How much to hire a skip?: A rough guide to calculating costs

When you’ve got a lot of waste from a home renovation or garden clear-out on your hands, you might be wondering how much it’d cost to hire a skip and be done with the rubbish fast.

But before you begin working out your skip hire price, it’s important to be aware of the main things that affect the final price: skip size, waste types and whether or not you need a permit.

Here’s your rough guide to calculating costs for skip hire, using Suffolk and Cambridgeshire as an example, as well as an explanation of additional fees and special waste items.

Examples of how much it costs to hire a skip

The first thing to get clear before you can get an idea of how much it’s going to cost to hire a skip is exactly what size container you’ll need for your waste.

Consider the amount of waste you have and the space available for the skip at your location (use our handy skip hire size guide).

For example, skip hire in Cambridge ranges from £223* for a four-yard skip to £462* for a 14-yard skip (larger 20-yard and 40-yard ro-ro skips are also available on request).

The most common skip size for clear-outs and small renovations is an eight-yard skip, also known as a builder’s skip. Eight-yard skip hire in Ipswich costs from £343* for a seven-day rental.

Additional fees for special waste items

While all the quotes on SunSkips’ website include VAT and there are no hidden fees, some waste items are unsuitable for skips and need to be collected separately.

For example, sofas and armchairs have recently been classified as POPs waste and can no longer go in skip containers with general waste.

MORE: How to get rid of an old sofa the right way

TVs/monitors, fridges, freezers, tyres, dry paint, fluorescent tubes, batteries, plasterboard, microwaves and kettles all carry an additional charge for their removal due to the special treatment they require for their safe and legal disposal.

So if you hire a skip in Stowmarket but also have a television to get rid of, you can expect to pay £223* for a four-yard skip, plus an additional £19* (excluding VAT) for the removal of the TV.

Cost of skip hire permit

Not everybody has a private driveway or front garden to safely place a skip for the duration of their clear-out, some people need to keep it out on the street – and to do that, you’ll need a skip hire permit.

So for skip hire in Haverhill that will require you to keep the container on the public highway, there’ll be an additional fee of £110* (including VAT) on top of the £223* for the skip (SunSkips takes care of the permit on your behalf).

MORE: 5 simple ways to save money on your skip hire cost

SunSkips offers the best value skip hire in East Anglia. Book yours online or call our friendly sales team for the best quote for your skip hire.

*All prices quoted here are correct at time of publishing on September 1, 2023, and are subject to change.