The weight limit is what actually catches people
A skip bin has two limits and only one of them is printed on the side. The cubic metres are the easy one. The weight allowance is the one that gets a bin refused, surcharged, or left on your nature strip because the truck cannot legally lift it.
General household waste weighs almost nothing — around 150 kg a cubic metre. Soil weighs about ten times that. Broken concrete weighs more again. So a 4 m³ bin that swallows a garage clean-out without noticing will be over its weight allowance on a metre and a half of clay.
| What it is | Rough loose weight | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed household | ~150 kg per m³ | Volume is the limit. Fill it. |
| Green waste | ~250 kg per m³ | Volume is the limit, but branches pack badly. |
| Timber, plasterboard, strip-out | ~300 kg per m³ | Volume usually still the limit. |
| Soil, sand, clay | ~1,500 kg per m³ | Weight is the limit. Ask for a heavy-waste bin. |
| Bricks, concrete, tiles | ~1,600 kg per m³ | Weight is the limit, hard. Usually 2–4 m³ only. |
Most operators hire heavy waste in small bins on purpose — 2 m³, 3 m³, sometimes 4 m³ — and will not put a 10 m³ bin on a driveway for a concrete job. That is not them being difficult. It is the truck's axle loading.
The standard sizes, and what each one really holds
| Size | Trailer loads | Wheelie bins | The job it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 m³ | 2 | 8 | Declutter, one room, a small garden tidy |
| 3 m³ | 3 | 12 | Bathroom strip-out, big garden clean-up |
| 4 m³ | 4 | 16 | Garage clear-out, small kitchen |
| 6 m³ | 6 | 24 | Kitchen reno, deck removal, house tidy before a sale |
| 8–10 m³ | 8–10 | 32–40 | Whole-house clear-out, big renovation |
| 12 m³ and up | 12+ | 48+ | Deceased estate, hoarder clean, builder's strip-out |
Not every operator carries every size, and the 5 m³ and 9 m³ bins exist in some yards and not others. If your number lands between two sizes, go up. A second bin costs a second delivery, and a bin you cannot close is a bin that gets refused.
A worked example
A kitchen renovation: three trailer loads of cabinetry and packaging, four wheelie bins of offcuts, and a stacked pile of old benchtop about 2 m × 0.6 m × 0.4 m.
- Trailers: 3 × 1 = 3.00 m³
- Bins: 4 × 0.25 = 1.00 m³
- Pile: 2 × 0.6 × 0.4 = 0.48 m³
- Total loose: 4.48 m³, plus 15% for awkward stacking = 5.15 m³
- Next standard size: 6 m³
- Weight: 5.15 × 150 kg = about 770 kg, comfortably inside a 6 m³ bin's allowance
Same job with a tiled floor going in as well — say 2 m³ of tile and screed — and the weight is the problem, not the space: 2 × 1,600 = 3.2 tonnes on its own. That is a separate heavy-waste bin.
Three things that change the answer
- Fill height. Most operators will not carry a bin loaded above the rim, because the load has to be covered and legally restrained. Plan on filling to the top rail, not above it.
- What you cannot put in. Asbestos, tyres, paint, gas bottles, batteries and fridges with gas are refused or need a separate arrangement almost everywhere. Asbestos in particular is licensed work and a licensed disposal stream — never a general skip.
- Where it sits. A bin on a council footpath or road usually needs a council permit, and the permit takes longer to get than the bin does to arrive. On your own driveway, no permit — but check the driveway will take the weight.
Other calculators you'll want
General information for Australian homeowners and trades, and an estimate only — not legal advice, and not planning or building advice, and not a substitute for a waste operator's own sizing and weight allowance. A calculator works out a quantity from the figures you enter. There is no Australian Standard for skip bin sizing — the trailer and wheelie-bin equivalence is what Australian skip hire companies publish, and the packing allowances and loose densities are rules of thumb, not a specification. Weight limits, accepted waste and permit rules vary by operator and by council. Asbestos is licensed work and must never go in a general skip. No regulator has reviewed this page.