Garden Waste Skips

Garden waste can go in a general waste skip, but a dedicated garden waste skip is cheaper for green-only loads. A 6-yard garden waste skip costs from £226 + VAT, against £246 + VAT for a 6-yard general waste skip. Keeping green waste separate also means it can be composted rather than mixed with other rubbish. If the clear-out includes old fencing, plant pots or other household waste, a general waste skip takes everything in one load. 

Garden waste means anything that grows in the garden: grass cuttings, leaves, hedge and shrub trimmings, branches, weeds, cut flowers and plants. It must be green waste only, with no plastic pots, bags, fence panels, treated timber, stones or rubble mixed in, as these stop it being composted. Soil and turf are too heavy for a garden waste skip and belong in a muck skip. Invasive weeds such as Japanese knotweed cannot go in at all. 

For a large garden clearance, a garden waste skip is usually the simplest option. Mick George offers 4, 6, 8 and 12 yard sizes, kept on site for 7 days so you can load at your own pace. A skip bag suits a single weekend’s pruning and will work out cheaper. For very large volumes, especially with soil, grab hire clears everything in one visit. 

A Mick George garden waste skip costs from £226 + VAT for 6 yards and from £256 + VAT for 8 yards, including the 7 days hire. The final price depends on the skip size, the delivery location and whether the skip needs a council permit to go on the road. Garden waste costs less to dispose of than mixed waste because it is composted, which is why a green-only skip is cheaper than a general waste skip of the same size. 

Soil and turf need a muck skip instead due to their weight. A 6 yard muck skip costs from £215 + VAT, which is less than a garden waste skip of the same size. If you are clearing both plants and soil, book a separate skip for each so neither load is rejected. 

No. Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam and other invasive plants cannot go in a garden waste skip. They cannot be composted and even the small fragments can regrow and spread. Invasive plant waste is controlled waste. It must be moved by a registered waste carrier to an authorised disposal site, with a waste transfer note, and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to cause these plants to spread. Mick George’s environmental team offers invasive plant treatment and removal, including spraying and off-site disposal.  

Yes, as long as they are cut down to fit and the skip is level loaded, with nothing sticking out above the sides. Branches and logs lay flatter and take less space if they are sawn into shorter lengths. Tree stumps can go in once most of the soil has been knocked off, as clinging soil adds a lot of weight.

Waste from our garden waste skips is kept separate from other rubbish so it can be composted into a soil improver rather than sent to landfill. This is why the skip must contain green waste only: plastic, soil or rubble mixed in can spoil the batch. Mick George also sells green compost, a peat-free soil conditioner made from recycled green waste, so garden waste can end up back in gardens.