Waste
Soil, rubble and concrete: which skip
For soil, hardcore, brick, tiles and concrete, book a small heavy-waste skip and say what it is. A 4-yard or 6-yard is the usual range. An 8-yard and above is the wrong answer for a dense load.
Weight, not volume
A skip lorry lifts the skip onto the truck. Dense inert waste hits that lift limit long before the skip looks “full” of air. That is why firms refuse large open-backed skips of rubble even though the cubic-yard number is higher.
Treat 6-yard as the ceiling for soil, turf with soil, brick, block, tiles, screed and concrete unless the operator explicitly offers a larger heavy-waste product. Fill below the rim. Level, do not peak. Two small skips beat one overloaded large one.
Which size
| Load | Usual size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Patio dig-out, small path, one skip of spoil | 4-yard | Often enough. Say it is soil or rubble when you book. |
| Larger dig, demolition hardcore, multiple cubic metres | 6-yard | Common maximum for heavy waste. Ask whether they want a dedicated inert skip. |
| More than one 6-yard of rubble | Second 6-yard (or 4-yard) | Do not “upgrade” to 8 / 10 / 12 for density. Book another drop. |
| Light mixed waste with only a little soil | Follow the job page | Kitchen, bathroom and garden pages still apply. Tell the firm the mix. |
Related job pages: kitchen refit, bathroom refit, garden clearance.
Inert vs mixed
Longer note on clean inert loads vs contamination: Soil and hardcore: inert loads vs mixed.
Hire firms often want clean soil, brick and concrete kept apart from timber, plastics and general rubbish. That is an operator and tip rule as much as a householder label. Contaminated soil (oils, chemicals, asbestos fragments) is a different problem – not for a standard inert skip.
- Say “soil and rubble only” when you book if that is truly the load.
- Do not bury plasterboard, paint, or electricals under the spoil. See what you cannot put in a skip and plasterboard and skips.
- Operators disagree on how much bagged soil they allow inside a mixed domestic skip. Ask; do not assume.
What this page is not
It is not a price list. It does not invent tonnage caps for every firm. Exact permitted weights and whether your load counts as “inert” are confirmed with the operator and, where relevant, the receiving site.
Placement and the carrier
- A loaded soil skip is heavy on soft ground. Use hardstanding if you can.
- Highway placement needs a licence – Do I need a skip permit?.
- Check the CBDU waste-carrier number – how to check a waste carrier licence.
Skip Clerk has no hire partners yet and no prices on this page. When we add a booking link it will be marked as an affiliate link. Until then, use a licensed local operator and confirm the load type with them.
Sources
- Heavy-waste ceiling at 6-yard for soil, hardcore, brick, tiles and concrete: consistent UK hire-firm practice; same rule as the site 6-yard and 8-yard pages. Firms still publish different exact weight caps – ask yours.
- What you cannot put in a skip – soil/rubble row: weight and waste-stream problem, not a blanket legal ban.
- What size skip do I need? – size table and job chooser.
- No invented prices or operator tonnage figures on this page.