What Is Better - Skip Bin or a Skip Bag?

While many people might not be aware that Skip Bags are used as an alternative to Skip Bins, at some point of every builders' or tradies or even a residents life this question might come up.  It is no different to comparing the use of your own trailer and taking it to the tip vs hiring a skip bin.

To answer what is better for your given project, we'll analyse the effectiveness and benefits of each in different circumstances and hopefully by the end of this article you'll be able to determine - whether Skip Bin or a Skip Bag is more suitable for your project.

We will look into a few areas of comparison, such as: sizes range, durability, space requirement, pickup and delivery and suitability for various waste types.

Sizes Comparison of Skip Bins vs Skip Bags

We will start with Skip Bins, where we offer all sizes from mini skip of 2 cubic meters, all the way up to 31 cubic meters walk in container and everything in between.  Depending on the size of the skip bin, they also differ in design, from marrell bins (trapesoid shaped bins) to hook bins (rectangular shaped bins), each designed for specific use and depends on the preference of the customer.

Skip Bags usually come in a size of 1,2 and 3 cubic meters, hence is only suitable for either: very small projects or projects which are moving very slowly and it takes a very long time to accummulate b/w 1 to 3 cubic meters.  Certainly for large projects, such as the following list, Skip Bags would not be suitable, as you would require large size Skip Bins:

• Home Move
• Hoarders Clean Out
• Factory Clean out
• End of Lease Clean Out
• Landscaping Projects
• Demolition Site Clean Up
• Building Site Clean Up
• Concrete / Bricks / Soil

Price Comparison of Skip Bins vs Skip Bags

As there are only a couple of sizes of Skip Bags available, we will only be able to compare the cost of 2 cubic meters and 3 cubic meters bins vs bags.

We will use the suburb of Highett, Vic 3190 as our base for price comparison:

2 cubic meters Skip Bag - $34.95 to purchase plus $320 to pickup  = Total $354.95 (maximum load 400 kg & heavy materials only to 20cm)

2 cubic meters Skip Bin - even if we take the most expensive waste type (Mixed Heavy) $317 - no weight limit

3 cubic meters Skip Bag  - $39.95 to purchase plus $360 to pickup  = Total $399.95 (maximum load 600 kg & heavy materials only to 20 cm)

3 cubic meters Skip Bin - for the most expensive waste, Mixed Heavy, no limit on weight $377

As can be seen from the above comparison - Skip Bins offer incomparable value for money, given that there are no restrictions with waste and while there are cheaper waste types available for mini skips, we've provided the most expensive waste type above, which is still cheaper than same time skip bag.

Another issue to keep in mind is that if you need to dispose of more than 3 cubic meters of waste, you would need to continue ordering Skip Bags.  Let's run a comparison on disposing of 12 cubic meters of waste:

Skip Bags - you would need 4 x 3m3 Skip Bags, so $399.95 x 4 = $1,599.80 to dispose of 12m3 of waste

Skip Bins - you can order 1 x 12 cubic meters Skip Bin, even if we take the most expensive waste type - Mixed Heavy $897

Therefore, on 12 cubic meters of waste, you would save $702.80, not to mention that you can put any waste type into skip bin and you are extremely limited by what you can put into Skip Bag plus weight limit.

Waste Type Comparison of Skip Bins vs Skip Bags

What exactly can you put into Skip Bag?  From browsing a few suppliers in Melbourne, here's a general summary of what you can put into Skip Bag:

Household and demolition waste, concrete, soil, clay, rocks, rubble, bricks, sand, asphalt, ceramic & roofing tiles, garden waste, appliances.There is however a catch: heavy materials, which are most of the above can only be loaded up to 20 cm of the bag.  Which means that if you overload the bag with heavy materials, it will break on a pickup, which is one of the hazards reported by Skip Bag Drivers, as when the bag breaks, the driver then has to pickup all the rubbish.

What can you put into Skip Bin?

Household, Demolition, Builders, Landscaping Waste, Commercial Waste, Green Waste and a various combination of recyclables.  There are no limits on weight as Skip Bins are made from heavy metal, very strong and durable materials and are designed to carry a heavy weight.  While you can only put up to 400kg into 2 cubic meters bag, you can put 2-3 tonne of weight into a 2 cubic meters mini skip.

With Skip Bins - we offer various discounted waste types, depending on material, such as:

• Discounts on Bricks Bins
• Discounts on Timber Bins
• Discounts on Concrete Bins
• Discounts on Metal Bins
• Discounts on Concrete / Brick / Concrete Bins
• Discounts on Cardboard Bins

There are no discounts on Skip Bags, as there is no opportunity to sort the waste with ease, as we do with Skip Bins.

While there are so many clear disadvantages of Skip Bags compared to Skip Bins, why do people still order Skip Bags?  One of the attractions of Skip Bag is that you can keep it for an extended period of time, while some Skip Hire Companies might not be able to offer a skip bin for a very long time.  At Need A Skip Now - we allow our Builders and Trade Customers to keep the bins for as long as required, some are known to have had delays in their projects and skip bin was on site for up to 3 months. 

Summary of Key Differences:

Size: - Skip Bins range from 2m3 to 31 cubic meters, Skip Bags range from 1m3 to 3m3

Waste: Skip Bins take variety of waste and discounts are offered on recyclable waste type.  Skip Bags - can only take very small amounts of heavy waste

Price: Skip Bins represent much better value for money as per financial analysis above, Skip Bags work out to be more expensive

Weight: Skip Bins can take several tonnes of weight each, while skip Bags are limited to 400 - 600 kg.  This is understandable, considering the durable material skip bins are made of vs fragile material of Skip Bags.

As a Skip Bin Provider - we can attest that we often find Skip Bags in our Skip Bins, when we pickup bins from customers.  What does that mean?  It means that while the customer was initially aiming to fill the skip bag, they realised that it will be too heavy and exceed the weight limit of skip bag and the bag will rip, hence they opted to order a Skip Bin, transfer the waste into the bin and continue filling the bin without having any concern for any rubbish to fall out.

We hope that we have disspelled any myths about Skip Bags and Skip Bins above and should you have any questions about waste disposal from your building site or home - please contact our friendly team on 1300 605 624.