Whether you’re tackling an overgrown garden for the first time in years, clearing out ahead of a landscaping project, or doing a full end-of-summer tidy, hiring a skip is almost always the most practical way to deal with the volume of waste a proper garden clearance generates. The trick is choosing the right skip for the job — and understanding what can and can’t go in it.

Here’s everything Dublin homeowners need to know about skip hire for garden clearances.

What Type of Garden Waste Are You Clearing?

Before you choose a skip size, you need to separate your garden waste into two categories, because they behave very differently in a skip:

Light garden waste

Grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, small branches, weeds, plant cuttings, dead flowers, leaves, old compost and light garden debris. This is high-volume but low-weight — it fills a skip quickly but doesn’t push weight limits.

Heavy garden waste

Soil, clay, stones, gravel, concrete paving slabs, rubble and sand. This is dense, heavy material that is subject to strict weight limits. You cannot fill a large skip with soil — the maximum skip for heavy garden waste is a 6-yard, filled to a level load only.

Recommended Skip Sizes for Garden Clearances

Prices correct as of May 2026.

Can I Put Soil in a Skip?

Yes — but with important caveats.

• Soil, clay and stones can go in a 4-yard or 6-yard skip, filled to the level load line (flush with the top of the skip sides — not above)
• Soil cannot go in a 14-yard or 20-yard skip — these large skips are rated for light bulky waste only. The combined weight of soil filling a large skip exceeds safe vehicle load limits
• A skip half-full of soil is effectively full for weight purposes — factor this in when estimating how much you can clear in one hire
• If you have a large volume of soil to remove, a separate soil-only skip booking or a specialist soil removal service may be more cost-effective than multiple standard skips

Can I Put Grass Cuttings in a Skip?

Yes — grass cuttings, lawn trimmings and general green waste are accepted in standard Greyhound skips. They’re light in weight but bulky in volume, so factor this into your size choice. A large bag of grass cuttings takes up more space than you’d expect.

What About Old Decking, Fencing and Sheds?

Timber decking, old wooden fencing, shed panels and garden furniture are all acceptable in standard skips. A few things to note:

• Break decking into manageable lengths — long boards sticking above the skip level load line will prevent legal collection
• Old treated timber (pressure-treated wood, creosote-soaked sleepers) is accepted but must be declared at booking — some treated timbers require separate waste streams
• Concrete fence posts are heavy waste — they go in the heavy waste skip, not with the timber
• Shed felt/roofing material — check with us at booking. Some bitumen-based roofing felt requires separate disposal

Can I Put Paving Slabs in a Skip?

Paving slabs, concrete blocks, kerb stones and brickwork are heavy inert waste. They’re accepted in the 4-yard or 6-yard skip up to the level load line. A typical garden patio of 20–30 square metres will generate a significant weight of slabs — often enough to fill a 6-yard skip to its weight limit well before it looks full visually. If you’re removing a large patio, a separate heavy waste skip booking is the safest approach.

Practical Tips for a Dublin Garden Clearance Skip

1. Separate heavy from light as you go. Keep soil, stones and rubble separate from green waste and timber. This lets you fill the heavy-rated skip efficiently without mixing costly waste streams.
2. Fill the skip efficiently. Break up branches, flatten cardboard bags and stack flat items. A badly loaded skip can be half-empty by volume but legally full.
3. Book for a weekend. Most Dublin garden clearances happen over a weekend. Greyhound’s 3-day hire gives you Friday delivery and Monday collection — a full working weekend plus buffer time.
4. Consider a skip bag for small tidies. For a light seasonal tidy rather than a full clearance, the €75 skip bag holds about 15 bin bags of garden waste and is often all you need.
5. Don’t put food waste or organic kitchen waste in the skip. Garden waste is fine; food waste is not. Use your brown bin for food and light organic material.

Frequently Asked Questions