Green waste
Green waste skip bins
A bin for the garden and nothing else. Kept clean, green waste is handled separately to mixed rubbish, which is why it is worth keeping separate.
What counts as green waste
Anything that grew. The test is whether it could be chipped or composted if nothing else was mixed through it, which is also why the list on the right is strict.
Yes
- Branches, limbs and prunings
- Hedge and shrub trimmings
- Lawn clippings and leaves
- Weeds and whole garden beds
- Small stumps and root balls
- Palm fronds and cuttings
No
- Soil, turf and dirt on the roots
- Treated or painted timber
- Pots, trays and plastic
- Bagged household rubbish
- Rocks, gravel and pavers
- Fencing, wire and mesh
One bag of rubbish changes the whole load
Green waste is worth separating because clean vegetation can be chipped or composted, while mixed waste cannot. That is the entire reason it is handled differently, and it is why a green bin is not simply a general bin you happen to have filled with branches.
The catch is that it is all or nothing. One bag of household rubbish, a stack of plastic pots or a few lengths of treated timber and the load stops being green waste, whatever else is in there. Soil is the most common one: shake the dirt off the root balls before they go in.
Storm work is the other thing worth mentioning. After a blow there is usually fence palings and roof debris mixed through the branches, and that is a mixed load rather than a green one. Tell us which you have.
Sizes for a garden job
Green waste is bulky and light, so volume runs out well before weight does. These three cover most gardens. Bin counts compare against a 240L council wheelie bin.
Small jobs2m³ Skip Bin
= 8 wheelie bins
Garden tidy-ups, a single-room clean-out or a small bathroom strip.
- Garden clean-ups
- Bathroom renos
- Garage clear-outs
Heavy waste3m³ Skip Bin
= 12 wheelie bins
The usual pick for soil and rubble, which hit a weight limit before they fill a bin.
- Soil and dirt
- Brick and rubble
- Small strip-outs
Most popular4m³ Skip Bin
= 16 wheelie bins
The all-rounder. Moving house, a kitchen rip-out or a medium landscaping job.
- Moving house
- Kitchen rip-outs
- Landscaping
Clearing the garden?
Tell us roughly what is coming out and whether there is anything but vegetation in it, and we will size the bin and quote it.