Patricia's Construction and Contracting Blog: Tips for Novices to Experts

Whose Trash Is Your Skip Bin?

by غزل موسوی

Fortunately, a permit is all that you need in order to place a rental skip bin along the nearest footpath until you're done demolishing.

The main problem with placing rental skips in public places is that it encourages the illegal dumping of trash. In this regard, here's what you need to know before you hire a skip bin and before you apply for that permit.

Why Illegal Dumping Should Be A Concern

You probably know that people shouldn't dump their trash into your skip bin(s). However, you might not understand how serious a problem it can be. There's the fact that you have no control over the type of trash that goes into the bin.

Someone might see your skip as the perfect place to dump their used lead-acid car battery or their old, worn-out tyres. The bin hire company will likely refuse to carry your filled skip bin (and to dispose its contents) if it contains hazardous waste products such as those mentioned above. You may end up having to dispose the contents of the skip bin on your own.

If the company agrees to dispose the 'contaminated' demolition wastes, you'll probably get an invoice that includes services that had not been included in the company's initial quote.

How To Prevent Illegal Dumping

You can prevent illegal dumping of trash into your "public" skip bin in various ways. When looking for a bin hire company, you should insist that the skip bins (to be) delivered should have lockable lids. With one such bin, a padlock is all that you might need to prevent the unauthorized dumping of trash. 

You might also want to place your skip in a low-traffic public area so as to reduce the number of people who will see the skip bin and possibly think of it as a perfect dumping site. However, you must ensure that the bin is adequately visible to the (few) pedestrians and motorists who pass through the low-traffic area.

However, the cost of hiring skips with lockable lids is likely to be higher than that of open-topped bins. If you happen to have a tarpaulin, you won't necessarily need the lockable lid on a skip bin. You can create a make-shift cover for the skip by fastening the tarp to the top corners of the bin.

Placing skip bins in a public place is often necessary. Sharing your skip bin with everyone else is not.

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