Skip hire for events: Benefits and best practices explained

Choosing skip hire for your event’s waste management can massively simplify the job of picking up all the rubbish that’s generated when you gather lots of people into one space.

Festivals, parties, fairs, sporting events and weddings create all sorts of waste, including general rubbish, packaging, cups, plates, and drinks cans.

But you don’t need to face the shocking aftermath of your event alone… Nor is it necessary to assign a large part of your event budget to clear it all up…

Here’s everything you need to know about skip hire for events, from the best type of skip for different occasions to what type of event waste is suitable for throwing in a skip.

Why choose skip hire for events?

Skips are a convenient, quick and easy method to get rid of high volumes of waste at events.

There are no black bags required to collect the waste (everything can just be dumped into the big container) and both general and recyclable rubbish can all go into the same skip.

For events that run on late into the evening, the simplicity of being able to chuck everything in the skip and let a company like SunSkips take care of the separation and recycling can be a real lifeline for tired event staff (everything goes through a stringent screening line at our waste transfer sites in Stowmarket, Cambridge, Haverhill and Ipswich).

Centralising your event waste management with skips could reduce the number of waste bins needed to be placed and emptied around the site, as well as the number of staff members needed.

But most importantly, using the services of event skip hire specialists like SunSkips gives your event the reputation of one that cares about the environment and is doing its bit to reduce waste going into landfill.

Using skips for events maximises your sustainability

According to a 2020 report by festival industry steering group Powerful Thinking, UK camping music festivals generate 25,800 tonnes of waste every year.

Managing all that waste responsibility is a huge challenge, but the vast majority of festival goers say they are eager to help. Mobile phone operator giffgaff, claims that 89% of attendees want to be more responsible with their waste.

So it stands to reason that choosing a sustainable waste management solution like skip hire is only going to make your event more attractive to green-thinking guests.

Events that don’t invest in sustainable waste management can contribute to water, soil and air pollution, as well as to the country’s already burgeoning landfills.

So it shouldn’t be a question of whether you’re going to use skip hire for your event, and more a question of which is the best skip hire solution for you…

What skip size is best for my event?

The best skip size for your event depends on a lot of factors.

Your first consideration should be how much waste your event is going to generate. This can be quite hard to calculate, especially for new and growing events that don’t have prior editions to work it out against, but our handy skip size guide is always here to help.

Next, consider where the skip is going to be placed. If you don’t have a lot of adequate space, you might hire a pair of eight-yard skips and arrange for regular collections. SunSkips works with clients to make sure collections are made at the optimal time to ensure a smooth changeover of containers.

Or for large volumes of light, bulkier waste it might make more sense to hire a ro-ro skip (roll-on/roll off) to reduce lorry traffic at your event while having plenty of space to store waste onsite. SunSkips offers 20-yard or 40-yard ro-ros.

Types of event waste

The type of waste you’ll be managing depends largely on what sort of event you’re hosting.

But while a small wedding produces different kinds of waste to a large fair, you can expect to be dealing with at least some of the following:

• Streamers and confetti
• Ticket stubs
• Promotional materials
• Plastic bottles
• Glass bottles
• Food packaging
• Carrier bags
• Building materials (for stages, marques, etc.)

Most of this waste can actually be avoided with a carefully planned waste management strategy. For example, when Weird and Wonderful Wood used SunSkips’ Stowmarket skip hire service for their event, they were able to reduce the amount of wood waste that needed to go into the skip by reusing offcuts for various crafts onsite.

MORE: The five Rs of waste management: Refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle

Event skip hire: 5 best practices for a clean and tidy site

If you’re new to event skip hire, there are a few things you need to understand to get the most out of your investment.

But once you know the basics, you’ll find using skip hire for your event is the simplest and most cost-effective solution:

1. Keep your skips out of the way…

Whether your guests will be dumping their waste into the skips directly and you want them fairly close to the human traffic, or they’ll be used to empty rubbish from smaller containers, it’s important to keep them away from the main event to prevent them causing an obstruction.

You’ll need a sturdy, flat area to support the weight of the skip, with plenty of access on all sides. Don’t block entrances or exits that vehicles need access to and be mindful of fire extinguishers.

If you’ll have skips in multiple locations, also consider the route the lorry will take for the most efficient collection to minimise disruption of your event.

2. …but not too out of the way

Skips at events need to be positioned somewhere safe, but if people don’t know where they are, they’re not going to be much help in your clean-up efforts.

Consider placing your skips where they’re most often needed, by food vendors, restrooms, and exits, for example.

Signpost your skips (or other receptacles that you’ll later empty out into a skip) and if you’re drawing up a map for the event site, be sure to include their locations. Communicate with your team so everyone knows where the waste is going and who’s responsible for collecting it.

Failure to place the bins optimally is likely to result in littering, which in turn will make the place look (and smell) terrible and negatively impact your guests’ enjoyment of the event.

3. Separate streams if possible

If you plan to encourage recycling onsite, consider colour coding your containers so guests don’t have to do much thinking to put their waste in the right place.

In a recent study by drinks brand Robinsons, 25% of people in the UK said they don’t feel they’ve been educated enough on what items go into which recycling bins, while 42% said they gave up on recycling altogether because it’s too confusing.

MORE: 10 common recycling mistakes you’re probably making

Signs with images of common event waste help people identify where their rubbish should go and keep your waste streams where they belong.

4. Use lockable lids to reduce fire risk

Not only is paper waste prone to flying away and creating a litter-picking job that might extend beyond the parameters of the event site, it’s also a fire hazard.

To prevent stray cigarettes sparking flames that your event could do without, hire skips with lockable lids if the public doesn’t need access to the containers.

But instead of literally fighting fires at your event, there are ways to do away with paper waste altogether…

5. Go paperless

Paper waste can be avoided entirely by making your ticketing and marketing 100% digital.

Event information can be sent in a handy pdf for people to pull up on their phones (post useful QR codes around the site instead of stacks of flyers) and tickets can be purchased online and saved on phones as well.

This will not only save you money on your skip hire costs, but also unnecessary printing and staffing costs.

What event waste can’t you use a skip for?

Skips can be useful for all kinds of events. However, there are certain types of waste that can’t be collected in skips, so there will be cases where a skip isn’t the best option.

For example, food waste – a common waste type generated at events – can’t be thrown into a skip (although the packaging, paper cups, plates, aluminium cans, etc. are perfectly OK for skip containers).

For food waste recycling, consider using a service like OWL (Organic Waste Logistics), which can store food waste onsite in a tank in which the anaerobic digestion begins before the lorry even comes to collect it.

OPINION: Food waste is valuable and we should’ve been recycling it years ago

Under no circumstances can asbestos, clinical/medical waste, fluorescent tubes, solvents, liquids, oil, batteries, hazardous/toxic material, upholstered furniture or gas cylinders be loaded into a skip.

Some items such as tyres, mattresses, televisions, plasterboard, batteries and fridges can be collected separately by special arrangement (additional fees apply).

And as of January 1, 2023, soft seating can no longer go into a skip with mixed waste after it was classified as hazardous POPs waste by the Environment Agency.

Choose SunSkips for your event’s skip hire

Having provided skips for big events including Suffolk’s Weird and Wonderful Wood festival and GeeWizz Charity’s Midsummer Night’s Party, the SunSkips team has plenty of experience in managing waste at events in the area.

With SunSkips, you’ll get all the necessary paperwork, including waste transfer notes, sent in one simple email so all you have to worry about is filling your skip.

Your skip will be dropped off and collected by one of our friendly drivers who will work with you to place the container exactly where you want it (within safety guidelines).

SunSkips passes all its waste through a recycling screening line, safeguarding your reputation as an environmentally friendly event with minimal effort on your part.

If you’re looking for great customer service and the best value for your event skip hire, SunSkips is ready to talk about how we can help make your big day go off without a hitch.

SunSkips provides skip hire for events in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, from small village fairs to large festivals. Get in touch with our friendly team to discuss how we can make the waste management for your event more streamlined and sustainable.