Skip size calculator: what size skip do I need?
Measure your waste and check your skip quotes. Free, no sign-up.
Skip sizes in cubic yards and cubic metres
| Size | Cubic metres | Often called | Your waste |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-yard | 1.53 m³ | Mini | |
| 3-yard | 2.29 m³ | Mini | |
| 4-yard | 3.06 m³ | Midi | |
| 5-yard | 3.82 m³ | Midi | |
| 6-yard | 4.59 m³ | Builder's | |
| 8-yard | 6.12 m³ | Builder's or maxi | |
| 10-yard | 7.65 m³ | Maxi | |
| 12-yard | 9.17 m³ | Maxi or mega | |
| 14-yard | 10.70 m³ | High-sided | |
| 16-yard | 12.23 m³ | Maxi |
Add your waste to see which sizes hold it.
Your waste
Example numbersMarked against your waste by volume alone.
Names vary between companies. We've seen an 8-yard skip sold as a builder's skip, a maxi and a mega skip, so go by the yards.
Measure your waste
That's 12 batches, the most this page holds. Add to an existing batch instead.
That's five quotes, the most this page compares.
Your list, largest first
Only the company can confirm it will take the load.
Compare your skip hire quotes
Add a quote to check it against your list. Two or more get compared.
Side by side
A total says what you'd pay, not whether they'll take the load. Check each card's 'not confirmed' lines before you book.
Questions to ask each company
Nothing you type leaves this page or is saved. Close the tab and it's gone.
How the skip size calculator works
You've got a pile on the drive, more on the way and two or three quotes worded three different ways. The calculator takes them in the order that saves you money: will it fit, will they lift it, will they take it, and only then what it costs.
Start with what you're throwing out. Measure each pile or item the way it will go in: as it stands, or taken apart and stacked. Bags count at the litres printed on them. We multiply it out in cubic metres and turn that into cubic yards, the unit skips are sold in. One cubic yard is 0.7646 cubic metres, because the legal yard is 0.9144 of a metre. Then we mark every skip size that holds your high end. Not sure how well it'll pack? Set a low and a high end and both carry through.
Then the quotes. We check each one three ways before money comes into it. Size: does its capacity reach your high end? Weight: is the weight you know of over its limit? Waste: will it take everything on your list that needs asking about? Fail one and the quote drops out of the comparison, its price still shown and the reason beside it. A cheap skip that won't take your rubble isn't cheap.
After that we add up the lines: hire, delivery, collection, any days past the ones included, the road licence, the extras you were quoted, and VAT where a price says "plus VAT". A line you don't know stays a gap, never a zero, and a quote with a gap gets no total. For the same reason, no quote gets called the lowest until every quote still in the running is complete.
Whatever's left unanswered becomes a list of questions for each company, printed beside the comparison. Ring them with the sheet in your hand.
Why we don't estimate the weight
Because nobody can from a tape measure, and the published guesses don't agree. SkipHireCost.com puts a 2-yard mini skip at half a tonne of light waste. Edinburgh Skips says the same size takes 2 tonnes. A density table would turn your pile into a confident number that could be out by that much. A "pass" built on that guess would tell you nothing. So the weight check uses only the limit on your quote and the weights you actually know. A missing limit leaves it "not confirmed". So does missing weight, unless the weight already entered is over the limit. Anything unanswered goes on your sheet.
Who this is for
Householders clearing a kitchen, a bathroom, a garage or a garden, with a skip quote or two in hand.
Anyone who has been told "an 8-yard should do it" and wants to check.
It doesn't cover business waste, which comes with duties of its own.
Homeowner questions about skip sizes and skip hire
How big is a builder's skip?
Usually 6 or 8 cubic yards, which is 4.59 or 6.12 cubic metres. The name isn't fixed, though. Of the seven skip firms whose size pages we read, three call their 6-yard a builder's skip and three give that name to the 8-yard. One sells its 8-yard as a maxi, another as a mega skip. Go by the yards on the quote, not the name.
What are skip sizes in cubic metres?
Multiply the yards by 0.7646. A 2-yard mini skip holds 1.53 cubic metres, a 4-yard midi 3.06, a 6-yard 4.59, an 8-yard 6.12 and a 12-yard 9.17. The factor is the legal yard, 0.9144 metres, cubed. Some firms round theirs, listing an 8-yard as 6.1. That's fine for choosing a size, less so when your pile is a tight fit.
How much weight can a skip hold?
Whatever the company says for that skip, and it should be on your quote. Published figures don't agree: SkipHireCost.com gives a 2-yard mini skip half a tonne, Edinburgh Skips gives the same size 2 tonnes. That's why we never estimate a weight. Type the limit from your quote and the weights you know. A missing limit or weight leaves the check "not confirmed" unless the weight already entered is over the limit.
Do I need a skip permit?
Only if the skip goes on the road. On your own drive or land you don't. In England and Wales a road skip needs the council's licence (often called a skip permit), and it can't go on the pavement; in most areas the skip company applies. In Scotland it needs the roads authority's written permission. In Northern Ireland no consent is needed on the carriageway or adjoining lay-by of a road with a limit of 30 mph or lower where vehicles may wait. Other siting and safety rules still apply.
Can you put plasterboard in a skip?
Ask first, and expect it to be kept apart. Plasterboard is gypsum, and in England the Environment Agency's landfill rules keep gypsum out of landfill cells that take rotting waste, so firms handle it separately. Check with each company whether they take it and whether it has to go in on its own. Put it on your list and every quote gets the question.
Can you put a sofa in a skip?
Only if the company says yes. In England the Environment Agency treats upholstered seats as likely to hold persistent organic pollutants in the foam and covers. Seating like that can't go to landfill. The company must keep seating containing POPs apart from other waste, including in a skip. Some firms take sofas and some won't. If yours won't, ask your council how it collects them.
What does level load mean on a skip?
Nothing sticking up above the sides. A skip's size in yards is what it holds filled level with its rim, so heaping it doesn't buy you extra space. Measure your waste the same way: piles to their highest point, items by their outside size. If a quote gives only yards, ask for the level-load capacity in cubic metres.
How long can you keep a skip?
As long as your quote says, and each day after that costs whatever the quote charges for an extra day. Put the days you need into the calculator and it works out the extra days for each quote and the day the charges start. On the road, the licence or permission has its own end date, so ask how long it covers.
Does skip hire include VAT?
Not always: some quotes include it and some add it on top. If a quote doesn't say, ask. When a quote says plus VAT, the calculator adds 20% to every amount the company charges, so you're comparing like with like. A licence fee you pay the council yourself gets no VAT from us.
How many bin bags fit in a skip?
We'd rather not say, because the firms don't agree. Edinburgh Skips puts 20 to 30 bin bags in a 2-yard skip; Andover Mini Skip Hire says 25 to 35 for the same size. Bags differ too. If your waste is bagged, count the bags and read the litres printed on one: the calculator turns that into cubic metres.
What size skip do I need?
Measure, don't guess. A skip is sold by its volume, so the only number that settles the size is yours. Measure each pile to its highest point and each bulky item by its outside size. Take units and wardrobes apart if you can, then measure the stack. Count the bags. If odd shapes will leave gaps, set a high end above what you measured.
Take the kitchen rip-out in our example: the old units stacked, a heap of rubble and tiles, and 25 bags from the garage. It comes to 3.65 to 4.31 cubic metres. By volume alone that's a 6-yard skip or bigger; a 5-yard holds the low end only.
Volume is half the answer. Heavy waste such as soil and rubble can hit a skip's weight limit long before it's full, and some firms only take it in smaller skips. Plasterboard, sofas and anything hazardous need asking about. And a skip on the road needs a licence or permission in England, Wales and Scotland. In Northern Ireland it depends on the road. Check all three before you book, then let the quotes fight it out on price.
What can't go in a skip?
Some things need a yes from the company first. A firm may refuse them or charge extra, either under the rules it works to or on its own terms. None of that is a ban on you.
| What | Why a company may refuse it or charge | Where that comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Asbestos, or anything that might be | It's hazardous waste. | GOV.UK, Hazardous waste |
| Fridges and freezers | Classed as hazardous waste. Some contain ozone-depleting substances. | GOV.UK, WEEE: how to classify |
| Batteries, oils, solvents or chemicals, and their containers | May be hazardous waste. | GOV.UK, Hazardous waste |
| Plasterboard | Gypsum is kept out of landfill cells that take biodegradable waste, so it's handled apart. | GOV.UK, Dispose of waste to landfill |
| Sofas, armchairs and other upholstered seats | They may contain persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Seating containing POPs must be kept apart from other waste and can't go to landfill. | GOV.UK, Manage waste upholstered domestic seating containing POPs |
| Tyres | Whole or shredded used tyres are banned from landfill, except bicycle tyres and tyres over 1,400 mm in diameter. | GOV.UK, Dispose of waste to landfill |
| Paint that is still liquid | Liquid waste is banned from landfill. | GOV.UK, Dispose of waste to landfill |
| Other electrical items and fluorescent tubes | Electrical waste has its own rules. | GOV.UK, WEEE: how to classify |
| Mattresses | No official rule we could find. It's up to each company. | Your quote |
| Gas bottles or cylinders | No official rule we could find for skips. It's up to each company. | Your quote |
| Soil, rubble, hardcore or concrete | Not barred, but heavy. Some firms only take it in smaller skips. | Your quote |
Don't put it in until the company says yes. If they won't take it, ask your council.
The GOV.UK guidance here is written for businesses and waste sites in England. It's the reason a skip firm asks, not a rule you're breaking.
Skip licences and waste carriers in each UK nation
| Nation | A skip on the road | Waste regulator | Check a waste carrier |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | The council's licence. Never on the pavement. | Environment Agency | Environment Agency register |
| Wales | The council's licence. Never on the pavement. | Natural Resources Wales | Natural Resources Wales |
| Scotland | The roads authority's written permission; for a local road, the council. | SEPA | SEPA public register |
| Northern Ireland | No consent on the carriageway or adjoining lay-by of a road with a 30 mph limit or lower where vehicles may wait. The Department for Infrastructure's written consent is needed elsewhere on the road. Other siting and safety rules still apply. | Northern Ireland Environment Agency | DAERA registered carriers |
Before you book, ask for the company's waste carrier registration number and look it up. A registration in England, Wales or Scotland counts in all three, as Natural Resources Wales says plainly. In England and Wales the law expects you to take reasonable steps to make sure your household waste goes only to someone allowed to take it, and councils in England can issue a fixed penalty when you don't.
Sources and last checked
Dataset skip-size-2026-10-07, last checked 8 October 2026.
- Yards, feet, inches, litres and tonnes: the Weights and Measures Act 1985, Schedule 1.
- Skip sizes and their names: the size pages of L&S Waste Management, Cardiff and Caerphilly Skips, Andover Mini Skip Hire, HIPPO, The Waste Group, St Neots Skip Hire and Edinburgh Skips. No standard sets UK skip sizes; these are what the firms sell.
- VAT: GOV.UK, VAT rates (standard rate 20%).
- What needs asking about: GOV.UK, Hazardous waste; Dispose of waste to landfill; Manage waste upholstered domestic seating containing POPs; WEEE: how to classify (Environment Agency, England). Household liquid paint: Oxfordshire County Council, Waste Acceptance Policy.
- Skips on the road: Highways Act 1980, s.139 and GOV.UK, Skip licence (England and Wales); Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, ss.85 and 151; Roads (Northern Ireland) Order 1993, art. 96 and the Roads (Control of Builders' Skips) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1981.
- Waste carriers: the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA and DAERA registers; your duty over who takes your waste: Environmental Protection Act 1990, s.34(2A).
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