Which skip do you actually need?
Short answer: for a single room, the 2-yard; for a kitchen or a garage, the 4-yard; for building work or a whole house, the 6-yard; for light garden waste, the 1-tonne bag. Below is the honest detail, in bin bags and real jobs, so you pick right the first time.
All four sizes, drawn to scale
Every skip below is drawn at the same scale next to an average adult, using our real published dimensions. Nothing is exaggerated.
1 Tonne Dumpy Bag
90cm × 90cm × 90cm
≈ 10-15 bin bags
Light waste only: garden clippings, small DIY offcuts, packaging.
2 Yard Mini Skip
1.8m × 1.2m × 0.9m
≈ 20-30 bin bags
Small clear-outs, bathroom rip-outs, garden tidy-ups.
4 Yard Midi Skip
2.6m × 1.5m × 1.0m
≈ 30-40 bin bags
Kitchen refits, medium garden jobs, small house clear-outs.
6 Yard Builders Skip
3.2m × 1.7m × 1.2m
≈ 50-60 bin bags
Building work, full room renovations, house clearances.
All prices are all-in: delivery, 5-day hire and collection. No VAT added.
Match the skip to the job
1 Tonne Dumpy Bag
- ✓ Garden prunings and grass
- ✓ A small shed clear-out
- ✓ Offcuts from one DIY weekend
Light waste only. Soil, rubble or hardcore need a proper skip.
2 Yard Mini
- ✓ Bathroom rip-out
- ✓ A single room refresh
- ✓ A decent garden tidy
Fills faster than people expect. If in doubt between this and the 4-yard, take the 4.
4 Yard Midi
- ✓ Full kitchen refit
- ✓ Flooring from several rooms
- ✓ A garage clear-out
The safe middle choice, and our most booked skip.
6 Yard Builders
- ✓ Building or extension work
- ✓ A full house clearance
- ✓ Landscaping with soil and rubble
Heavy loads (soil, hardcore) should stay below the rim — level loads only.
Size questions, answered
What size skip do I need for a kitchen refit?
A 4-yard midi handles most kitchen rip-outs: units, worktops, flooring and the packaging from the new kitchen. If you are also taking a wall down or pulling tiles from the floor, step up to the 6-yard.
How many bin bags fit in each skip?
Roughly: 1t bag 10-15 bags, 2-yard 20-30, 4-yard 30-40, 6-yard 50-60. Bulky items eat space faster than bags, so a sofa or wardrobe changes the maths.
What happens if I overfill the skip?
Skips must be level-loaded to be legal and safe to carry on the road. If a skip is heaped over the rim we cannot take it until it is levelled, which slows your job down. Take the bigger size if you are borderline: the price gap is smaller than the hassle.
Is a bigger skip better value?
Per cubic yard, yes: the 6-yard works out cheapest per yard of waste. Two 2-yard skips cost more than one 4-yard, so guessing small and rebooking is the expensive way round.