A 4-yard skip costs about £228 in 2026, and in half of UK postcode areas the typical price sits between £205 and £255. It measures roughly 6ft × 4ft × 4ft (1.83 × 1.22 × 1.22 m), holds 30 to 40 bin bags, and is rated to carry about 3.75 tonnes. That makes the 4-yard, often called a midi skip, the right size for a bathroom rip-out, a garden clearance or a garage clear-out.
The 4-yard sits between the 2-yard mini, which runs out of room on most real jobs, and the 6-yard builders skip, which is more than a single room usually needs. If you're not sure your job is a 4-yard job, the skip size calculator gives a recommendation in under a minute.
TL;DR
- A 4-yard skip costs a median of £228 across 118 UK postcode areas in 2026, from about £150 in Teesside to around £300 in Cornwall.
- It measures about 6ft × 4ft × 4ft (1.83 × 1.22 × 1.22 m) and holds 4 cubic yards, roughly 3 m³.
- It takes 30 to 40 bin bags or around 36 wheelbarrow loads: a bathroom rip-out, a garden clearance or a single-room clear-out.
- A double mattress won't lie flat in it, and a three-seater sofa won't fit at all.
- For heavy waste, fill to about two-thirds with soil and about half with concrete; the weight limit is roughly 3.75 tonnes.
How much is a 4-yard skip?
A 4-yard skip costs about £228 in 2026, based on the median price across 118 UK postcode areas. Half of all areas fall between £205 and £255, so if your quote sits in that band it is a normal price. Where you live moves the figure more than which company you call.
| Measure | 4-yard skip price (2026) |
|---|---|
| UK median | £228 |
| Typical range (middle half of areas) | £205–£255 |
| Cheapest areas | Teesside £150, Telford £165, Hull £166, Leeds £178 |
| Dearest areas | Truro and Cornwall £299, Stevenage £290, Dorset £285, Watford £282 |
| Full spread of prices found | £100–£405 |
The named areas are the postcode-area medians from our June 2026 price research, leaving out areas where the sample is too thin to rank. The pattern matches every other size: the north and the Midlands are cheapest, while rural Cornwall and the Home Counties are dearest, for reasons covered in skip hire prices by area.
The headline price normally covers delivery, a hire period of 7 to 14 days, collection, and disposal of mixed household or building waste. It does not cover a council permit if the skip goes on the road, extra charges for heavy waste over the weight limit, or surcharges for items such as mattresses.
Per cubic yard, the 4-yard is better value than a mini. At the median prices, a 2-yard mini works out at about £78 per cubic yard, a 4-yard at £57, and a 6-yard at £48. If you're torn between a mini and a midi, the extra £73 or so usually buys twice the space.
What are the dimensions of a 4-yard skip?
A 4-yard skip measures roughly 6ft long, 4ft wide and 4ft high (1.83 × 1.22 × 1.22 m) on the outside, giving 4 cubic yards of space, about 3 m³. It has the same footprint as a 2-yard mini; it is simply a foot taller.
Exact sizes vary a little between operators and skip manufacturers, and the sides slope inwards, so the floor inside is smaller than the top opening. Allow for the lorry as well as the skip. A skip lorry needs about 3 metres of clear width to get in, and operators quote anything from 3 to 4.5 metres of clear height while the arm lifts the skip into place, so mention trees, cables or a carport on the booking call. Whether it will fit on your drive, and the rules if it has to go on the road, are in where you can put a skip. Full dimensions for every size are on the skip sizes page.
What fits in a 4-yard skip?
A 4-yard skip holds 30 to 40 standard bin bags, or around 36 builders' wheelbarrow loads, filled level with the rim. In real jobs, that looks like this:
| Job | Does a 4-yard fit it? |
|---|---|
| Bathroom rip-out (suite, tiles, flooring) | Yes, the usual choice; a standard bathroom makes 2–3 cubic yards |
| Garden clearance or spring tidy | Yes, for a typical domestic garden |
| Garage, shed or loft clear-out | Yes, for a single space |
| Single-room clear-out | Yes, if the furniture is broken down |
| Half a kitchen (cabinets and worktops) | Usually; a full kitchen needs a 6-yard |
| Multi-room renovation or whole-house clearance | No, size up to an 8-yard or larger |
The bathroom refurb guide explains why a 4-yard is the default for bathrooms, and the garden clearance guide covers when a council green-waste bin beats a skip altogether. Loading heavy items first and light waste last fits noticeably more in, as the guide to loading a skip shows.
Will a double mattress fit in a 4-yard skip?
Not lying flat. A UK double mattress is 135cm × 190cm, which is longer than the skip's 1.83m outside length, and the floor inside is smaller still. It will usually go in on its side at an angle if you load it first and fill the gaps around it, as long as nothing sits above the rim when the lorry comes to collect.
Two other things to know before you add one. Most operators charge a mattress surcharge, typically £15 to £50, because mattresses are bulky and recycled separately; for a single mattress, a council bulky-waste collection is often cheaper. And a sofa is a different matter entirely: a three-seater is around 1.8 to 2.25 metres wide, so it won't fit in a 4-yard, and upholstered seating has its own disposal rules, explained in can you put a sofa in a skip?
Can you put heavy waste in a 4-yard skip?
Yes, and for small amounts of soil it is often the best size, but you fill it by weight, not by space. A 4-yard is rated to carry about 3.75 tonnes, and dense materials reach that well before the skip looks full.
| Material | Rough weight per cubic yard | Sensible fill line in a 4-yard |
|---|---|---|
| Soil and spoil | ~1.1 tonnes | About two-thirds (roughly 3 tonnes) |
| Mixed builders' rubble | ~1 tonne | Just below the rim |
| Broken concrete and paving slabs | ~1.5 tonnes | About half |
For a small dig, such as a pond, a single footing or a raised bed, a 4-yard filled two-thirds is cheaper and easier to judge than a bigger skip, as the soil and landscaping guide explains. Never heap the load: a skip filled above its sides can't legally be carried, and an overweight skip is either refused or charged extra. The limits for every size are in skip weight limits explained.
4-yard vs 2-yard and 6-yard skips
| 2-yard mini | 4-yard midi | 6-yard builders | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical price (UK median) | £155 | £228 | £285 |
| Bin bags | 20–30 | 30–40 | 50–60 |
| Outside size | 6ft × 4ft × 3ft | 6ft × 4ft × 4ft | 10ft × 5ft × 4ft |
| Weight rating | ~2 tonnes | ~3.75 tonnes | ~6 tonnes |
| Best for | One afternoon's tidy | One room or one garden | A full kitchen or heavy waste |
Choose the mini only when the job genuinely fits in an afternoon; mini skip vs midi skip sets out the trade-off. Choose a 6-yard when the job spans a full kitchen, more than one room, or a larger quantity of rubble, covered in what fits in a 6-yard skip. On close calls, sizing up is usually cheaper than paying for a second skip.
Do you need a permit for a 4-yard skip?
Only if it sits on a public road, pavement or verge. The rule is about where the skip goes, not how big it is, so a 4-yard on your own driveway needs no permit at all. On the road, UK council permits cost from £12.50 to £260, with a median of £64, as skip permit costs by council shows. You can look up your own council's fee and notice period with the skip permit checker.
4-yard skip FAQs
How much is a 4-yard skip?
About £228 in 2026, based on the median across 118 UK postcode areas. Half of areas fall between £205 and £255. Prices run from about £150 in Teesside to around £300 in Cornwall, and a council permit is extra if the skip goes on the road.
How many bin bags fit in a 4-yard skip?
Between 30 and 40 standard household bin bags, filled level with the rim. That is roughly the same as 36 builders' wheelbarrow loads. Bulky items such as broken-down furniture take more space per item, so a clear-out of furniture fills it faster than bagged waste.
What are the dimensions of a 4-yard skip?
About 6ft long, 4ft wide and 4ft high on the outside, or 1.83 × 1.22 × 1.22 metres, giving 4 cubic yards (about 3 m³) of space. It has the same footprint as a 2-yard mini skip and is a foot taller.
Will a double mattress fit in a 4-yard skip?
Not lying flat. A UK double mattress is 135cm × 190cm, longer than the skip's 1.83m outside length. It usually goes in on its side at an angle if you load it first, and most operators add a mattress surcharge of £15 to £50.
Is a 4-yard skip big enough for a bathroom?
Yes. A standard bathroom rip-out, including the suite, tiles and flooring, produces about 2 to 3 cubic yards of waste, which fits in a 4-yard with room to spare. Size up to a 6-yard only if you are also removing a lot of plasterboard or stripping walls back to brick.
Sources
Prices are the median, interquartile range and full spread of 4-yard skip prices across 118 UK postcode areas from our June 2026 local-operator price research; they are indicative, not quotes, so confirm the price for your postcode when you book. Named cheapest and dearest areas exclude postcode areas flagged as low-confidence in that research. Dimensions, bin-bag capacity and weight ratings are the figures published on the skip sizes page; exact sizes vary slightly by operator. Mattress sizes are standard UK bed sizes. Lorry access figures are the range published by UK skip operators. Permit fees are from 176 councils' published fee schedules, collected in June 2026.
