Can You Dispose of Garden Waste in a Skip?

If you’re sorting out your garden, especially if you’re having it landscaped or having decking or a patio installed, you’re likely to have lots of waste to get rid of. Skip hire is always a great option if you have lots of waste, but not everything can go into a skip. Most types of garden waste are fine, but in this blog post we give you a bit more info on what garden waste can and can’t go into the skip, and what happens to it afterwards.

Wood, metal and concrete

All of these materials can be disposed of in the skip. So if you’re ripping up old decking or an old patio, pulling down the dilapidated shed or getting rid of plant supports or trellises, then skip hire is the perfect option. Here at Willshee’s, we also recycle all of these materials, so you can feel happy in the knowledge that your waste won’t end up in the landfill. Concrete is crushed for reuse as a secondary aggregate, metal is separated by type and then smelted or fragmentised to be made into new products, and wood is chipped and then used for panel board, animal bedding or biomass.

Soil and green waste

This is what most people think of as garden waste. Both soil and green waste (leaves, plants, branches, grass etc.) can be disposed of via skip. Soils are screened and then recycled either as topsoil or as engineering material. We take green waste to a composting facility and it is all recycled. First it is mulched and composted, then it is used as agricultural fertiliser. Grass clippings can also be used as biomass: natural materials that are burnt as a fuel to create heat or energy. Your grass old clippings (and wood too, once it has been chipped down!) will end up in recycled energy plants for use as biofuel. This means that dealing with garden waste by using a skip is actually much more environmentally friendly that just your household waste bin. Instead of ending up in the landfill, giving off the greenhouse gas methane into the environment, they are used in the place of fossil fuels to create energy.

No liquids

Whilst most types of garden waste can go in the skip, liquids of any kind cannot go in the skip. The same goes for any paints, solvents or pressurised containers. For a full list of items that cannot put in a skip, please see our domestic skip hire page. If you do have any of these items that need disposing of, you can contact Willshee’s and we will arrange a separate collection service to deal with these items properly, in compliance with legal requirements.

Comprehensive skip hire service

When you hire a skip from Willshee’s, you get great service to go with it too, so that the whole process is efficient, professional and hassle-free. We are experts in domestic and commercial waste management, with over 30 years of experience, so we will be able to advise and support you with disposing of your garden waste. We will also help you pick the right skip and make sure you get a solution that’s convenient for you.