What You Need to Know Before You Hire a Skip Bin

27 March 2015
 Categories: , Blog

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Skip bins are ideal if you are renovating your house, or you need a container because you have a lot of trash items to throw away, and your standard bin is far too small. Skip bins are available in a variety of sizes and styles to match just about every need, but if this is your first time renting them, here are the important things to know before you make a choice.

  1. You Can't Put Them on the Sidewalk - Local council regulations don't allow you to put a skip bin on the curb, which is considered public property over which you have no jurisdiction. The only way you can actually place the skip bin on a sidewalk, is to obtain a permit, which will cost you money. And when you do obtain that permit, you will still have to take safety precautions to ensure that pedestrians are aware of the bin's presence.
  2. You Can't Throw Everything into the BinWhen you rent a skip bin, the companies that rent you the bin do not let you just toss any item you want into their containers. Most skip bin rental companies will not let you throw in any type of liquid into the container, nor can you put hazardous materials such as pesticides, paint, oil, paint thinner, electronic waste and batteries. You may be able to rent skip bins for these purposes, but that will incur a much higher fee, as you will need to pay for the proper disposal of those items.
  3. You Can't Move Most Bins - When you rent a skip bin, the company from which you rent, will have an operator deliver the bin and place it exactly where you need it. However, most of these bins are not moveable, so you have to be sure where you want the skip bin placed before the operator leaves. If you need the skip bin moved, you will have to contact the skip bin rental company to have the operator return to move the bin. Needless to say, this will incur an additional charge. One way to offset these issues, is to rent a skip bin that runs on wheels. These are known as mobile skip bins, and they are delivered via towing, instead of mounted on a truck. Another benefit of a mobile skip bin is that because it's not considered a stationary waste container, local council regulations allow you to place these bins on a sidewalks, because they are moveable.