green waste, a 4-yard skip is usually enough. If you are clearing a large overgrown garden or removing raised beds, old sheds and decking as well, step up to a 6-yard skip. Only add soil and rubble to a green waste skip if the volume is small. A good rule of thumb: if you can carry it by the bag, it is probably fine to mix; if you are wheeling it in a barrow, keep it separate or use a dedicated heavy-waste skip.

Mixing green waste and other rubbish

You can mix garden waste with general household rubbish in most skips. Old garden furniture, plastic pots, wooden sleepers and broken tools are all acceptable. What you cannot add are items classed as hazardous or restricted: tyres, paint tins with liquid paint remaining, batteries, fluorescent tubes, fridges, and any asbestos materials such as old corrugated shed roofing. If your old shed has corrugated grey panels, stop before you pull them down. Have them tested or arrange specialist asbestos removal before booking a skip.

What happens to garden waste after collection

Green and organic waste is separated at the transfer station and sent to composting or anaerobic digestion facilities. Soil and inert material is screened and, where clean enough, reused as aggregates or land restoration material. Timber and woody material is chipped for biomass or composting. Very little of it goes to landfill. We recycle or recover over 92% of everything that comes off our skips, and garden clearance loads tend to be among the cleanest in terms of recyclability.

Permits and placement for garden skips

If the skip fits on your driveway or private ground, no permit is needed. If it has to sit on the road while you load it, we arrange a council permit on your behalf for the relevant local authority, whether that is Vale of White Horse, South Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, West Berkshire or Cotswold District. Road permits usually take two to three working days to process. Standard hire is 14 days, which is more than enough for most garden clearances. If you need longer, just call us before the collection date.

Tips for filling a garden skip efficiently

Break down branches and cut long cuttings to under a metre before loading. Lay flat items like fencing panels along the base. Fill gaps with loose cuttings and leaves. Never load above the fill line marked on the skip sides; an overfilled skip is illegal to transport on public roads and will be left until excess waste is removed. Spreading the load evenly also helps the lorry hoist it safely.