Waste management is a crucial aspect of our daily lives, and choosing the right method for waste removal can make a significant difference to the environment. Two popular options for waste disposal are tipping facilities and skip hire.
While both have their advantages and disadvantages, it’s essential to understand which one is better suited for your needs. In this article, we’ll delve into the benefits and drawbacks of each method, as well as the different impacts each method may have, to help you make an informed decision about which option is best for you.
Differences Between Skip Hire and Tipping Facilities
While both tipping facilities and skip hire have their advantages, they differ in a few ways.
Skip Hire
Skip hire involves hiring a skip for a period of time from a waste management company. The company delivers the skip to your location, and then collects it when you’re ready to dispose of your waste materials.
Hiring a skip is ideal if you need to dispose of large amounts of waste at once, and if you have space available for the skip on your property.
Tipping Facilities
A tipping facility is typically a designated area where waste can be dropped off for disposal. Tipping facilities are often located near recycling centres or landfills so that the waste can be processed properly.
The Difference
The main difference between skip hire and tipping facilities lies in convenience and cost. Skip hire is more convenient for homeowners or businesses who need to dispose of large quantities of waste materials regularly, since the waste collection company takes care of everything from delivery to collection.
Whereas, with a tipping facility you are responsible for transporting your own materials to the site which can result in added transportation fees depending on the distance.
Points to consider
Cost-Effective Solution
Tipping can be a cost-effective way to dispose of small amounts of waste. This is because unlike skips, tipping facilities don’t cost any money, you will only pay what it costs in travel.
This is why tips are oftentimes chosen over skip hire: tipping doesn’t cost money to use.
However it’s important to note that tipping isn’t entirely cost free, afterall, you will have to travel to and from the tip depending on how much waste you have, all of which will cost money in travel expenses.
We recommend that you work out how often you will need to travel back and forth, in order to work out an estimate and know whether tipping is worth the time and money, or whether hiring a skip will be more convenient.
How much will you be tipping?
It could be more cost effective to hire a skip if you have a large quantity of waste, this would save time and money travelling back and forth to tips.
Alternatively, if you only have a handful of waste that will fit in your vehicle then tipping is probably the best solution for you!
Time
If you live miles away from a tip, what you pay in travel might not be worth the time and money for small quantities of waste. Furthermore if you have a lot of waste, the cost of travel will surely add up. At which point, hiring a waste management company, and a skip might be the most convenient option for you.
Environmental Impacts
Tipping has been linked to environmental impacts like air pollution. Road transport makes around 20% of all emissions making it one of the biggest sources of air pollution. With this in mind, it’s worth considering the number of trips you need to make and whether these are necessary.
On the other hand, skip hire can be more environmentally friendly. This is because depending on the quantity of waste, only one trip will be made by your chosen waste management company.
The type of waste
Knowing what type of waste you’re going to be getting rid of is important when choosing between skip hire or tipping. At the end of the day, transporting rubbish is messy, and depending on the type of waste it could cause damage to your car.
An example of this would be transporting metal, this might rip your seats or scratch your vehicle’s interior. Furthermore, personally transporting waste can result in smells that linger in your car.
All things considered, if the waste you intend to dispose of won’t result in these then there is no harm in transporting it to the tip yourself. However, if this is an area for concern a skip would be your best option to avoid any damage.
