Skip Hire Preston rules and regulations for 2022

Even if you’ve never hired a skip before, you should know that there are rules for skip hire. These regulations ensure the safety of everyone who comes into contact with your skip and its contents, so following these rules is never optional.

Not to sound strict or scary, but the rules are there to protect everyone against personal injury or property damage. These laws are more or less the same throughout the country, so skip hire in Chorley will follow the same rules as skip hire in Leyland, for example.

If you’re not sure what the safety rules for skips actually are, then you’ve come to the right place. This blog from Preston Skips will explain some of the major skip safety regulations you need to be aware of before hiring a skip in 2022.

1) Where to put a skip

You can’t just place a skip anywhere you like – at least not without receiving a fine from the council. If you own land that’s accessible for the skip truck, or you have permission from the owner, then you’re free to put a skip anywhere within the boundaries of that private land.

However, if your driveway, front yard, or field isn’t big enough or the skip truck can’t access it, then you’ll have to place the skip on the nearest public road. Since the local council owns this land, you must apply for permission to put the skip there for a limited time (usually up to 28 days).

Only after securing the skip permit, at additional cost, can you take delivery of the skip. Whether the skip is on private or public land, it must not block any entrance, exit, or utility access points for anyone else. It needs to be at least 15 feet away from any nearby junction, as well.

Wherever you choose to put the skip, there must be an access road big enough for the truck and enough space for unloading and loading the skip. This means no overhanging trees or power lines.

Additionally, skips must sit on stable and solid ground. If you’re worried about the ground underneath the skip, you can set down wooden battens to prevent it from sinking in.

2) When to get a skip hire permit

As explained above, you need a skip permit or skip licence to put a skip on public land. If you own the land, you won’t need the council’s permission to keep a skip there – but if you have to put the skip on the road outside your property, then you will.

At Skips Preston, we can easily arrange a skip hire permit for you to save you time and stress. As long as you let us know at the time of booking, at least a few working days in advance, we can apply on your behalf and proceed with the delivery as soon as we have permission.

The skip hire permit price will depend on the area the skip is going to and how long it’ll be there for. Most councils offer permits for 7, 14, or 28 days, depending on the specific location. As part of the permit terms, you must obey the safety regulations for skips on public roads.

This means that the skip must have reflective markings, clearly display the name and phone number of the skip hire company, and have traffic cones surrounding it. If the skip is left overnight, you must set up safety lights to ensure its visibility to anyone walking or driving by.

Local councils will have enforcement officers checking up on things like this, and it’s not worth getting caught out. If you place a skip on a public road without a permit, or don’t follow the safety measures, the skip will be removed and they will issue you a fine.

3) How to fill a skip safely

Most skips come with a ‘fill line’ marked around the inside near the top, which is exactly what it sounds like. This provides a guide to show you where you can safely fill the skip up to. If you go over the line, it increases the risk of items falling out of the skip and hurting someone.

This is if the truck can even lift the skip – if you overfill it, especially with heavy items, it will exceed the legal weight limit and we won’t be able to collect it. You’ll just have to take the excess waste out, anyway – and even if we can collect it, extra waste means an extra fee.

Some people try to ‘cheat the system’ by lining the inside of the skip with pieces of wood to make the sides higher, giving them additional room to pack more waste in. These ‘greedy boards’ are immediately obvious and this overloading won’t be accepted, so don’t be tempted to try it.

It’s not just for our sake, either. Surely, the last thing you want is for a child, a pet, or even a stranger to be injured by items from your overflowing skip? At the very least, you’re risking damage to the ground and surroundings, which can be costly to repair if you’re held liable.

4) What you can’t put in a skip

Though we can accept most types of domestic waste, including furniture and garden waste, there are some things that you can’t dispose of in a skip for safety reasons.

Waste that poses a health risk to anyone who touches or inhales its contents is prohibited, including anything flammable or explosive, or biohazardous (e.g. medical waste).

Here are some examples of hazardous waste that is forbidden from going in a skip:

• Food
• Liquids
• Glass
• Light bulbs
• Fluorescents
• Batteries
• Electronics
• Fuels
• Chemicals
• Solvents
• Aerosols
• Asbestos
• Plasterboard
• Mattresses
• Tyres

Your waste will be sorted after collection, so anything hidden will be revealed – and again, you can be fined for breaking the rules about hazardous materials.

Even if there’s nothing explosive in the skip, it’s illegal to light a fire in it to try and reduce waste volume by burning. You should never attempt to do this.

If you’re concerned about what you can safely put in a skip, you can always contact us to check before you book, and we’ll gladly offer our expert guidance.

5) How long you can keep a skip for

It’s important to remember that you can only keep a skip for a limited time, and factor this into your waste removal plans. At Skips Preston, we provide 2-yard and 4-yard skips for a maximum of 2 weeks, and 8-yard skips for a maximum of 3 weeks.

If you’re keeping the skip on a public road, your permit must cover the duration of your skip hire in Preston or elsewhere. For small projects, it’s often cheaper to pay for a 7-day skip permit.

If you need to renew your skip hire, make another booking, or enquire about our industrial skip hire terms, please give us a call on 01772 827 603 or email us at info@prestonskips.co.uk.

When you’re ready for us to collect the skip and take your waste away, whether this is on the final day of your skip hire period or you’ve finished early, you can also contact us via these methods to arrange a collection. We aim to be with you in the next 24-48 working hours.