- The site produces a high volume of bulky, lighter waste over days or weeks.
- There is hardstanding the hook-loader lorry can reach (about 3.5m wide, 4m high).
- You want one container on site that gets swapped when full, not repeat small skips.
- The waste is mostly wood, plasterboard, packaging or fit-out and clearance material.
RoRo skip hire
RoRo skip hire is a large, open-top roll-on roll-off container, usually 20 to 40 cubic yards, delivered and collected by a hook-loader lorry. It is built for high-volume, bulky commercial and construction waste, the kind of job that would fill a standard 8 or 12-yard builders skip several times over.
RoRo skip sizes
RoRo containers come in three standard sizes. Capacity is easiest to picture against the familiar 8-yard builders skip, since a RoRo replaces several of them on a busy site.
| Size | Holds roughly | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 20 yard | About 2.5 standard 8-yard skips (~160 to 200 bin bags) | Shop and office fit-outs, large house or factory clearances, bulky light site waste |
| 30 yard | About 3.5 standard 8-yard skips | Bigger fit-outs and clearances, with steady commercial waste over several weeks |
| 40 yard | About 5 standard 8-yard skips (~320 to 400 bin bags) | Large construction and demolition sites producing ongoing, bulky waste |
All three share a footprint of roughly 19ft long and 8ft wide (about 5.8m x 2.4m); the 20-yard stands around 5.5ft high and the 40-yard around 8ft. The weight ceiling is about 18 tonnes whichever size you pick. Not every depot runs all three sizes, so it is worth checking what is available in your area. For the standard 2 to 12-yard skips, see skip sizes.
Indicative ranges from our price research, medians by postcode area: 20-yard from about £350 to £1,150 (typically around £450); 30-yard from about £400 to £700 (typically around £485); 40-yard from about £600 to £1,450 (typically around £600). RoRo is usually quoted per container plus per-tonne disposal, so confirm the figure against your waste type when you call.
RoRo or a builders skip?
The most common RoRo mistake is sizing by volume when the waste is heavy. A RoRo is built to hold a large volume of bulky, lighter material; its weight ceiling stays around 18 tonnes whatever the container size. Fill a 40-yard with soil or rubble and it reaches that weight when barely a third full, so heavy waste is far cheaper in a small builders skip or a wait-and-load. Use a RoRo for volume; use a builders skip for weight.
- The waste is heavy or dense (soil, rubble, concrete), where weight limits bite first.
- Access is tight, or the only space is a driveway or a public road.
- It is a smaller, one-off load rather than ongoing site waste.
- You need a permit for road placement, which a RoRo rarely allows.
Access and placement
A RoRo is delivered and collected by a hook-loader lorry, which lifts the whole container on and off in one movement. That needs firm, level hardstanding the lorry can reach, with roughly 3.5m of clear width and 4m of height clearance. Because of their size, RoRo containers almost always sit on private or commercial ground rather than a public road, and most councils do not permit them on the highway. If a site cannot take a RoRo, builders skips with swap-outs (a full skip replaced with an empty one) keep a steady flow of waste off site.
RoRo skip hire questions, answered
The questions that come up most around roll-on roll-off hire. The full set sits in the dedicated FAQ page.
