Do All Skip Companies Recycle Waste

Recycling and being climate conscious has become more important and at the forefront of many people's minds, especially with the latest news around climate change. Whether you are moving house or working on a building project, skip hire from the right company can guarantee you that the waste is being recycled. You might be wondering whether or not all skip companies recycle waste. The short answer to this question is - no. A lot of the waste that gets collected from building, landscaping or residential sites, end up in landfill creating a shortage of clean fill soil. Why is this significant you might ask? There are many reasons why recycling is vital and soil regeneration is one key component.

Soil in particular is a precious raw material, the more that soil gets contaminated, so does the health of livestock and humans living on our planet. Once materials are deposited in landfills it can take many years for them to break down. Due to general waste being mixed with soil in landfills, the soil becomes contaminated to the point where it can turn carcinogenic. When soil becomes contaminated it becomes a serious issue as the livestock that are eating grass or other vegetation off the land, ingest this soil which is then passed on to us, when we eat meat or other vegetation. Therefore, since the soil is containamated, it cannot provide the same nutrients as food that has been grown in clean and organic soil.

The good news is that Need A Skip Now not only provides reliable and affordable skip hire but it is home to soil cleaning and seperation. This in turn provides soil a second chance to be converted into organic waste and to once again be reused in gardens.

What Materials Get Recycled from Skip Bins

Need A Skip Now takes pride in its recycling process and recycles as much waste as possible. That is why we offer heavily discounted bins for 100% concrete only bins or 100% bricks only skip bins. For our other bins such as mixed heavy or general waste type bins, we seperate all the waste at our waste transfer station and ensure that it is either re-used or recycled back in the community. We have designated facilities that we use to dispose of each material, for example, all of our metal gets seperated at our yard and is then delivered back to a metal only facility. This metal facility then re-uses this metal, hence, creating a circular economy.

It is important to mention, that given the complexities around seperating soil and certifying its purity, we strongly encourage all our customers to not mix any soil with any other waste type (besides concrete and bricks). Soil that is mixed with general waste for instance, in most circumstances cannot be recovered and is unfortunately sent to landfill.

Non-recyclable Waste Types

We take most waste types, such as timber, plastic, concrete and green waste as these materials can all be recycled. Some waste types that cannot be recycled include: asbestos, artificial grass, hazardous chemicals and/or paints. Even though non-recycable wastes can make our life easier e.g. artificial grass vs mowing and watering fresh grass, in the long run this pareticular waste poses a huge threat to the environment. While the lifespan of artifical grass may be up to 25 years, once the artifical grass comes to the end of its lifespan, it ends up in landfill and creates more waste sitting in landfill for many years, waiting to decompose.

Other waste types such as mattresses, tyres and carpets also cannot be recycled, however, they can be put inside our skip bins (at an extra cost). Should you be unsure whether we can take your waste or not, you can check out our waste types guide or call our customer service team on 1300 605 624.

Waste That You Cannot Put Inside a Skip Bin

There are some waste types which we absolutely cannot take, predominantly because they cannot be recycled or because we do not hold a licence to take this waste (e.g. foods and liquids require a specific waste facility that holds a particular licence to dispose of organic waste). Some waste types that cannot be recycled include: asbestos, hazardous chemicals and/or paints. If any of these waste types are found inside the bin, the customer has two options. The customer can either come back and collect the hazardous waste or they will be required to pay a fine for placing this material in the bin.

Where Do Skip Companies Recycle Waste

Firstly, not all skip hire companies recycle waste. Some Skip Bin Hire suppliers choose to cut corners and engage in illegal dumping and other similar activities.  To read more about rogue operators in the industry and how to tell them apart, read our recent blog, in particular section 4.1 "What to Look For In a Skip Hire Company".

Some skip hire companies just pick up the waste and take it straight to landfill. Whilst this may seem like the cheaper and easier option, since no large labour force is required, this way of depositing waste is detrimental to our environment and health of soil which provides us with all the important minerals and nutrients that we need.

When dealing with Need A Skip Now, you can be assured that our team in the waste yard works meticulously when sorting through waste. Once a skip bin arrives in the yard, they assess what waste is in the bin and start carefully sorting the waste into common properties. For example, all the bricks would be seperated from other materials found in the bin such as concrete and timber. Once all the materials are in a specific pile, this waste is taken to a facility that deals with that one particular waste type. These facilities then work with this material and bring it a second life in the community. For example, any concrete that is found in our bins, can be crushed up and turned into road building material.

When booking with Need A Skip Now, you can rest easy knowing that we take great care in seperating all the waste so that it does not end up in landfill. We look forward to working with you on your next project in the near future.