Skip hire in Reading, made simple
Serving Reading for 30+ years. Slide to find the right size, then get a fast, no-obligation quote.
01183-290134Skip hire in Reading & across Berkshire
We’ve delivered skips across Reading for over 30 years — for homeowners clearing out, tradespeople on site, and businesses managing regular waste. Fast delivery throughout the RG postcode area, with a local team you can actually get on the phone.
Skip sizes available in Reading
Do I need a permit?
A skip on your driveway or private land needs no permit. For a public road in Reading, a permit is required from Reading Borough Council — we arrange it for you as part of the booking.
Areas we cover near Reading
Reading household waste recycling centres
Prefer to drop off smaller amounts yourself? These are the council tips serving Reading:
- re3 Smallmead Recycling Centre — Island Road, Reading, RG2 0RP. Appointment only – book a slot online in advance. Proof of residency required. Tel: 0800 988 3023.
Smallmead is part of the re3 partnership (Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham). Only residents paying council tax to one of these authorities may use it. Book a slot via re3.fccenvironment.co.uk (bookings open on a rolling 7-day basis) and bring proof of address such as a bank statement, utility bill (under 4 months old) or a resident parking permit. Check reading.gov.uk or the re3 site for current opening hours.
Why choose Select A Skip in Reading?
- 30+ years’ skip & waste experience
- 1,100+ licensed, vetted suppliers
- Domestic, trade & commercial welcome
- Next-day delivery in most RG postcodes
- Council permits handled for you
- Transparent pricing, no hidden charges
Skip hire FAQs.
We provide cheap, local and reliable domestic skip hire in Reading and within a 30 mile radius.
It’s not just a case of how much waste you have! You also need to consider how much room you have on your site and will then need to think about the type of waste you will be disposing of. For example if the waste is heavy (e.g. soil/brick/rubble) then you will be restricted as to how large a skip you can have.
When only a single skip is expected, we strongly believe that it’s better to hire a skip that you may not quite fill, as opposed to ordering a skip which ends up being too small meaning a second skip is then required as a result. In other words it’s better to overestimate than underestimate!
When filling a skip it can only be loaded up to the level of the actual skip itself.
It is important that your site foreman and operatives are aware of this as it is actually against the law for drivers to carry over loaded skips on the highways. Likewise, using boards around the skip in an attempt to increase it’s capacity (known in the trade as ‘greedy boards’) is illegal.
If a driver arrives on site to find an overloaded skip they are likely to turn away and leave without the skip, thus potentially incurring additional transport charges.
Though we try to be as flexible with hire periods as possible, as a general rule the maximum hire period is 7 days.
Of course should your site be an ongoing one where numerous skips are required and exchanged on a regular basis then there is nothing to worry about. If however, you require a skip that is likely to be needed for more than 7 days without exchanges, we request you inform us at the time of ordering as a rental charge may be applicable.
Yes. Though any skip that needs to be sited on a public highway, pavement or council owned verge, first requires permission from the local authority responsible.
Though the charges involved and the length of time it takes an application to be processed varies from council to council, in the vast majority of cases we can arrange the required permit on your behalf. Depending on the local authority in question, application periods can be anything from ‘same day’ to 4 weeks, so when you know that a permit is likely to be required on an upcoming site it is vital that you give us as much notice as possible to avoid any unnecessary delays.
Please also note that as the hirer, the lighting and coning of the skip whilst it is placed on public land is your responsibility, though we are usually able to arrange for the hire of these items on your behalf too.
A standard skip or roll-on-off vehicle usually requires a minimum of 10ft (3.3m) width and approximately 13ft (4m) headroom to safely gain access to a site. If your site access falls a little below these requirements we are able to (in most areas) arrange for smaller skips (depending on waste type) to be delivered on smaller lorries.
If you are in any doubt about the access to your sites, we are here to help, so just ask!
There are certain types of waste that cannot be placed in general waste skips under any circumstances.
Examples of such waste types include (but are not limited to): asbestos, fridges, freezers, batteries, tyres, gas cannisters, paint tins, food waste, fluorescent tubes, liquids, TV sets, computer monitors, plasterboard, electrical items (WEEE), mattresses, tree stumps, tree roots, carpet, vinyl, astroturf, rubber matting & roof felt.
It is vital that you always inform us of exactly what your are intending to dispose of at the time of ordering!
What we can provide
Other Services.
With more than 25years of trading history we have continuously developed the services we are now able to provide on a nationwide basis.
Choose your skip size in Reading
Not sure which size you need? Compare dimensions, capacity and typical uses — every size below is available in Reading.
Local area guide
Skip hire in Reading
Reading is a town in Berkshire, sitting where the Kennet joins the Thames around 40 miles west of London, with a population of around 175,000. It grew around Reading Abbey, founded in 1121 by Henry I, who was buried there — one of the wealthiest and most important monasteries in medieval England, with a royal foundation, extensive relics and a role in national affairs. Parliament met here on several occasions, and it was in the abbey that the medieval round Sumer is icumen in, the oldest known English song with a surviving musical setting, was written down around 1260.
The abbey was destroyed at the Dissolution and its last abbot hanged at its gate, but substantial ruins survive alongside the Abbey Gateway, where Jane Austen went to school. Reading Gaol, built beside the abbey ruins in 1844, held Oscar Wilde from 1895 to 1897 — he wrote De Profundis there and The Ballad of Reading Gaol afterwards. The prison closed in 2013 and its future has been the subject of a long public campaign.
Reading's industrial era was summed up locally as the three Bs: beer, bulbs and biscuits. Simonds brewed here from 1785, Suttons Seeds was one of the world's leading seed houses, and Huntley & Palmers grew into the largest biscuit manufacturer in the world, its decorated tins reaching every corner of the empire — Reading FC are still nicknamed the Biscuitmen.
The modern town is a major commercial centre, the heart of the Thames Valley technology corridor, with Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco and many others having substantial operations. The University of Reading is significant, and the Reading Festival, running in various forms since 1961, is the world's oldest continuously staged popular music festival.
Reading is exceptionally well connected — Reading station is one of the busiest interchanges outside London, with services to Paddington in around 25 minutes, the Elizabeth line since 2019, and routes to the West Country, the Midlands and the south coast, plus the M4 at junctions 10 to 12.
Housing ranges from Georgian property in the centre and Victorian terraces across Newtown and Caversham to interwar semis, post-war estates at Whitley and Southcote, and very substantial modern high-density development around the station and the Kennetside, with values among the highest outside London and the south-east.