Somebody once claimed that they could make 50 trips to the tip for the same cost as hiring a skip. Were they right?
Let’s assume that a round trip to the waste recycling facility (to name it more accurately) is a distance of 9 miles. Somewhere like Somerset it’s quite likely significantly more than this. With a cold engine that’s the best part of a litre of fuel. So, around £65.
Tyre wear adds up to around £10 assuming you buy good quality tyres, and you can probably allocate twice that for general wear and tear and the mileage you take out of your car’s service interval.
So, we are up to £95. That’s assuming you didn’t get a puncture on any of those runs (it does happen!).
After carrying all of that waste in your car it might need valeting (probably £40). And if you damage an internal trim panel loading or unloading large or heavy items that could easily set you back £50 or more – there’s a significant risk of this happening.
Was there soil or hardcore in the waste? That will be £3.70 per bag (or £19 for a small trailer). And plasterboard – that’s £4.20 per sheet. Some items such as roofing felt might not even be accepted at your local recycling centre and you may have to travel much further.
Do you value your time?
Loading a car takes longer than throwing waste into a skip. By the time you’ve loaded, driven to the recycling centre, queued, sorted and unloaded your waste, and then driven home it will be at least an hour. We’ll leave you to decide how much value you put on 50 hours of your time but at £10 per hour that’s £500.
If your round trip is longer than 9 miles, then all of these costs and the time taken will be greater.
We could probably debate whether your project would create 50 runs worth of waste (but it always seems to make much more than you expect). Maybe you might question some of our calculations. What isn’t in doubt is that it is so much easier to simply put all of your waste into a skip that we then take away for sorting and recycling. Less time, less mess, and zero risk of a puncture or damaging your car.
For more information on our costs, click here.
