What skip size do I need?
For most single-room jobs a 6 or 8 yard skip is right. A full house clearance is usually quoted as a 12 yard — but only while the load stays light and bulky. Mix rubble or soil in and weight becomes the limit rather than space, which pulls you back down to an 8: a skip full of rubble hits its weight limit while it still looks half empty.
Last checked 17 August 2026
Find your size
Three questions. The answer explains itself, so you can check it against the table below.
Answer the three questions above and a suggested size will appear here.
Compare every size
Showing 16 of 16 containers.
| Container | Bin bags | L × W × H | Heavy waste | On the road | Typically used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 yard skipMini skip | 20–30 | 1.52–1.83 × 1.22 × 0.91 m | Heavy waste OK | Usually allowed on the road, with a permit | Garage or shed clear-out · Small garden tidy-up · Soil, stone and brick · Office or toilet refitThe smallest skip sold in the UK. Only two of the seven sources offer one at all — many carriers start at 4 yard.Source: Dunmow Group, Business Waste |
| 4 yard skipMini or midi skip | 25–40 | 1.80–2.70 × 1.29–1.75 × 0.90–1.20 m | Heavy waste OK | Usually allowed on the road, with a permit | Kitchen or bathroom rip-out · Garden clearance · Small office refit · Loft or garage declutterFits a driveway or a single parking space. This is the size the sources disagree about most — the longest published 4-yard is half as long again as the shortest.Source: ProSkips, W&S Recycling, ReliableSkip, Dunmow Group, EasySkip, Envirovue, Business Waste |
| 6 yard skipSmall builder's skip | 40–70 | 2.29–3.30 × 1.52–2.00 × 1.00–1.22 m | Heavy waste OK | Usually allowed on the road, with a permit | Soil, rubble, concrete and hardcore · Single-room refurbishment · Small building project · Garden landscapingW&S Recycling and ReliableSkip both call this the largest skip you may fill with heavy waste alone; ProSkips and Envirovue put that ceiling at 8 yard. Dunmow also caps its on-road hires here.Source: ProSkips, W&S Recycling, ReliableSkip, Dunmow Group, EasySkip, Envirovue, Business Waste |
| 8 yard skipBuilder's skip | 60–80 | 3.30–3.70 × 1.67–2.00 × 1.20–1.37 m | Part heavy, part general | Sometimes allowed — suppliers disagree | Whole-room renovation · House or shop clearance · Construction debris · Mixed heavy and general wasteNamed the most popular UK size by three sources. ReliableSkip caps the mix at 50% soil or rubble. Road placement is exactly where the sources split — three say it is the largest normally permitted, Dunmow says its own 8 yard cannot go on the road.Source: ProSkips, W&S Recycling, ReliableSkip, Dunmow Group, EasySkip, Envirovue, Business Waste |
| 10 yard skip | 80–100 | 3.60–3.73 × 1.78–1.80 × 1.50 m | Light and bulky only | Normally private land only | Mid-size office clearance · Landscaping · Bulky but light furniture · Wood, metal and plastic offcutsEnvirovue is explicit that this holds more volume than an 8 yard but carries the SAME weight limit — so the extra space is only usable on light waste. Availability is limited; ReliableSkip notes many depots do not stock it.Source: ReliableSkip, Envirovue |
| 12 yard skipMaxi skip5 tonnes (Dunmow) | 80–120 | 3.70–4.20 × 1.67–2.00 × 1.40–1.98 m | Light and bulky only | Normally private land only | Full house or office clearance · Bulky furniture · Large volumes of green waste · Shop or factory refitAll seven sources agree: no soil, rubble or hardcore. W&S adds that councils will not normally permit one outside a residential property, so it usually needs private land.Source: ProSkips, W&S Recycling, ReliableSkip, Dunmow Group, EasySkip, Envirovue, Business Waste |
| 14 yard skipMaxi skip5 tonnes (Dunmow) | 100–140 | 4.10–4.27 × 1.75–1.96 × 1.60–1.83 m | Light and bulky only | Normally private land only | Large house clearance · Shop fit-out strip-out · Paper and cardboard · Light construction wasteHigh volume, low weight limit. Unsuitable for inert materials such as soil and stone.Source: Dunmow Group, EasySkip, Envirovue |
| 16 yard skipMaxi skip5 tonnes (Dunmow) | 120–160 | 4.17–4.60 × 1.62–1.83 × 1.60–1.96 m | Light and bulky only | Normally private land only | End-of-site clearance · Extensive house clearance · Wood, metal and plastics · High-volume light wasteThe largest standard skip before roll-on roll-off. Envirovue lists it as 2.8 m high, which is out of step with its own 14 yard at 1.8 m and is excluded here as a likely error.Source: Dunmow Group, EasySkip, Envirovue |
| 20 yard RoRoRoll-on roll-off, low-sidedUp to 16 tonnes (Dunmow) | 160–200 | 6.00–6.10 × 2.36–2.44 × 1.30–1.55 m | Heavy waste OK | Normally private land only | Demolition waste · Brick, rubble, soil and stone · Sites with height restrictions · Bulk muck awayThe low sides are the point: this is the heavy-waste answer once a 6 or 8 yard skip is too small. Needs space for a lorry to winch it on and off, so it is a private-land container.Source: ReliableSkip, Dunmow Group, Envirovue, Business Waste |
| 25 yard RoRoRoll-on roll-off | 200–250 | 6.10 × 2.44 × 1.55 m | Part heavy, part general | Normally private land only | Mid-size construction site · Sustained mixed site wasteThinly documented. Envirovue is the only source giving dimensions, and its description of this size is unfinished placeholder text — treat the figures as indicative and confirm with the carrier.Source: Envirovue, Business Waste |
| 35 yard RoRoRoll-on roll-off | 280–350 | 6.00 × 2.40 × 2.42 m | Part heavy, part general | Normally private land only | Larger construction site · Breeze block and metal · Mid-weight industrial wasteMore space than a 20 yard but no more weight allowance, so the extra volume only pays on mid-weight material.Source: Envirovue |
| 40 yard RoRoRoll-on roll-off16 tonnes (Dunmow) | 350–440 | 6.00–6.10 × 2.36–2.40 × 2.49–2.68 m | Light and bulky only | Normally private land only | Large-scale industrial operations · Cardboard, paper and plastics · Wood and metal · End-of-project clearanceThe largest container available. Despite the 16 tonne limit it is not suitable for loose heavy material at full load — the volume reaches the weight limit long before the rim.Source: ReliableSkip, Dunmow Group, Envirovue, Business Waste |
| 240 litre wheelie binTwo-wheel bin | 3–4 | not published | Light and bulky only | Kept at your premises | Ongoing general waste · Small business premises · Recycling collectionsThe standard bin most households already have. If a job fits in three or four bags, a skip is the wrong tool.Source: Business Waste |
| 360 litre wheelie binTwo-wheel bin | 5–6 | not published | Light and bulky only | Kept at your premises | Ongoing general waste · Cafés and small shops · Dry mixed recyclingThe largest two-wheeled bin, still moveable by one person.Source: Business Waste |
| 660 litre wheelie binFour-wheel bin | not published | not published | Light and bulky only | Kept at your premises | Larger premises · General waste · Dry mixed recyclingNo source publishes a bag equivalent for this size, so none is shown. It sits between the 360 and 1100 litre bins on capacity.Source: Business Waste |
| 1100 litre wheelie binFour-wheel bin | 18 | not published | Light and bulky only | Kept at your premises | Commercial premises · High-volume general waste · Cardboard and recyclingThe largest wheelie bin. For a recurring waste stream, scheduled bin collections usually cost less than repeat skip hires.Source: Business Waste |
Why these are ranges, not exact figures. A skip size is a trade name, not a specification. Across the seven suppliers compared here a nominal 4 yard skip ranges from 1.80 m to 2.70 m long — so measure your access against the largest figure, not the smallest, and confirm the actual dimensions with your carrier before booking. Weight limits are shown only where a supplier published one that stands up to checking.
Compiled 17 August 2026 from ProSkips, W&S Recycling, ReliableSkip, Dunmow Group, EasySkip, Envirovue, Business Waste. DutyOS does not hire skips — we build the compliance software receiving sites and carriers use to record where the waste goes.
A skip size is a trade name, not a measurement
There is no standard that says how big a “4 yard skip” is. The number refers to roughly how many cubic yards it holds, but nothing obliges two companies to build one the same way — and they do not. Across the seven suppliers whose published figures went into the table above, a nominal 4 yard skip runs from 1.80 m to 2.70 m long. That is a 50% spread on the same product name.
So every figure on this page is a range, never a single number. If you are measuring a driveway or a gateway, take the largest figure in the range and confirm the actual dimensions with the company you book from before the lorry arrives.
Weight matters more than volume
This is what catches people out. A skip lorry has a payload limit, so the constraint on a heavy load is weight, not space. Fill an 8 yard skip with soil and it will be over the limit well before it is full, and the driver can refuse to take it.
Because of that, suppliers cap the size they will accept a heavy load in — and they do not agree on where that cap sits. Two of our sources say a 6 yard skip is the largest that may be filled with soil or rubble alone; two others say 8 yard. There is no national rule to settle it. Ask the company you are booking from what their limit is, and tell them what is going in.
The same is true of putting a skip on the road. Three of our sources say an 8 yard skip is the largest normally allowed on the highway; another says its own 8 yard cannot go on the road at all and offers a 6 yard as its on-road maximum. The decision belongs to your council, not to us and not to the skip company — see below.
Before you book
Five things are worth knowing, and unlike the sizes above these are settled law rather than supplier opinion. Each links to the source it was checked against.
1. Check the company is a registered waste carrier
You are responsible for what happens to your waste after it leaves your property. GOV.UK is blunt about it: “You could be fined if you give your household waste to someone who is not legally allowed to take it.” If your waste is fly-tipped, the trail leads back to you.
Checking takes a minute. Search the Environment Agency’s public register by company name and confirm they hold an upper tier registration.
Sources: Getting rid of your household waste — GOV.UK · Public register of waste carriers and brokers — Environment Agency
2. As a householder, you do not need a waste transfer note
This one is widely got wrong, including by companies selling skips. Occupiers of domestic property are exempt from the main duty of care under section 34(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and have a separate, narrower duty under section 34(2A). The code of practice states that the wider duty “including the requirement for waste transfer notes … specifically does not apply to the occupier of a domestic property”.
A business is different. If the waste comes from a trade, office, shop or site, a waste transfer note is required and must be kept for two years. Hazardous waste needs a consignment note instead, kept for three.
Source: Waste duty of care code of practice — GOV.UK
3. If the waste is from a business, you must separate it
This one is new enough that plenty of people have not caught up with it, and it is easy to assume a skip is exempt. It is not. Since 31 March 2025 every workplace in England has had to separate its waste before collection into dry recyclables (plastic, metal, glass, paper and card), food waste and everything else. It applies to offices, shops, hospitality, healthcare, education and construction sites alike.
If your business has fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees, counted across all your sites, you have until 31 March 2027 instead.
Worth knowing before you argue with a skip company about it: the duty falls on the collector as well as the producer. Both can be given a compliance notice by the Environment Agency, and not complying with one is an offence — which is why a carrier may ask you what is going in and decline to take a mixed load.
Source: Simpler Recycling: workplace recycling in England — GOV.UK
4. A skip on the road needs the council’s permission
Under section 139 of the Highways Act 1980, a builders’ skip may not be deposited on a highway without the permission of the highway authority — in practice your council. Permission can be granted subject to conditions covering where the skip sits, its size, how it is lit and guarded, and when it must be removed. Depositing one without permission is an offence.
Two things worth knowing. The duties to light the skip during darkness and to mark it with the owner’s name and contact details fall on the skip’s owner, which is the hire company, not you. And a skip standing entirely on your own driveway or private land needs no permission at all — which is why the chooser above asks where it is going.
Source: Highways Act 1980, section 139 — builders’ skips
5. Some things cannot go in a mixed skip at all
Not because the skip company is being awkward, but because the load has nowhere legal to go once it is mixed. Putting any of these in means the whole skip may be rejected, and you will usually be charged to sort it.
- Upholstered furniture — sofas, armchairs, dining and office chairs, futons, bean bags, stools, cushions, garden furniture. These are presumed to contain persistent organic pollutants from old flame retardants. The guidance requires that you “avoid mixing waste upholstered domestic seating containing POPs with other waste during waste production, storage, collection, treatment”, landfill operators must not accept it, and it has to be incinerated. This is the single most common reason a house-clearance skip is refused.
- Asbestos, and anything containing it. Hazardous waste, and it must not be mixed with other waste.
- Fridges and freezers — equipment containing ozone-depleting substances is classed as hazardous and has to be degassed by a permitted site.
- Tyres. Banned from landfill whole or shredded, with narrow exceptions for bicycle tyres and tyres over 1,400 mm in diameter.
- Liquids, including leftover paint that has not fully hardened. Any liquid waste is banned from landfill.
- Batteries, solvents, pesticides and oils — all hazardous.
- Treated, painted, coated or preserved wood — old fence panels, decking, railway sleepers, telegraph poles, anything creosoted. Wood carrying dangerous substances is classified hazardous (17 02 04*) rather than ordinary waste wood (17 02 01). ⚠️ This one caught a lot of people out: until 1 September 2023 a concession let demolition wood be mixed and moved as non-hazardous. That concession was withdrawn, so guidance written before then — and a fair amount still online — is wrong.
- Mattresses are usually refused or surcharged rather than banned. Their springs and foam jam the sorting equipment, so most companies want them booked separately.
- Plasterboard and other gypsum-based materials. Not banned outright, but they must not go to a landfill cell that accepts biodegradable waste, so they have to be separated. Most companies will take plasterboard in its own skip or a separate bag — decide this before you start loading, because separating it afterwards is miserable.
Sources: Manage waste upholstered domestic seating containing POPs — GOV.UK · Dispose of waste to landfill — GOV.UK · Dispose of hazardous waste — GOV.UK · Construction and demolition waste: how to classify — GOV.UK
Where these figures come from
The sizes, dimensions and bag counts above were compiled from the published pages of seven UK skip-hire and waste companies on 17 August 2026. They are advertised figures, not measurements we took, and where the sources disagreed we published the range rather than picking one.
Two caveats we would rather state than hide. Tonnage figures are recorded from one source only, because the others published weight limits that do not survive a sanity check. And one source’s 16 yard height was excluded as an outlier — it was taller than that same company’s 40 yard container.
ProSkips · W&S Recycling · ReliableSkip · Dunmow Group · EasySkip · Envirovue · Business Waste
Legal guidance on this page was read directly from GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk on 17 August 2026. It is general information about the rules, not advice on your particular job.