Victoria · Melbourne · Need it gone?
Skip bin hire in Melbourne: before you book
In Melbourne, check your council's hard waste service before you hire a skip: if a collection is due, or you can book one on call, it costs nothing and takes most of the load. A small skip loaded yourself is cheaper than people expect. Mattresses, tyres, paint and e-waste are usually excluded.
Sources Victorian Auditor-General: council waste management servicesVictorian e-waste landfill ban (vic.gov.au)Paintback location finderCouncil waste and recycling services, all 79 Victorian councils (archived Sustainability Victoria page)
What is free?
Free- Your council's hard waste collection, scheduled or booked on call, where your council runs one.
Disposal details: furniture & mattresses, paint & chemicals, electronics & screens.
What is cheap?
Low cost- A smaller skip for a weekend, loaded yourself, is cheaper than people expect.
What does paying get you?
Paid- Delivered, filled by someone else, and taken away.
Sponsored listings are paid placements. Disclosure.
Should I book hard waste instead of a skip?
Often, yes, if your council runs one. Victorian councils provide hard waste either as a scheduled kerbside pick-up for the whole municipality or as an on-call booking, and the Auditor-General found 43 of 79 councils provided a service in 2019-20. It costs nothing where it exists, but the council sets the limits on what and how much.
What can't go in a skip bin in Victoria?
It varies by operator, but mattresses, tyres, gas bottles, asbestos, paint and chemicals are commonly excluded or surcharged. E-waste is different: since 1 July 2019, anything with a plug, battery or power cord is banned from Victorian landfill, so it cannot legally go in a general waste skip. Paint goes to Paintback and chemicals to Detox Your Home.
Do I need a permit for a skip on the nature strip?
Ask your council. A skip standing on the road or the nature strip is on council land, so the permit rules and any fee are the council's to set, and they differ between Victorian municipalities. Skip companies generally know the local requirement, but the householder wears the consequence if the permit is missing. On your own driveway it is not a council matter.
What size skip do I need?
Smaller than you think, once you take out what has a free route. Drink containers earn 10 cents each through CDS Vic, e-waste has to go to a drop-off anyway, paint goes to Paintback, and sound furniture is worth giving away. Removing those often drops you a skip size. Skips are quoted in cubic metres; a box trailer holds roughly one.
Do you do this job in Melbourne?
Removalists, recyclers, skip operators, clearance teams and organisers can apply for a labelled sponsored listing.