10 Tips Before You Hire A Skip - Be Aware of the Dangers!
This informative article give you 10 tips before you hire a skip, is designed for homeowners, business owners, and those involved in loading skip bins, due to hiring a skip service. It provides insights into key factors to consider before hiring a skip bin. The bulletin covers everything from size and capacity considerations to delivery options, adherence to environmental regulations, and RTA rules which truck drivers must adhere too.
At Eastern Skip Hire specialise in servicing Melbourne eastern suburbs, outer eastern suburbs and the Yarra Valley district.
By reading this information, it will give novice skip hire person a far better understanding regarding what is appropriate, and what is not an appropriate use of our skip bins. By carefully sifting through all of the tips and advice being offered, this information will help you to avoid any unnecessary expenses when hiring a skip in Melbourne’s East. – empower yourself with knowledge.
Important Considerations
Here are seven primary factors you should consider before ordering a skip bin.
When it comes to managing waste efficiently, skip bins are a popular choice for both residential and commercial purposes. However, before you go ahead and order a skip bin, it's important to consider a few key factors to ensure you make the right decision. In this article, we will discuss seven primary factors that you should take into account when you hire a skip. By considering these factors, you can make an informed choice that best suits your waste disposal needs while also being mindful of your budget and the environment.
1. Study the different waste categories to determine what is acceptable waste!
Understanding the specific type of waste that needs to be disposed of, including the materials, items, and objects involved, is essential. This critical knowledge will enable you to select a skip bin waste category that best suits your exact needs. The skip bin hire and waste disposal industries utilise these waste categories to make their services more efficient. By segregating lighter items and junk from heavier ones, the overall weight of the skip can be reduced, leading to lower costs for hiring a skip bin.
When comparing a builder's waste, to a typical household light waste category, normally there is generally a big difference, builders waste is a heavier load due to the presence of dirt, bricks, concrete, rubble, as well as some wood, particle board, and lighter materials normally packaging materials. This increased weight contributes to a higher cost for skip hire services. It is important for individuals to make informed decisions as skip hire prices are based on the weight of the load. If you are unsure or confused, it is recommended to seek assistance from a skip hire company in Melbourne eastern suburbs, by giving them a call.
2. Pick The Right Skip Bin Based On Your Need
Book the right size skip bin to hold ALL of your waste, don’t underestimate your load!
It is important to make sure you hire the correct size skip bin for your needs. If you hire a skip bin which is too small you won’t fit all your waste into the skip, this will cause additional fees for either you to dispose of the leftover materials at the local tipping facility, or you may have to hire an additional skip bin for you to finish off the job. It is far better to err on the side of caution to make sure you hire a skip bin which will be little too big rather than a skip bin which is too small.
Our skip bin sizes are 2m3, 3m3, 4m3 and 6 cubic metre skip bins, all skip bins are measured in cubic metres = m3.
If you need help just give Wendy a call 0417 514 763 at Eastern Skip Hire
3. Don’t Overload the Skip Bins, it is illegal to transport overloaded skip bins!
It is a common occurrence where people stop thinking and exceed the legal carrying capacity of skip bins by piling them up with way too much junk. In some drastic cases of overload skip bins, with junk and rubbish overflowing, may get you into the following problems, do to overloaded skip bins being:
it’s illegal for truck drivers to transport overloaded skip bins, they can / will get large fines if caught, along with the truck driver, the company will also get heavily fined;
overflowing skip bins are dangerous, if we were to transport such loads, junk falling form the skip bin could potentially kill or injure an innocent child, someone’s father, mother, brother, sister, or other road users, cyclists, pedestrians plus many more.
exceeding the skip bins legal carrying capacity, by exceeding the legal carrying capacity people are trying to fit for example 4 cubic metres of junk into a 3 cubic metre skip bin, it just won’t fit! It is far cheaper to pay a little extra to get the correct size skip bin or go up a size just as an added security. It’s far cheaper in the long run to hire a skip bin which is a little too big, rather than having to suffer the consequences of overloading your skip bin hire service.
There are consequences for overloading skip bins, listed below are some of the additional costs and fees you will face by doing the wrong thing. Some people see it as a sport, seeing how high they can possibly load the skip bin, it’s just simple common sense not to overload skip bins, but alot of people just can’t help themselves.
rescheduling a new pickup date, the bin will stay put until the overloaded junk has been removed and paying extra charges of transport and additional skip bin rental fees charged on a daily basis;
off loading the extra garbage from the bin, and then the hire of an extra mini skip to dispose remaining waste
extra charges for overfilling as it equals the effort of another mini bin
We highly recommend not filling the skip bin above the top edge or rim of the skip bin to avoid extra charges, or the need to handle any remaining garbage at your property until the next pickup. Instead, you can contact us to schedule a pickup and request an additional mini skip to dispose of any extra junk.
4. The Best Way to Load Skip Bins & Maximise Space
To get the most benefit out of your skip bins, you really need to consider what you are disposing of, even make a list of the larger items. Loading skip bins is like doing a jigsaw puzzle, if you go about loading skip bins using our methodology, you should fit approximately 20% -30% more waste inside your skip bin. just follow our guide:
it is best to put any large awkward items in first!
pack the smaller flexible items around and inside the items as best you can
if you have multiple awkward items, make layers, one layer at a time
the tighter you load the junk into the skip bins, the more you will fit in the skip bins
only fill the skip bins up to the top edge of the skip bin, don’t be tempted to go higher, this will cause the skip bin to be overloaded!
5. Distribute weight evenly across skip bins to avoid imbalance.
It is important when loading skip bins to try to keep the weight of your items evenly distributed across the whole length of the skip bin, keeping the load balanced. If all the weight is at one end of the skip bin, when it gets collected, the heavy end will skid on the ground, due to the lighter end leaving the ground first.
Never dispose of any Hazardous waste within the skip bins load, check out our Hazardous Waste page to familiarise yourself with what hazardous waste is. If skip bin companies get caught disposing of hazardous waste within the load, we face heavy fines, which will then be passed onto the customer!
6. Never Dispose of Hazardous or Prohibited Waste of Any Description in Skip Bins
Never dispose of any Hazardous waste within the skip bins load, check out our Hazardous Waste page to familiarise yourself with what hazardous waste is. If skip bin companies get caught disposing of hazardous waste within the load, we face heavy fines, which will then be passed onto the customer!
7. Think Safety! If Loading Heavy Items
When lifting heavy or awkward items, there’s alot that could go wrong either damaging your personal property, or even causing injury to yourself or the person helping you. If you are familiar with moving heavy or awkward items, here is a few tips:
look and feel the weight of the heavy item before lifting, make sure you can safely lift the load, if it’s to heavy, don’t lift it. This will cause back, neck and muscular injuries;
make sure the path you are going to walk across is clear of toys, dogs, children etc, to avoid tripping over;
always wear solid footwear, never lift heavy items in bare feet or thongs;
always have a solid footing, avoid slipping by not walking over slippery, wet or muddy surfaces;
always keep your back straight, think as you back as a crane, your arms as the boom, all cranes have a straight framework and a solid to sit on inorder to lift heavy weights;
avoid leaving backwards, if something is in the way and you have to avoid it, don’t lean backwards, this is a back injury waiting to happen;
Keep the weight as close to your body as possible, if you extend your arms outward with the heavy load, this is another back, neck and muscle injury waiting to happen;
once you get to the skip bin for loading you can either, throw it over the side, centrally located within the skip or put it on the ground and slide it into the skip bin.
8. Use the Walkin Door, Your Back Will Thank You!
All of our 3m, 4, & 6 cubic metre skip bins are fitted with rear doors, to make a ramp just slide the pis outwards, grab the round tube and lift the door up, lower it, no you have a ramp or wheelbarrow door. these doors a solid, they are made of steel so they are strong! Heavy items can be loaded easier by sliding them up the door into the skip bins, saving you from hurting your back. Likewise, if you are loading dirt, concrete, bricks etc. with a wheelbarrow, using the ramp you will drastically decrease the amount of double handling of the materials being loaded. This will help to have a far more productive days work and help to avoid injury.
9. Duration To Keep The Skip Bin
Skip Bin Hire periods vary between skip bin companies, some companies have a minimum hire period of 3 days others are from 2 hours, with same day delivery and collection services.
With most companies you can have the skip bin for anywhere from 3 to 7 days before collection, if you want the skip bin for longer, normally companies will add an additional daily rental fee of around $30.00 per day this is on top of the original skip bin hire fees already paid.
If you want to have the skip hire service for an extended period of time, it is wise to ring around to find a company who will let you have the skip bin for an extended period without attracting any additional fees!
At Eastern Skip Hire people can have their skip bins from 1 hour to 1 week, if you still need to skip for an extra day or two, we offer free skip bin extension periods, although conditions apply for certain times of the year.
10. When Is Hiring a Skip Bin, Too Cheap To Be True?
If a skip or bin hire service is cheap, you need to ask “why?”.
How cheap is too cheap, this is such a great question I’m glad you asked!
There are many cogs to make a clock work, so to for prices of hiring a skip bin in Melbourne and around Australia, this topic is very complex and not straight forward!
I will try to answer this question briefly and as straightforward as possible. Have you ever heard the saying there’s many ways to skip a rabbit?
This is also true, companies all have different ways of measuring their success or failures by setting some ground rules for their skip hire service. Normally there are two common ways of setting your prices for skip and bin hire services, which are:
using weight limits for the price structure
having no weight limits, but enforce waste categories
Neither of these two price structures are bad, they both have their benefits, they both have a niche in the market and both are good value for money, you just need to know when is the right time to use which service
Weight Limits: - Weight limits regarding skip bin hire are a great idea and offer great value for money!
Companies using weight limits for their price structure, normally offer cheaper prices, this is due to the company using waste categories and weight limits for the contents of your waste being disposed off. Each skip bin waste category will be assigned a certain weight limit. If you don’t exceed the weight limit, you don’t pay any extra. However, if you do exceed the skip bins weight category you will be charged a set fee for every 100 kg you exceed the weight limit by.
No Weight Limits; - These guy all do their own sorting of the waste they generate, they have no weighbridge to weigh the skip bins on, so they really don’t know what the weight of the contents really are. These companies enforce their waste categories, compared to skip bins with weight categories! This is due to having no weighbridge to weigh themselves. If you hire a skip bin for light waste and you put some bricks or concrete within the load, they will charge you for a builders waste skip bin which is considerably more!
So now you have a brief and basic understanding of the two tiered pricing structure or system, which is best?
If you need to dispose of lighter weight items and junk from your home, office, factory, warehouse, school, etc., it's best to find a company that has weight limits. By doing so, you can save money compared to companies that have no weight limits. These companies tend to set higher prices because they are unable to weigh the load, so they assume that everyone will be loading heavy items or materials into the skip bins. However, if you choose a company with weight limits and properly dispose of your waste, you will save yourself hundreds of dollars.
If you need to dispose of lighter materials along with concrete, dirt, bricks, tiles, etc., it is advisable to hire a skip bin from a company that doesn't have weight limits. This option proves to be more cost-effective in the long run. While commercial companies and building sites typically utilise these services, they are also available for domestic customers.
The verdict is each different scenario has its own flaws and benefits, you can’t be all things to all people!
To find if someone is offering stupid prices for hiring skip bins in Melbourne, look on the internet, look at all the different companies prices, you will see an average bracket, say between $280 to $330 for a 2m3 skip for hire, if you see someone offering prices for a 2m3 skip at $210, this is when you know something is wrong. Going by our skip bin hire example most companies are within $50, this is reasonable, but at $210, they are far too cheap, they are working for free at the end of the day, and that’s not sustainable!
Companies offering these wacko prices are only offering them so you call them. If you try to get a skip hire service for the price they advertise, they would probably tell you that price do not include the tipping fees, or something else to get the price up. You will in fact end up paying a whole lot more when hiring a skip bin with these types of companies, they are just rouges!
The Verdict?
By making small considerations and planning prior to hiring a skip bin, you can save money and ensure that you dispose of the items you no longer need or want. We recommend selling, recycling or donating to the op shops as many clothes, furniture, whitegoods etc. as possible, this will help to decrease the amount of materials to discard.
By following our many well considered tips and points of advice, you will avoid injuring yourself or others, damaging property, avoid additional charges and fees when hiring a skip bin in Melbourne’s East.
We hope that we have addressed any questions or concerns you may have regarding booking a skip. However, our friendly staff is always available to assist you over the phone, just call Wendy 0147 514 763 to receive advice on which skip will best suit your needs, or conveniently order skip bins online or on our website.
Choose from our affordable range of skip and bin hire sizes for all types of waste, we specialise in servicing Melbourne’s eastern, outer eastern suburbs, Yarra Valley & Yarra Ranges districts.
Eastern Bin Hire Melbourne
0417 514 763
