Side-by-side comparison
| Skip hire | Clearance team | |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the lifting | You | Our team |
| Road permit | Needed if it goes on the road | Not needed |
| Sofas, mattresses, fridges | Usually refused or charged extra | Taken, itemised on the quote |
| How long it sits outside | Days or weeks | Gone the same day |
| Sorting for reuse | None | Done for you |
| Best for | Rubble, soil, renovation waste | Furniture and household contents |
When a skip makes sense
- You’re renovating and producing rubble, tiles or timber over several days.
- You have a driveway, so no road permit is needed.
- You have people to do the loading, and time to do it.
- The waste is mostly heavy, inert material rather than furniture.
When a clearance team makes sense
- The job is mostly furniture, white goods and boxes.
- Items are upstairs, in a loft or at the back of a garage.
- There’s no driveway, or parking is tight, as in many town centres and terraced streets.
- You need it done on a set date, such as before a sale completes or a new tenancy starts.
- You want usable items reused or donated rather than crushed in a skip.
Items most skips won’t take
Skip firms have to follow waste rules, so most refuse or charge extra for:
- Fridges, freezers and other electricals
- Mattresses and upholstered furniture
- Plasterboard, unless it’s kept separate
- Tyres, batteries and gas bottles
- Paint, oils and chemicals
- Asbestos, which always needs a specialist
In a typical house, those are often the very items you need to get rid of. A clearance team can take most of them, and lists any charges on the quote.
Skip sizes at a glance
Skips are measured in cubic yards. As a rough guide:
| Skip | Size | Roughly holds |
|---|---|---|
| Mini skip | 2 to 3 yards | 25 to 35 bin bags |
| Midi skip | 4 to 5 yards | 40 to 50 bin bags |
| Builder’s skip | 6 to 8 yards | 60 to 80 bin bags |
Bulky furniture wastes skip space, because sofas and wardrobes don’t pack down. A full three-bed house can need more than one large skip, and most firms won’t take the sofas or beds anyway.
Skip permits on Kent roads
A skip that sits on the road or pavement needs a permit from the highway authority. That’s Kent County Council in most of the county, and Medway Council in Medway. The skip company usually applies for you and adds the cost to your hire, but it can delay delivery, and some streets aren’t suitable at all. Skips on the road also need lights and markings, and they invite other people’s rubbish overnight.
The hidden cost: your time
Loading a skip properly takes longer than most people expect, and heavy furniture needs two people. Add the trips to the tip for things the skip won’t take, and a weekend soon disappears. For a full idea of clearance prices, see our house clearance cost guide.
We clear houses, flats, lofts and garages across Kent, including Maidstone, Medway, Ashford and Sevenoaks. Send photos for a free quote, or read more about our house clearance service.
Related guides: rubbish clearance vs house clearance, council vs private bulky waste collection and how to choose a clearance company.