hippo bag ultimate guide

Hippo Bag Guide

4 June 2021

The ultimate guide to Hippo bags – all questions answered about buying, filling & booking collection

Want to find out everything there is to know about a Hippo bag? You’re in the right place – we’ve compiled the ultimate no-nonsense guide to Hippo skip bag hire, use & collection, plus alternatives and how to save money. In particular, we cover:

  1. Hippo bag – what is it?
  2. What is a Hippo bag for?
  3. What can you put in a Hippo bag?
  4. Where can I get one from? 
  5. How much does it cost?
  6. Skip bag alternatives
  7. What are the weight restrictions?
  8. How does collection work?
  9. How much does collection cost?

 

What is a Hippo bag?

A Hippo bag (sometimes called a skip bag) is a heavy-duty plastic bag used to dispose of bulky waste. It’s basically a canvas bag version of a small skip. 

hippo bag filled with rubbish

 

What is a Hippo bag for?

A skip bag is basically a smaller, cheaper alternative to a skip. They are ideal for ‘messy’ waste from the garden, builders or DIY projects, for example. You save space and have some more flexibility on time frame (skips tend to be 14 day hires). 

However, if you’re going to have lots of waste, you may want to consider a skip. See our Skip Guide to help you decide whether this is the right solution.

 

What can you put in a Hippo bag?

See the graphic below for an idea of items allowed in Hippo bags. Green items are all accepted by Hippowaste (if they have an asterisk* it means you may be charged more). Orange items are ONLY accepted if you use a private waste carrier. You can’t put any of the red items in under any circumstances.

what can you put in a hippo bag explanatory pic

See our article What can you put in a Hippo bag? for an in depth look at this. Including links for prohibited hazardous waste and booking a private waste collector who can take most items.

 

 

Where can I get a hippo bag from? 

You can buy directly from Hippowaste or from any of the major DIY retailers like B&Q, Wickes and Travis Perkins. You can also buy them on Amazon. 

 

How much does a Hippo bag cost?

Hippobag prices vary slightly depending on where you decide to buy them from. Here is a comparison of current pricing from the major suppliers:

 

Midibag Megabag Hipposkip
Hippowaste (bag & collection) £199.99 £229.99 £314.99
Hippowaste (bag only) £14.99 £18.99 £38.99
B&Q (bag only) £12 £17 £35
Wickes (bag only) £11 £16 £34
Travis Perkins (bag only) £16.55 £21.82 £44.87
Amazon (bag only) £14.99 £18.99 £38.99

 

Hippo bag alternatives

There are a lot of other brands that sell skip bags. You can usually find a local brand with a simple google search for ‘skip bag’. Some well known alternatives to Hippo bags include Beebags and Mammoth Bags. They also have 3 sizes and we’ve compared with prices below:

 

Small bag

(90x90x90cm)

Medium Bag

(180x90x70cm)

Big bag

(210x165x100cm)

Hippowaste £199.99

£14.99

£229.99

£18.99

£314.99

£38.99

1 tonne 1.5 tonnes 1.5 tonnes
Beebags £159.99

£13.49

£172.49

£16.99

£249.99

£34.99

100kgs max weight 200kgs max weight 500kgs max weight
Mammoth bag £89 £119 £199
1 tonne max weight 1 tonne max weight 1 tonne max weight

 

As you can see, there are some cheaper alternatives to skip bags but do bear in mind the differences in weight restrictions. This makes a difference if you have a lot of waste such as soil and rubble which is dense and heavy. 

NOTE: if your bag is overweight, you could always get it collected by a private waste contractor. They will accept the bag whatever the weight, as well as leave it with you if preferred!

 

 

What are the weight restrictions?

Here’s a table of Hippo bag weight restrictions, compared with two alternatives.

Small bag

(90x90x90cm)

Medium Bag

(180x90x70cm)

Big bag

(210x165x100cm)

Hippowaste 1 tonne 1.5 tonnes 1.5 tonnes
Beebags 100kgs 200kgs 500kgs
Mammoth bag 1 tonne 1 tonne 1 tonne

 

How does collection work?

Once your skip bag is full, what then?

1. Book with Hippowaste

If you buy a bag & collection with Hippo, you have 6 months from delivery to fill it and book your collection. After booking, they aim to collect within 5 working days. Your Hippowaste collector comes with a crane lorry that removes the bag. The crane removal is why Hippo have strict weight restrictions and why you need to leave your bag within accessible distance of the road. You don’t need to be in for collection. As long as you have left your bag in the right place.

2. Using a man & van

A man & van waste carrier can usually respond within 1-2 days (weekends & evenings included) and sometimes same day. They can also collect the waste from anywhere on your property because they don’t use cranes to load. They’ll sweep up after removal and give you the bag back if you want. If you give clear directions, you don’t need to be in. 

 

How much does collection cost?

Below is a table of how much Hippowaste charge for collection (this includes the bag) compared with what you could expect to pay with a private waste carrier:

 

Hippowaste (Bag & collection) Man & van waste carrier collection
Midibag £199.99 £100 – £150
Megabag £229.99 £100 – £200
Hipposkip £314.99 £150 – £250

 

You could save money by either using a private man & van waste carrier, or using discount codes. See our full article about how to save money on Hippo bag collection.

 

4.5yds, £80

Hippowaste Midibag £90

Megabag, £100

 

Finally, thanks for reading!

We hope you found our Hippo bag guide useful. If you’re busy with renovation work or clearing out, you might also like these articles:

 



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