Why hiring an orange skip used to be a criminal offence

SunSkips’ distinctive orange skips were designed to bring a friendly breath of fresh air to an industry that’s largely dominated by yellow containers.

But did you know that in the 70s, hiring one of our orange skips would have led to an unpleasant conversation with the local authorities?

Let’s dive into the history of skip hire and discover why the colour of skips was a legal issue, as well as why the government went so far as to formalise a strict colour scheme in The Highways Act.

Why are so many skips yellow?

In 1971, the UK government decided to make it a legal requirement for all skip hire companies to make their entire stock of skips yellow.

Legislators reasoned that yellow is the most striking colour to the human eye and that skips painted in a bright hue were more easily visible on the road, preventing collisions and accidents.

Yellow skips were especially important for night-time visibility because they showed up in the dark, similar to why a lot of construction machinery and road markings favour the bright colour.

Of course, not all skips are yellow these days, but technology had to catch up with basic safety requirements before the rules could be relaxed…

So what changed?

As skip hire became more affordable and mainstream for domestic use, container design evolved to be more conscious of public safety.

These days, skips can be fitted with flashing lights, making the legal requirement for skips to be yellow no longer necessary. Reflective traffic cones can also be placed around a skip to boost visibility on the roads.

 

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Other modern safety considerations include the maximum fill height indicator, which prevents accidents when moving the skip, and lockable doors to make it hard for fires to break out when disposing of flammable waste.

But despite all these design improvements, yellow is still often the go-to colour for skips. It has become so synonymous with skip hire, that many companies continue to spray their containers the traditional colour.

Skips of all colours!

In fact, it’s this very change in legislation that has allowed SunSkips to take things a step further this October and produce a limited supply of pink skips to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Mat Stewart, SunSkips’ managing director, said it’s fascinating how the colour of a skip has evolved from a fundamental safety concern to something that can help raise awareness.

He said, “Yellow skips probably aren’t going anywhere anytime soon – but it’s nice that we can mix things up a bit these days.

“When our skips and lorries got the fresh orange branding, it really brightened up the site and helped strengthen our brand as a friendly, customer-service oriented skip hire company.

“And now with the new pink skips, we’ve been able to help people in a completely different way, while still maintaining the same high levels of safety when containers are out with our customers in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.”

Whether you want a pink or orange skip (we even have some yellow ones knocking around for the classic skip enthusiast), call us on 01449 360 033 or 01223 790 712 and tell us your colour preference.