Everything people ring and ask
Skip hire questions, answered straight
18 questions we get asked every week, answered with real figures rather than “prices from” and a phone number. If yours is not here, ring 07951 238851 and ask, monday to saturday, 9am to 5pm.
Prices and paying
How much does a skip cost in Chester?
Our prices are £120 for the 1 tonne bag, £180 for the 2 yard, £250 for the 4 yard and £290 for the 6 yard. Each figure includes delivery, 5 days' hire and collection, and we are not VAT registered, so nothing is added at the end. Soil and rubble are cheaper and priced separately: £60 for the bag and £90 for the 2 yard skip.
The full price list →Is that price really all in?
Yes. Delivery, the hire period and collection are in the figure we quote. The two things that are not ours to include are a council permit, when the skip goes on a public road, and the extra handling on things like plasterboard or mattresses, which we tell you about before you book rather than after.
What all in means →When and how do I pay?
On delivery, to the driver. There is no deposit, no card details taken online and no invoice chasing. The price agreed on the phone or in the booking form is the price paid.
Do you add VAT?
No. Skip Up is not VAT registered, so the price you are quoted is the price you pay. Compare that with quotes that show a figure and add 20 per cent at the checkout.
Can I cancel or move a booking?
Ring as soon as you know. There is no charge for cancelling or moving a booking before the delivery day. If a council permit has already been bought for your placement, that fee belongs to the council and cannot be refunded by us.
Terms of hire →Sizes and what goes in
What size skip do I need?
As a rough guide: the 1 tonne bag takes 10-15 bin bags of light waste, the 2 yard 20-30, the 4 yard 30-40 and the 6 yard 50-60. Most kitchen or bathroom rip-outs suit the 4 yard; a full house clearance or building work suits the 6 yard. Ring and describe the job if you are between two, because a skip that is too small costs more than the next size up.
The size guide →Why can I not put soil or rubble in a 4 or 6 yard skip?
Weight. A 4 yard skip filled with soil or hardcore weighs more than the lorry can lift safely, so soil, rubble and hardcore go in the 1 tonne bag (£60) or the 2 yard skip (£90), which are also cheaper to tip because the waste is clean and inert. Mixed household or building waste is what the bigger skips are for.
Soil and rubble prices →What can I not put in a skip?
Tyres, asbestos, liquids, paint, oils, gas bottles, batteries, fridges and freezers, televisions and computer screens, and clinical waste. Plasterboard is legal but must be kept separate from mixed waste, mattresses are taken but processed separately, and upholstered sofas and chairs fall under the 2023 POPs rules and have to be incinerated rather than landfilled. Tell us when you book and it is all straightforward.
The A to Z of what goes in →How full can I fill it?
Level with the rim, no higher. An overloaded skip cannot legally be carried on the road, so the driver would have to ask you to take material off before it moves, which wastes everyone's morning. If it looks like it is going to be close, ring us.
Delivery, permits and access
Do I need a permit for a skip?
Only if the skip stands on a public road or verge. On your own drive or land, no permit is needed. If it has to go on the road, we apply for the permit: Cheshire West and Chester will not accept an application from a householder, and the same is true of most councils.
Permit costs by council →What does a skip permit cost around here?
Checked on the councils' own pages: Cheshire West and Chester charges £110 for up to a month and takes about five working days to issue. Flintshire charges £60 for the first week and £25 for each further week, with at least two working days' notice. Wirral charges £53.25 for a standard skip for up to 14 days, and adds £65 if it finds a skip on the road without a permit.
The full permit guide →How much room does the lorry need?
Room to get alongside where the skip will sit and clearance above for the arms to lift. A normal driveway with the cars moved off it is fine. If the access is tight, a shared drive, a narrow lane or low branches, tell us when you book and we will say honestly whether it will work before anybody sets off.
How long can I keep the skip?
The standard hire is 5 days. If you need longer, ring before the collection date and we will agree it. Where a council permit is running alongside, any extension the council charges for is passed on at cost, not marked up.
Which areas do you cover?
Chester, Ellesmere Port, Frodsham, Buckley, Mold and the Wirral, from our yard at Bankfield Farm in Mickle Trafford, plus the villages between them. If you are just outside, ring with the postcode and we will tell you either way rather than quote and then not turn up.
Areas we cover →The company
Are you a licensed waste carrier?
Yes, and you can check it rather than take our word for it: CBDU13412, upper tier waste carrier and dealer, on the Natural Resources Wales public register. A Welsh registration is valid to work in England, which is why we are on that register and not the Environment Agency's.
About Skip Up →Are you a broker or do you own the skips?
We own them, and the lorry, and the yard at Bankfield Farm, Mickle Trafford. When you ring you speak to one of the two owners, not a call centre selling the job on to whoever is cheapest that morning.
Do you sell gravel, sand or hardcore?
No. We are not a builders' merchant. If you buy bulk bags from your own merchant, we will collect them and deliver them to the job from £60 a bag, which is a different service from the material itself.
Materials collected and delivered →When are you open?
Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm. Ring 07951 238851 during those hours and a person answers; outside them, leave a message or use the booking form and we come back to you.
Book a skip →Still not sure which skip?
Describe the job on the phone and we will tell you the size and the price in the same call, or book online and we ring you back to confirm.