How To Stay Safe When Hiring A Skip

25th May, 2017

Safety is massively important to us here at Skip Hire Network, so we do everything we can to guarantee the physical health of everyone hiring and using our skips. With that in mind, we’ve gathered a few quick tips for you this week to enlighten you on how to stay safe when hiring a skip.

Preparing For Your Skip’s Arrival

Before your skip arrives, you’ll want to designate an area for it. How big an area will obviously depend on the size of the skip, but in all cases you’ll need a flat and stable area that’s utterly free from obstructions. That means if it’s on your drive, you’ll need to make sure that you don’t have any parked cars in the way by the time we come to drop it off. If it’s on your front lawn, meanwhile, we’d recommend putting down some flat wooden planks down first. This stops your skip from sinking into the ground, which can happen quite easily as they start to fill up.

If it’s on public property meanwhile – like the road outside, it’s best to make sure that we’re aware. Some areas might require extra safety equipment, such as hazard lights to one side. (It’s worth noting that a skip hire permit is almost definitely going to be necessary in these circumstances!)

When Your Skip Arrives

As our driver arrives with your skip, we’d recommend keeping all children and pets indoors. Dogs especially have been known to scamper out behind reversing vehicles, and though we’ve not had an accident yet here at Skip Hire Network, we’d like that trend to continue!

Once your skip is in place, don’t move it, as this can be hugely dangerous due to its size and weight. Trying to do so after we’ve set it down can damage the skip, your property, or – most crucially – you. Moving it can also make it impossible (and illegal) for us to collect it at the end of the service, especially if it’s been completely filled by that stage.

Load Your Skip Responsibly

That means don’t just lob stuff in from a distance, especially if it’s heavy. It sounds like common sense but you’d be surprised at how many people do it! As a general rule it’s a bad idea to have any sort of object flying through the air. The best case scenario is that it’s breakable, which means you may end up having to sweep up a lot of the pieces and put them in the skip carefully anyway. The worst case scenario is that it’s not, in which case you can be in serious trouble if you hit something – or someone.

Throwing things in can also damage your back. This is something you’ll want to watch when lifting things into your skip normally anyway – remember to bend your knees and lift with your legs, avoiding too much weight and tension on your spine. If an object is too heavy, don’t forget to ask for help.

Above all, make sure there aren’t any hazardous objects in it. The rules are strict when it comes to waste disposal, and if there’s hazardous waste in your skip we may refuse to take it. There are specific rules in place for dealing with certain types of hazardous waste (like medical or chemical objects), so you’ll need to go down those routes instead. Doing it that way is safer for you, and safer for us.

Finally, don’t overfill your skip. There’s a very minor bit of leeway allowed, but generally what’s in it shouldn’t be stacked higher than the edges of the skip. Doing so makes it unstable and therefore dangerous – not only is it unsafe for us to remove it, but we’re actually forbidden by law. Thankfully it’s reasonably easy to avoid this scenario; all you have to do is make sure you have the right size skip.

They’re not tricky measures by any degree, but these few simple steps will guarantee your safety when hiring a skip. If you’re all ready to do so, just visit our homepage to enter your postcode and phone number, and hire a skip today!

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