What it costs, what's included, and where the price actually comes from.
Skip hire in Ireland starts from €160 for a 2-yard mini and runs to around €620 for a 14-yard XL. The most-booked size — the 4-yard household skip — is typically €220-€260 depending on your area.
That price includes delivery, 3-day hire, collection, disposal at an EPA-licensed transfer station, and VAT (13.5% for waste services). Skip permit fees, where needed, are paid by the customer directly to the council and are not included in your booking price.
It comes down to driver-hours. Our supplier hubs are concentrated in north and central Kildare, so towns close to the M7 (Naas, Newbridge, Sallins, Kilcullen) have the shortest delivery runs. Towns further out — Athy, Ballylinan, Castledermot — need a longer round trip, which costs more in fuel and driver time.
The difference is typically €5-€20 across skip sizes. It's built into the price you see when you enter your Eircode — never sprung on you at the door.
No. The price you see when you enter your Eircode is the price you pay for the skip (includes VAT and disposal). The only things that aren't in that number are:
All four are avoidable. If you're unsure about anything, ring us before loading the skip.
Yes — all three, plus debit/credit cards via Stripe. Payment is taken at booking. We don't store card details; Stripe handles that under PCI-DSS rules.
Yes. For businesses with regular skip needs (builders, property managers, retail refurbishment contractors), we can set up an account with consolidated invoicing, account credit, and bulk pricing on multiple skips. Email info@skipnow.ie or call 085 164 2467 to set this up.
Picking the right size first time saves you money and a return trip.
The 4-yard "midi" skip. It handles a standard family kitchen rip-out or a typical garage clearout comfortably, fits on most driveways, and falls in the sweet spot of price-vs-capacity.
In some areas (Maynooth, parts of Celbridge) the 6-yard is more popular because the jobs are bigger — bigger houses, student-rental turnovers, period-property refurbs.
Approximate dimensions (height × width × length):
If you've underestimated, the cheapest fix is usually to order a second skip rather than swap to a bigger one — the disposal cost is the same, and the second delivery is straightforward.
If you've grossly oversized (ordered 12-yard, only filling 30%), that's just an expensive lesson — we won't refund the difference, but we will give you size advice on the next booking. Best approach: send us a photo of the load before booking and we'll tell you honestly.
Through the standard booking flow: 14-yard XL.
For commercial / construction sites we also have Roll-on / Roll-off (RoRo) skips up to 40-yard. These need to be quoted separately — ring 085 164 2467 with the site location and waste type.
When you need one, when you don't, and who's responsible for arranging it.
The customer applies for and pays for the skip permit directly with the local council. SkipNow.ie does not arrange permits on your behalf. We give you accurate, up-front information about whether a permit is needed and what it typically costs — but the application and payment are made by you, directly to the council.
In Kildare, that's Kildare County Council — kildarecoco.ie/AllServices/Transport/RoadOpenings or call 045 980200. Other counties have their own permit processes — we'll publish the relevant council link on each county page as we roll out nationwide.
Only if the skip will sit on public space — a public road, footpath, or paid-parking bay. If the skip is on your private driveway, garden, or yard, no permit is needed.
Around 75-85% of our bookings are driveway drops needing no permit. Town-centre and heritage-core jobs almost always need one.
Standard permits from Irish county councils cost €30-€60. In paid-parking zones (Dublin City Centre, Naas Main Street, Newbridge town centre, Maynooth Main Street, Athy Emily Square) an additional bay-suspension fee of €10-€20 per day applies — so a week-long town-centre job adds €100-€200 over a driveway drop.
The customer pays the council fee directly. The amount is not added to your SkipNow.ie booking price.
Standard council processing is 3-5 working days. Town-centre permits requiring paid-parking bay suspensions can take an extra 1-2 days. If you need a skip on a permit job, apply for the permit at least a week before you want the skip on site — and plan your SkipNow.ie booking around the permit issue date.
Don't. Councils issue fines (typically €80-€200) and can require immediate removal at your cost. If your skip is on the public road without a permit, that's your liability — not ours and not the operator's.
If you genuinely can't fit the skip anywhere except the public road, apply for the permit first via the council portal, then book with us once the permit date is known.
How fast, what's the access need, what happens on the day.
Standard delivery is 1-4 working days across our service area. That's what we plan to and what we'll always commit to honouring.
Same-day delivery is sometimes possible if you book before 11am and an operator has availability — we'll always try, but we can't guarantee same-day because operator schedules and traffic aren't fully in our control. For town-centre permit jobs, you also need to factor in the council's 3-5 working day permit processing time on top.
Exceptions to the 1-4 day window: very rural addresses (may run to day 4 of the window), permit-required jobs (need council processing first), and bookings made on Sundays or bank holidays (most operators don't run those days).
A few practical things:
No — as long as the drop zone is clear and we know where to put it. A photo of the spot via WhatsApp is the easiest way to confirm. Same for collection.
If access is blocked at the agreed delivery time (cars in the way, locked gate, neighbour parking issue), we'll wait 15 minutes, ring you, and if still blocked, the driver leaves. A failed-delivery charge of €40-€80 applies, and we'll rebook for the next available slot.
This is genuinely rare — usually solved by a phone call. We'd much rather sort it out than charge a failed-delivery fee.
Standard hire is 3 days. Extensions are €5-€10 per day depending on skip size. WhatsApp or ring us a day or two before the scheduled collection if you need extra time — much cleaner than a last-minute scramble.
The rules around general waste, prohibited items, and where it all ends up.
The standard yes-list:
The standard prohibited list:
If you have any of these, ring us — we can usually point you at the right collection route (often Junk Removal or a civic amenity site rather than a skip).
It goes to an EPA-licensed transfer station — typically AES Recycling at Kerdiffstown (Kildare), Greenstar at Ballymount (Dublin), or a regional equivalent closer to your area. There, waste is sorted into recyclable streams (timber, metal, cardboard, plasterboard, hard plastics) and residual general waste.
Recyclables are processed appropriately. Residual waste goes to waste-to-energy facilities (such as Dublin Waste-to-Energy at Poolbeg) or to licensed landfill if it can't be recovered. Typical landfill diversion rate across our partner operators is 70-85%.
As a guide:
For rubble or soil loads, stick to a 4-yard or 6-yard maximum — a 12-yard full of rubble would be ~10 tonnes, which the lorry can't lift safely. For mixed-waste loads with some rubble, any skip size is fine.
How to book, what we need, and the cancellation policy.
Two ways:
Honestly straightforward:
If we can't fulfil your booking for any reason on our side — full refund within 5 working days, no questions.
Yes — free of charge if you let us know at least 24 hours in advance. Same-day rescheduling depends on operator availability and may incur a small handling fee.
Yes — the collection just requires the skip to be visible and accessible. We don't need anyone present for collection in 99% of cases. Driver rings 30 minutes before arrival as a heads-up.
Damage, delays, disputes — and how we handle them.
Genuine accidents do occasionally happen, especially on gravel or older paving. The Operator carries public liability insurance — we'll connect you to them directly to lodge a claim. We mediate if there's a dispute about cause.
To minimise risk: tell us in advance if your surface is gravel, paving, or has underground services. We can ask the operator to use wooden bearers under the skip feet for an extra layer of protection.
Same-day windows are 2-6pm. Next-day deliveries are 9am-2pm typically. If we're significantly outside those windows without notifying you, ring us — we'll find out where the lorry is and update you with a realistic ETA.
For genuinely failed deliveries (driver doesn't arrive at all on the agreed day), we'll either deliver the next available day at no extra cost, or refund in full at your choice.
If contamination is identified at the transfer station, the disposal cost is passed on to the customer (€50-€250 depending on the item). The transfer station photographs the load on arrival, so disputes are very rare in practice.
If you're not sure whether something is prohibited, ring us before loading the skip.
Three escalation levels:
Ring us on 085 164 2467 or drop your Eircode in for an instant quote.
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