Many people hire a skip for garden waste, making the messy job of a garden clearout tidy and efficient. Having somewhere to dispose of your rubbish ensures your waste doesn’t clog up your home wheelie bins or have you making lots of trips to the local dump.
Whether renovating your outside space or doing a spring tidy-up, a garden waste skip bin will make the task much more manageable. Follow our top garden clearance tips to make the most of your skip hire.
What is garden waste?
Garden waste is anything collected from your garden that can go into a skip. This includes soil, weeds and plants, rubble, concrete, wood, garden furniture, patio slabs, bricks, lawn, plant pots, and more.
Some of this is also called green waste – organic items like plants, twigs, shrubs, and trees fall into this category.
Limits on household garden waste collections
Leeds City Council doesn’t collect garden waste at all from December to February, and the rest of the year it’s once a fortnight if you’re lucky enough to have a brown bin.
The list of limits on household garden waste collections in Leeds seems to go on and on, assuming you even live in an area covered by brown bin collections at all.
You can’t get an extra brown bin if one is not enough, you can’t bin twigs more than 3cm thick, and if the bin men decide your garden waste doesn’t obey the rules, you’ll have to remove any contaminants and wait another fortnight until the next scheduled collection day.
If you’re planning anything more in-depth than some basic pruning of plants, you’re likely to generate types of garden waste that are not allowed by the council, such as:
- Compost
- Soil
- Rubble
- Weeds (e.g. Japanese Knotweed, Giant Hogweed)
Can I burn garden waste?
In principle yes, you can burn garden waste, but there may be restrictions on doing so.
For a start, if you hire a professional landscape gardener to do the work for you, there may be extra restrictions on burning garden waste that is deemed to be generated through commercial activity.
A one-off garden bonfire is not considered a nuisance, but you might want to tell your neighbours before lighting it, especially if they have washing out.
Regular bonfires can be considered a nuisance and you might find yourself reported to the council – so this is not a long-term solution if your garden produces combustible waste regularly.
An alternative is to compost garden waste, but compost heaps and compost bins need careful management to keep them healthy, so again it might not be appropriate to dispose of all your waste in this way.
When to hire a skip for garden waste
If your garden project will take you more than a few days, hiring a skip is a good idea. You’ll be able to fill up the skip at your own pace without worrying about going to the dump or crowding the area with rubbish bags.
Most people use skip hire for garden waste if their garden is overgrown or undergoing a complete renovation. Clear out a small part of the garden first to estimate how big the job is or how long it will take.
Where to put your garden waste skip
When choosing where to put your garden waste skip bin, consider the accessibility of the location. Though it may be convenient to place the skip inside your garden, many are inaccessible by skip lorries, meaning bins can’t be delivered or picked up.
Placing the skip on or close to your property and within easy distance of your garden is best. Remember, if you don’t have a driveway, you’ll need to apply for a skip permit if the skip is going to be on a public road.
Tracking your garden waste
The majority of garden waste splits into either green waste or general waste. Green waste includes trees, shrubs, plants, turf, and soil, while general waste items are sheds, furniture, pots, paving slabs, etc.
It’s essential to keep track of what items go into your skip bin so skip hire companies know if they need to dispose of anything in a particular way. They can also check to see if hazardous materials are thrown away by accident.
A small skip for garden waste only is a good idea, especially if you are throwing away large and bulky items like garden furniture that would quickly fill it up.
What garden waste can’t go into a skip?
Most green waste is OK to go into your skip. However, there are a few hazardous or prohibited items that many skip hire companies will not accept. These include:
- Animal waste
- Oils of any kind
- Paint and glue
- Chemicals
- Electrical equipement
If you’re unsure about any items when carrying out your garden clearout, it’s best to ring your skip hire company and check. Doing so avoids hefty fines or delayed pickup once the renovation is over.
Can you put soil into a skip?
You can use your skip bin for soil as long as it isn’t contaminated with hazardous chemicals. Once your skip is collected, waste companies will divide the soil into topsoil, which is recycled, or engineering soil.
What happens to my garden waste?
You might be shocked to learn that much of your garden waste can be reused or recycled.
Grass clippings are used as biomass, and burnt to make natural fuel for heat and energy. Concrete is crushed to be used again in construction projects, while garden metals are divided and made into new products. Wood chips are also used for biomass, as well as panel boards and animal bedding.
Skip hire for garden waste is much more environmentally friendly than placing your debris in landfill, giving your rubbish a second life. With skip sizes from 4 to 35 yards big, Forge Skip Hire has got you covered, whatever the size of your garden clearout.