What Size Skip Do I Need For A Garage Clearance?

If you’ve looked into your garage recently and realised that you can’t easily access the space, or that you can’t find the things you’re actually after, then it might be time to consider having a clear out. 

So what do you do when you’ve got so much stuff in your garage that you can’t see the floor? Skip hire is a simple and effective way to get rid of all your unwanted stuff in one easy action, but getting the right skip size for a garage clearance is always important.

At Reston Waste, we have a whole range of skip sizes to meet your needs. Our most popular skip sizes for garage clearances are 12-yard skips, allowing you to dispose of lots of bulkier items, but it all depends on how big your garage is and how many items you need to get rid of — you may want something smaller for a quick clearance! 

Let’s look at those skip sizes in a little more detail.

Suitable garage clearance skip sizes

We offer domestic skip hire in six main sizes, all the way from four yards up to 14 yards. Here’s a closer look at each skip size available for garage clearances:

• 4-yard skip – A small skip with a 5-tonne capacity, ideal for heavy items from your garage
• 6-yard skip – A small skip with an 8-tonne capacity, ideal for heavy waste and small renovations
• 8-yard skip – A small skip with an 8-tonne capacity, ideal for small projects and heavy waste
• 10-yard skip – A medium skip with a lockable lid, ideal for light waste only
• 12-yard skip – A medium skip with a 7-tonne capacity ideal for house clearance projects
• 14-yard skip – A medium skip with a 6-tonne capacity ideal for lighter, bulkier waste

Of course, we offer larger skips than these, but anything beyond these sizes would likely be too big for any domestic project that you have in mind. 

Struggling to think where you’d keep a skip? Then don’t worry, because we offer a waste collection service for garage clearances as well. This service avoids the need to keep a skip on your property or road – ideal for terraced properties or anyone living in a flat with access to a garage – allowing all your waste to be collected promptly in one of our dedicated vehicles before being taken for processing and recycling at our facilities.

What common garage waste can you put in a skip?

Our garages tend to become a dumping ground for things we don’t often use, which can lead to a variety of items piling up over a number of years. Our skips at Reston Waste can handle all sorts of items, but there are some hazardous things that you might keep in a garage that we can’t accept. This is because we need to prevent the contamination of materials so that they’re ready for recycling.

To make it clearer which common garage items can go in a skip and which can’t, we’ve put together these handy lists:

Accepted Garage Waste Items

• Plastic furniture – Old garden furniture, such as chairs and tables, can take up a lot of room if you never use them, so throw these into your skip.
• Metal bicycles – Any bicycle frames beyond repair or just unwanted can be disposed of since they’re commonly made of metal.
• Boxes of newspapers/magazines – Old newspapers and magazines count as paper, an easily recyclable material you can put in our skips.
• Old tiles – Any leftover tiles from renovation projects that you finally want to let go of can be placed into a skip.
• Clothing and workwear – Counting as textiles and fabrics, old clothes and workwear you no longer use should be disposed of.
• Glassware – When you upgrade your glassware, don’t leave old bowls and tumblers lying around, recycle them through skip hire.
• Wooden storage boxes – If you’re throwing out the contents of a wooden box and no longer need the box, throw it in your skip for recycling.
• Metal storage shelving – A full clear out might involve removing old metal shelving, another acceptable waste item for our skips.
• Bricks – Piles of old bricks only attract dirt and pests, so throw them out in your skip.
• Toys and games – If the kids have flown the nest and no longer want old toys and games, make some room by disposing of them in our skips.

Restricted Garage Waste Items

• Paint tins – We don’t accept paint tins – empty or full – as this counts as hazardous waste.
• Oil and chemicals – Due to issues of spillage with these hazardous items, we can’t accept them in skip hire — they require specialist collection.
• Fridges and freezers – An old fridge or freezer may be taking up a lot of space, but counts as WEEE waste so cannot be accepted in our skips.
• Food waste – If you’re throwing out a fridge or freezer, you might be tempted to throw out old food waste too, but we can’t accept this waste due to contamination.
• Old appliances – Small appliances such as blenders or coffee machines are technically WEEE waste and cannot be accepted in our skips.
• Old tyres – Old rubber tyres are common in garages but this will incur an additional charge of £135.00 per tonne.
• Plasterboard – If it makes up less than 10% of your waste, it must be pre-agreed and bagged on top of the skip; over 10% will require a separate skip for the plasterboard by itself.
• Mattresses – We charge an additional £20+VAT per mattress if this is something you need to dispose of as part of a garage clearance.
• Carpet – We can accept carpet but only with an additional charge of £150.00 per tonne.

Look at our full list of accepted and restricted waste for further information, or if you’re unsure, always ask us before booking your skip.

Remember, getting the right skip size can save you a lot of hassle. You should also always take care not to overload your skip as this is both dangerous and could result in you being hit with a fine. You can find more tips on how to safely and most efficiently load your skip in our recent post, something that should help when it comes to clearing out your garage.

We serve London from our base in Wimbledon and are dedicated to recycling the maximum amount of waste to help minimise your impact on the environment. 

Book your domestic garage clearance skip online today in just a few simple steps or, alternatively, give our team a call to discuss your requirements and let us help make sure you get the right skip for the waste you need to dispose of.