On most jobs the size of the skip is decided by the amount of waste. On a lot of Bootle streets it is decided by whether we can physically get a vehicle to the kerb and lift over it. Skip access is the first question we ask here rather than the last, and it saves everybody a wasted morning. Our Bootle skip hire drivers know these streets, which is worth more on a job like this than almost anything else.
The entry is not an option and here is why
The first thing people ask is whether the skip can go in the entry behind the house, and the answer is always no. It is a reasonable question, because that is where all the waste is going to come from and it would save carrying everything through the house.
Our lorry needs to reach the skip to place it and lift it. That means driving to it, having room to work the arms, and having overhead clearance for the container as it comes up. An entry has none of those things. They are typically wide enough for a bin and a person, walled or gated at both ends, and often with washing lines or wiring across them.
So the skip goes on the street at the front, and the waste comes through the house or round the block. That is the reality of it, and it is worth planning the job around rather than hoping otherwise. Where the rear yard opens onto something wider, occasionally there is an option, and it is worth mentioning when you ring rather than assuming.
What our driver is actually looking at
When a driver assesses a street, they are running through a short list. Is there a stretch of kerb long enough and clear enough for the container. Can the vehicle stop there without blocking the road entirely, because a lot of these streets are effectively single track once both sides are parked. Is there anything overhead, and around here that means cables as much as trees. And is the road surface going to take a fully loaded lift.
The one that catches people out most is parking. A space that is free at nine in the morning is not free at six in the evening, and a skip that has been placed in the only gap will be surrounded by cars by the time we come to collect it. If the collection is going to be awkward, we will say so at delivery.
Permits and suspensions
Bootle sits within Sefton borough, so any skip on the public highway needs a permit from Sefton Council, currently £36 per month. Our guide to skip permits in Southport covers the same authority and the same process.
What the permit does not do is clear the space for you. If the stretch of kerb you want is full of parked cars, the permit is a piece of paper and nothing more. On busy streets it is worth talking to the neighbours a few days beforehand and, where the street has parking restrictions or resident bays, checking whether a suspension is needed as well as the permit.
Neighbour relations are worth a paragraph of their own. A skip takes a space that somebody has parked in for years. Telling them beforehand costs nothing and prevents a fortnight of friction, and it also makes it far less likely that someone quietly fills your skip with their own waste overnight, which happens more than people expect.
Smaller and more often usually beats bigger
The instinct on a big clearance is to order the largest skip that will hold everything. On a tight street that is often the wrong call, because the largest container needs the most kerb, the most working room and the most clearance.
A 4 tonne midi skip exchanged partway through a job frequently works better than one large container that we struggle to place and struggle to collect. It also means you are never left with a full skip and a week to wait. Our guide to choosing the right skip size covers the sizing side.
Where there is any off street space at all, our driveway skip hire option removes the permit, the fee and most of the problems described above in one go.
Timing the delivery
Ask for a morning slot on a residential street. More cars are out, the street is emptier, and there is more room for our driver to work. Mid afternoon on these roads is the worst time, because the school run is under way and the evening parking is starting to fill in.
If the street has a school on it or nearby, say so when you book. We will avoid the obvious times rather than turning up into the middle of it.
Local coverage and what happens next
We run this area constantly, taking in Litherland skip hire and Seaforth skip hire alongside Bootle, and between them our drivers have seen most of the awkward corners this side of the docks. Everything comes back to our own recycling centre for sorting, which our environmental and recycling page describes.
Ring us on 0151 909 6399 with the street name before you book a size. We will usually know it, and if we do not, we would rather ask you a couple of questions now than send a lorry that cannot do the job. Our contact page is there if it is easier to write.
