Top 10 Reasons To Choose Skip Bin Hire for Soil Disposal in Melbourne

Soil is one of the most difficult waste types to dispose of, particularly in Melbourne, Victoria.  Whether it's the soil from your backyard, landscaping project, construction or demolition site, there is a certain way of going about your soil disposal, to ensure that it's affordable, time efficient, environmentally friendly and legal.  In this artile, we cover 10 reasons to choose Skip Bin Hire for soil disposal in Melbourne.

Top 10 Reasons To Dispose of Soil via Hiring a Skip Bin

1. Skip Bins are built to Handle Heavy Soil Loads
2. Load the Skip Bin Either Manually or With Machinery
3. Easy Wheelbarrow Access via Convenient Door
4. Skip Bin is delivered to you, saving you time and fuel
5. Extra Space in a Bin for Beyond Soil Disposal
6. Fill the Skip Bin At Your Own Pace
7. Effortless Bin Collection and Material Recycling
8. Compact Mini Skips for Small Spaces
9. Skip the Hassle of Soil Rejections at Local Tips
10. Various Skip Bin Sizes to Match Your Soil Volume

We will now explain each of the above benefits, to ensure that your soil disposal process will be informed, hassle free and stress free.

1. Skip Bins are Built to Handle Heavy Soil Loads

When disposing of soil, it is very important to note that soil is a high density, heavy material and it is therefore very important to load it into something, that will not break or rip when you try to remove it from your site.  For instance - skip bags are not suitable to be filled with soil for that specific reason and therefore if you were to fill a skip bag with soil, during the process of lifting a skip bag from your site, it would rip and soil would spill over back on your site.

The clear advantage of skip bins is that due to the strong, heavy-duty metal that they are made from, they are designed to handle heavy waste with no issues.  One thing to note is that wet soil will be significantly heavier than dry soil and therefore should not be compacted with machinery. 

2. Load the Skip Bin Either Manually or With Machinery

The versatility of skip bins is that you can fill them via various methods.  If you are just working on your home project and have a small mini-skip, you can easily fill it with either wheelbarrow (the most common method) or even with buckets, if you don't own a wheelbararrow. 

Should you be doing a site cut or disposing of soil after the excavation or major landscaping job and have a bobcat or an excavator on site, then filling a skip bin with machinery is very fast.  As an example, 2 cubic meters to 4 cubic meters mini skips can be filled with machinery in a matter of 10-15 minutes. When our customers have machinery on site, they sometimes ask our driver to wait for 10-15 minutes and take away a full bin, thus ensuring that you can wrap up your project or at least not have a full bin sitting on-site, taking space.

3. Easy Wheelbarrow Access via Convenient Door

Why would the bin door be important when you are disposing of soil? As soil is a heavy material, most customers, who are filling the bin with a wheelbarrow, find the bin door very helpful, as it lowers down and becomes a ramp, which can be used to enter the bin.  If you are definitely using a wheelbarrow, we recommend to start with 3 cubic meters bin, as it is the smallest bin size that comes with a walk-in door.

All marrell skip bins (i.e. trapezoid-shaped, which are lowered by chains from the truck) have a door, which lowers down from the back of the bin.  Bin sizes that fit these criteria are 3 cubic meters to 8 cubic meters.  However, if you are after a hook bin, which is a low sided, rectangular bin, bin doors open up like barn doors.  Many builders and landscapers prefer hook bins, as they are low enough and easy to load with machinery.

4. Skip Bin is Delivered to You, Saving You Time and Fuel

What is the significance of this point, you might ask.  Well, since there are a variety of methods for soil disposal, including but not limited to taking your soil to the tip in a trailer, in a case of bin delivery - you are saving time and fuel by not travelling anywhere and all the transportation being handled by a skip bin hire company.

While we, as a skip bin supplier, also operate a Waste Transfer Station, where we welcome our customers, who have the time and capacity to come and tip their trailers, we find that majority of customers, who have more than 1 cubic meters of soil to dispose of and don't own a truck or a trailer or don't have excess of time, very much appreciate the convenience of a skip bin.

The only time you have to invest is to fill the skip bin, however you don't need to worry about driving anywhere, waiting in queues, spending your time off loading your vehicle and spending fuel to get to and from the tip.  In addition, some customers own very small trailers, where they cannot fit even one cubic meters of soil.  One such customer had to travel to our waste transfer station with half a cubic meter of soil and then come back again with another half cubic meter.  This is not an option for someone on tight timelines, who appreciates the convenience of skip bin delivery right to their doorstep.

5. Extra Space in a Bin for Beyond Soil Disposal

The convenience of a skip bin is that sometimes, if you have over-estimated the volume or bin size that you need and realise that you have some extra space left in a bin, you can add a few more items to your soil.  We emphasise the term "allowable" items, as soil is a very specific and highly regulated waste type and only certain materials can be safelly mixed with soil, without contaminating it.

The list of items, which can be mixed with soil as at 2023 are:

• concrete
• bricks
• some green waste
• rubble
• untreated timber

If you are unsure what you can or cannot mix in a bin with soil, we encourage you to reach out to us and we'll be able to quickly and easily answer any of your questions.

6. Fill the Skip Bin At Your Own Pace

When it comes to soil disposal, some projects might take a day, while others can take a week or a month.  The beauty of having a skip bin sitting on your site is that you can gradually fill it with soil and your gardening or landscaping waste, as you work through your project.  There is actually no other holding container that would be suitable for this tasks, other than our trusty skip bin!

On the contrary, if you were to fill up your trailer, it's not suitable for long term projects, particularly for large quantities of soil.  If you choose to order your skip bin for soil through us, we do not rush you with a pickup date and provided that skip bin is not positioned on a road or nature strip, you can continue filling it without any time pressure.

A quick note about nature strip or road - in this instance, your skip bin would attract a city council permit, therefore you might be limited to a time period that your permit covers, such as a week.  However, as we look after all the permits applications for you, it's absolutely no problem for us to extend your bin permit.

7. Effortless Bin Collection and Material Recycling

Once you have finished filling your bin, you are only a phone call away from booking your bin pickup date. All we need is a 24-hour notice and you can wave your bin goodbye! 

Once we've picked up the bin from your home or your project site, it's being taken back to our Waste Transfer Station, tipped on a concrete pad and each material further cleaned and properly recycled.

Soil goes through a specialised cleaning process to ensure that it's clean enough for soil recycling facilities to accept it and give it a second life or repurpose it.  You can rest assured that when you pay for a bin hire with us - the recycling and diligent disposal process is already included in your bin price.

8. Compact Mini Skips for Small Spaces

One of the common concerns of our customers is how much space would a skip bin take, to ensure the efficiency of their small space is not compromised.  The great news is - our smallest bins, such as 2 cubic meters and 3 cubic meters are very compact.  Below are examples of our bins with dimensions.

 

 

 

Both 2 cubic meters and 3 cubic meters ini skips are 1.5 meters wide, so they are compact, will fit into most properties, and will be patiently sitting on your property until you finished your project.

Alternatively, if there is no space on your property, you can consider placing a bin on your nature strip or a road and we'll organise a council permit for you on the spot.

9. Skip the Hassle of Soil Rejections at Local Tips

Have you ever tried to take your trailer with soil to the tip and then just turned around at the weight bridge, as they have decided not to accept soil on a day or at that facility?  Many of our customers have.

When you opt for a Skip Bin, you don't need to worry about being turned away at the local tip, after you've spent time loading your trailer, driving and waiting in the queue.

Sometimes your soil might be rejected, because it's mixed with other materials, such as rubble, brick, etc as some facilities, which accept soil, only accept CLEAN soil, a requirement which is very hard to meet.

10. Various Skip Bin Sizes to Match Your Soil Volume

One of the most common questions when disposing of soil is: "which skip bin size would be suitable for a job?"

In general terms, any skip bin between 2 cubic meters and 10 cubic meters is appropriate for soil waste.  Anything above 10 cubic meters is not safe, as the weight of the bin plus soil can break the lifter of the truck and also exceed the payload of the truck on a road.

Hence, if you have more than 10 cubic meters of soil, you will need more than one bin.

We also recommend marrell bins for smaller projects, between 2 cubic meters to 6 cubic meters and for any bins between 8 and 10 cubic meters we recommend a hook bin.  Hook Bin is a rectangular, low-sided bin and generally as hook trucks can lift heavier loads, hook bins are the preferred option for larger soil disposal quantities.

Taking Your Soil Disposal to the Next Level - How To Manage Compliance and Contamination

When it comes to larger projects, such as building, demolition, excavation and so on, we are getting into a more serious conversation about your soil disposal.

Experienced builders and demolishers would be familiar with soil reports and all that jazz, however, if this is your "first rodeo", please read our blog, dedicated specifically to this issue.

Alternatives to Using Skip Bins for Soil Removal in Melbourne

This article wouldn't be complete if we didn't consider alternatives to Skip Bins when it comes to soil disposal.

If you have a very small amount of soil, approximately 1 cubic meter and you already have your own trailer - you might want to take it to a Waste Transfer Station, that accepts soil.  If you are in the area of Clayton South (where our Waste Transfer Station is) - we would be able to accept your trailer with soil, provided it's clean and not contaminated.

If you have extremely large amounts of soil like 100s of cubic meters, you will most definitely require a soil report and the most time-effective method of disposal would be to hire a trucking company, that would cart your soil straight to a soil disposal centre.  That would cost a bit, however, when we are talking about 200 cubic meters and beyond, time also costs money and at least your process will be far more time efficient.

Wrapping Up and Our Customers' Experience With Soil Disposal

We have been dealing with soil as a waste type since 2011 and have seen soil going the full circle from being the cheapest waste type to dispose of to becoming the most complex and expensive waste type.

Your soil disposal method will depend on:

• the amount of soil you have
• your location
• timelines of your project
• the quality of your soil

Most residential customers find that skip bin hire is the most cost and time-effective method of soil disposal.

Some trade customers alternate between skip bin and using their trailers for very small quantities of soil.

We are here to assist with both methods.  Our friendly customer service is only a phone call away on 1300 605 624 and we will discuss your project and find you the best size skip bin or discuss alternative methods if required. Call us today and let's wave your soil goodbye!