Skip (container)

A skip (British English, Australian English, Hiberno-English and New Zealand English), or skip bin, is a large open-topped waste container designed for loading onto a special type of lorry called a skip truck. Typically, skip bins have a distinctive shape: the longitudinal cross-section of the skip bin is either a trapezium or two stacked trapezia. The lower trapezium has the smaller edge at the bottom of the skip bin, and a longer edge at the top. The smaller edge on either end is lower which makes it easier to load. Where there is an upper trapezium, it has the smaller edge at the top. There is a sloping floor or wall at each end. There are usually two lugs on each side of the bin onto which chains can be attached, permitting the heavy skip to be lifted onto and off a skip lorry or skip truck. A special skip-carrying lorry or crane is used. One end of the skip sometimes has a large door that hinges down to allow manual loading and unloading, these skips are called 'drop-door skips'. Skips are usually durable and tough, made to withstand rough use by tradespeople and labourers. The size of skip bins can vary greatly depending on their use, with sizes ranging from small 2 cubic yards (1.5 m3) mini-skips to the very large 40 cubic yards (31 m3) roll-on/roll-off skips. Even though these large bins can store many tons of waste, most lorries are limited to carrying around 7.5 tons of material in the container. Salvaging usable goods discarded in skips, a practice sometimes called dumpster diving, has a following among anti-waste activists.