Waste Skips
HERMEQ supplies waste skips for construction, demolition and industrial sites, from 2 yard mini skips to 12 yard builders skips, along with the crane and forklift skips used where a skip loader lorry cannot reach. The range covers open chain lift and drop door builders skips, crane lift builders skips, self-emptying boat skips, drop bottom and bottom empty forklift skips, rotating skip bins, auto dumping containers and sealed concrete washout skips. Most of the range is manufactured in the UK from heavy duty steel, the builders skips come in colours for separating waste streams, and every skip can be bought online with nationwide delivery.
Builders skips, boat skips and forklift skips
The range sorts by how each skip is lifted. Builders skips go on the chains of a skip loader lorry or on a crane hook, and boat skips work from a crane. Bottom empty, rotating and auto dumping types are handled by forklift, and drop bottom skips take either a crane or a forklift.
Open chain lift builders skips
The open chain lift skip is the standard builders skip: an open steel body with lifting lugs that the chains of a skip loader lorry pick up, loaded over the sides by hand, bucket or grab. It is the right choice for general building waste wherever a lorry can reach the skip. HERMEQ makes it in every size from the 2 yard mini skip for restricted areas and small clearances up to the 12 yard builders skip for large construction and demolition projects.
Drop door skips
A drop door skip has a door at one end that drops open, so rubble can be barrowed in and bulky items carried in at ground level instead of being lifted over the side. The 4 yard drop door skip suits small renovation and strip-out jobs. The 6 yard drop door skip and 8 yard drop door skip cover most refurbishment and demolition work, and the 10 yard drop door skip takes bulky mixed debris from larger commercial clearances.
Crane lift builders skips
The crane lift builders skips are built for repeated lifting on a crane hook. They are for sites where waste has to travel off a slab, over hoarding or across a building to the point where a lorry collects it. They come in the main builders skip sizes, so a crane-served site can run the same capacities as the rest of its skip fleet.
Boat skips
Boat skips are low-sided crane skips that empty themselves: the load discharges on the crane without anyone tipping it by hand, and the low loading height keeps filling quick on the floors of high-rise and restricted-access jobs. HERMEQ supplies two versions: the crane lift boat skip, which resets itself between lifts, and the self-dumping boat skip for waste zones that only the crane can reach.
Drop bottom skips
Drop bottom skips empty through a flap in the base, so once the skip is over the receiving container the load falls straight out and the skip never has to be tilted. Because they lift by crane or forklift, they are the flexible choice for a site that runs both.
Bottom empty skips
Bottom empty skips are forklift skips with an automatic base release. The driver lowers the skip onto the rim of a larger yard skip or bin, the base opens, and it relocks when the skip next touches the ground. The driver stays in the cab throughout, so they suit high-throughput sites moving waste to static skips many times a day.
Rotating skip bins
Rotating skip bins are steel bins with forklift pockets that a rotator attachment turns over to empty under control. They need a forklift fitted with a rotator, so they are the right buy for construction, manufacturing and recycling operations that already run one.
Auto dumping containers
The auto dumping container tips itself with no wires to pull and no manual tipping, and is moved by forklift or pallet truck. It comes on castors for moving around a floor or on legs for a fixed position. It is designed for dry materials only, so it belongs in factories and warehouses handling dry production waste, and wet site waste goes in a sealed skip.
Concrete washout skips
The concrete washout skip is a builders skip with a fully sealed base that holds wet concrete waste and slurry without leaking onto the ground. Choose it for foundation works and any pour where mixers, pumps and tools are washed out on site. Between pours it also takes rubble and dry inert waste.
Chain lift, crane lift or forklift skips
The plant that will lift and empty the skip settles the choice before size or colour, so the first check is what runs on site now and what carries the waste away. Chain lift skips are right wherever a skip loader lorry can reach the skip at ground level, because the same lorry delivers it, collects it full and empties it at the transfer station. A site with a telehandler or excavator rigged with lifting chains can also move a chain lift skip around the job between collections.
Crane lift builders skips and boat skips belong on high-rise and restricted sites where the tower or mobile crane is the only plant that reaches the working floors, and every load has to come down to a collection point by crane. On these jobs the skip is sized to the crane's capacity at the radius it works, and a self-emptying boat skip saves a second handling step at the bottom.
Forklift skips belong in yards, factories, warehouses and recycling plants, where waste is gathered at the point of work and carried to a larger static skip or compactor. Bottom empty skips work with a standard forklift, auto dumping containers with a forklift or pallet truck, and rotating skip bins only with a rotator attachment, so the truck and its attachments narrow the choice. For carrying loose waste around a site and tipping it forward into a skip, the forklift tipping skips are the type to look at.
Skip sizes from 2 to 12 yards
A builders skip is sized by the volume it holds in cubic yards, and the range runs from 2 to 12 yards: mini skips at the small end, midi and builders skips in the middle, and large skips at the top. A 4 yard builders skip takes the waste from a kitchen or bathroom strip-out. The 6 yard builders skip and 8 yard builders skip are the working sizes for house refurbishment and general building waste, and the 10 yard skip takes bulky mixed waste from larger site clearances.
Boat skips, drop bottom skips and bottom empty skips are sized in litres, across a span from 500 to 4,000 litres, because they carry smaller loads more often and have to stay within the rated capacity of the crane or forklift that lifts them. The rotating skip bin is chosen by the load it is rated to carry.
Dense waste fills a skip by weight before it fills it by volume. Soil, rubble, hardcore and concrete reach the weight a skip loader or crane can lift long before the skip is full, so heavy waste belongs in a smaller skip filled level. Light, bulky waste such as packaging, timber offcuts and insulation fills by volume, and that is where a larger skip or a skip compactor gets more into each collection.
Skips for construction, demolition and industrial waste
Construction and demolition sites
On building and demolition work the choice turns on how the skip is loaded. An excavator or loading shovel fills an open skip over the side quickly, while a gang clearing rubble by barrow or carrying out doors, frames and fittings loads faster through a drop door. Standing the skip on firm, level ground away from excavation edges, with clear access for the skip loader, avoids moving it once it is full.
High-rise and crane-served sites
Where every load goes on the crane, crane time and the safety of people under the load matter most. Fewer, fuller lifts keep crane time down, so each skip is filled level before it is called for. Crane lift builders skips carry the larger volumes where the crane lands full skips for a lorry to collect.
Factories, warehouses and recycling yards
Indoor and yard work calls for skips that move waste from the production line or sorting area to a static skip without manual tipping. An auto dumping container can stand at a workstation and be taken to the yard skip once it is full.
Concrete washout and wet waste
Wet concrete, slurry and washout water need a sealed container, and the concrete washout skip has the sealed base that an open builders skip does not. A concrete pouring skip is a different product: it places fresh concrete by crane and is not a waste container, and HERMEQ's concrete pouring skips sit in the groundworks range. For washout areas and the pumps that go with them, see the concrete washouts range.
Skip colours, stacking and steel build
Colour coding by waste stream
Open chain lift, drop door and concrete washout skips come in blue, green, red and yellow, and crane lift builders skips also come in HERMEQ Grey. Giving each colour one waste stream, such as hardcore, timber, metal and general waste, makes segregation on site easier to follow and to check before collection. On shared sites, each contractor can run its own colour so that skips and their contents stay with the right firm.
Stacking and storage
Drop door skips carry stacking blocks and drop bottom skips have a stackable body, and the concrete washout skip is also built to be stacked. Empty skips then stack in the yard and travel together on one load, which matters to any company holding a stock of spare skips between jobs.
Steel build and finish
The builders skips are made from heavy duty steel. The drop door models are built on hot rolled channel frames with forged lugs and gusseted stress points where the chains and the heaviest loads bear, and are finished in primer and semi-gloss paint to resist corrosion and wear. HERMEQ processes the steel for its skips in-house.
Skip lights, skip compactors and mortar skips
Skip lights
Skip lights mark a skip left on the road overnight with a flashing amber LED. A daylight sensor switches the light on at dusk and off in daylight, which saves the battery, and tamper-resistant fixings keep it on the skip.
Skip compactors
The skip compactor mounts on the forks of a forklift or telehandler and presses general and bulky waste down into the skip. Taking out the air space means each skip carries more before it is collected, so a site with light, bulky waste needs fewer collections. Its height adjusts to suit different skips.
Steel mortar skips
The steel mortar skip is a small crane-lifted skip for supplying bulk mortar to a bricklaying gang on a scaffold lift or an upper floor. It lifts from its crane lugs on a four-leg sling and stacks when not in use.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to put a skip on the road?
A skip placed on a public road or pavement needs a permit from the local council, and a skip on a driveway or other private land does not. The permit sets how long the skip can stay and the conditions for marking and lighting it at night. Each council sets its own fee and rules, and the permit has to be in place before the skip goes down.
What is a level load?
A level load is a skip filled no higher than its sides. Any load carried on the road must be secure, and waste above the rim can fall from the lorry or take the skip past the weight it is rated to lift, so an overfilled skip can be refused until the excess is taken off. On crane and forklift skips the same rule keeps loose material from falling during the lift.
What waste should be kept out of a general waste skip?
Hazardous waste stays out of a general waste skip, including asbestos, paints, oils and other liquids, batteries, gas bottles, fluorescent tubes, tyres and electrical equipment. Plasterboard goes in its own skip so it can be recycled separately. Upholstered furniture such as sofas and padded chairs is collected separately because it can contain persistent organic pollutants.
What should be checked on a skip before it is lifted?
Check the lugs, bale arm and chains or slings for cracks, distortion and wear, and confirm the lifting gear is rated for the skip and its load. Doors, flaps and release mechanisms should be closed and latched, the load level with the sides and within the safe working load, and loose material cleared from the rims. Keep people clear of the area under the lift path.
What is the difference between a skip and a tipping skip?
A skip is a container filled on site and lifted whole by a skip loader lorry or crane, then emptied away from the site or into another container. A tipping skip is a forklift skip that carries loose waste around a site or yard and tips forward, usually into a larger skip, when the driver releases the catch. HERMEQ carries forklift tipping skips in its Tipper Skips range.