Metal only
Scrap metal skip bins in Cairns
Roofing iron, steel posts and mesh, the aluminium off a strip-out, the copper and brass off a rip-out, in the 3m³, 4m³ and 6m³. One metal type and the bin books as metal only, straight to a scrap metal recycling plant.
The job
The metal is off, and it does not pack down
You searched for a scrap metal skip bin because a re-roof, a fence line, a shed coming down, a shop strip-out or a plumbing rip-out has left roofing iron, posts, studs, frames and pipe stacked where the next trade needs to stand. Sheet and post do not pack down, the pile is sharp to handle twice, and there is usually timber, plasterboard or a concrete footing still attached to some of it. What you need is a bin that takes the metal on its own, a size that fits the pile as it sits, a clear line on what has to be split off it, and a truck that comes back when it is full. That is the page.
- 1A bin that takes the metal on its own
- 2A size that fits the pile as it sits
- 3A clear line on what has to be split off it
- 4A truck that comes back when it is full
The strip
One metal in, and the bin books as metal only
Pick the job. Take the structure apart a piece at a time: the metal drops into the metal only bin, everything else goes to the bin that takes it, and the readout says what the bin is booked as.
The job
The structure
Tap a part to take it off.
Not a drawing of your job. The parts are drawn to show what is metal and what is not, not what the structure looks like, and nothing here is to scale.
The bin is booked as
Nothing in it yet
Tap a part of the re-roof.
Metal only by size
Every bin size, side by side3m³
- Booked as
- Metal only, one metal type
- Size
- 2.4m long x 1.6m wide x 0.9m deep
4m³
- Booked as
- Metal only, one metal type
- Size
- 3.0m long x 1.6m wide x 0.9m deep
6m³
- Booked as
- Metal only, one metal type
- Size
- 3.7m long x 1.6m wide x 1.25m deep
Metal only bins are booked in the 3m³, 4m³ and 6m³. Roofing iron and posts do not stack flat, so size on the pile as it sits on the ground, not on how tight it could be packed. Level to the rail and stowed so the tarp can be fastened, and the bin can leave.
Step 1: Tell us it is metal only, and which metal.
The details go to our platform and the quote comes back by email and SMS. Say what the metal is: a metal only bin is a single metal type, and a load of mixed metals is graded at booking.
Step 2: Book the delivery.
For builders it is same-day, and the bin is often on site within a couple of hours. For everyone else, 24 hours' notice where you can. There are multiple trucks on the road across Cairns every day. The driveway, the lawn or the site itself all work; a council car park, such as the parking bays in the Cairns CBD, needs a permit arranged before the truck is booked.
Step 3: Keep it to the metal.
Roofing iron, sheet, posts, mesh, studs, frames, ducting and pipe go in. Timber, plasterboard, concrete, vegetation and rubbish stay out and go in their own bin. Fill to the top rail and no higher, stowed so the tarp can be fastened.
Step 4: Call when it is full.
We collect it, or swap in an empty one if the strip-out is still producing. Standard hire runs up to 7 days, with a small cost to extend if the job does.
Hire period and collection
Book it separate
What has to come off the metal first
A re-roof has battens under the iron, a fence line has a footing on every post, a shed has its slab and whatever was stored in it, a strip-out has plasterboard screwed to every stud. None of it is metal, and steel with plasterboard and timber through it is a builders load, not a metal only bin. Each thing split off keeps the bin metal only, and each has a bin of its own.
Call before the truck is booked. We will look at what is coming off the job and tell you whether the timber, the plasterboard or the concrete earns its own bin. If none of it does, one builders bin takes the strip-out, booked as exactly that.
Building timber and palings
Battens, rails, palings, framing; the builders bin
The bin that takes itPlasterboard
Off the studs, or by the sheet off a strip-out; the builders bin
The bin that takes itConcrete, footings and slab
A concrete bin, crushed to reusable aggregate, road base and drainage gravel; the reo and mesh through it is pulled at the yard and goes to the scrap plant
The bin that takes itVegetation
Along a fence line or over a shed; a green waste bin, shredded to mulch and compost
The bin that takes itGeneral rubbish and what was stored in the shed
A mixed waste bin
The bin that takes it
This page
Metal only
One metal type, in the 3m³, 4m³ and 6m³, straight to a scrap metal recycling plant
You are hereIts own page
The builders load
Timber, plasterboard and the build's own mix
Go to the pageIts own page
Concrete
Footings and slab, crushed to road base
Go to the pageIts own page
Mixed waste
When the load cannot be split
Go to the pageIts own page
Every stream
Eight waste types and where each one goes
Go to the page
Our own yard
Straight to the recyclers, not the tip
Metal that comes back on its own goes straight to a scrap metal recycling plant, turned into new product so less has to be mined. The yard it passes through is the sorting and recycling facility we run with Tropical Skips at Holloways Beach, and a bin with timber or plasterboard through it is a builders load: it is pulled apart there like any mixed load, the metal that comes out on its own still goes to the scrap plant, and what cannot be pulled out goes to the general stream and is tipped. Keep it to the metal and none of it is tipped.
The trucks behind this page are Tropical Skips': the operation began in 2019 with two trucks and 115 bins and now runs 800 bins and 10 trucks over more than 30,000 Cairns jobs. Same yard, same drivers, whether the bin is going to a re-roof or a shopfront.
- Metal
- To a scrap metal recycling plant
- Concrete
- Crushed to road base and drainage gravel
- Timber
- Recycled rather than tipped
- Plasterboard
- Segregated and recycled into new product
- The rest
- General stream
Named, not hinted at
Before you book
- Weight
- Every bin carries a weight allowance set by its size and the waste type booked, and going over it is charged per tonne. Metal only is a specialty booking rather than one of the published allowance categories, so name the metal and roughly how much of it when you book and the bin is quoted on the spot.
- Size
- Metal only bins are booked in the 3m³, 4m³ and 6m³. Sheet and post do not pack down: size on the pile as it sits, not as it could be stacked. The 4m³ suits a work site clean-up, and the 6m³ is the largest, built for work site and industrial clean-ups.
- Access
- A driveway or lawn is the easiest spot. A footpath or nature strip works where space is limited, as long as it leaves pedestrian access. A council car park needs a permit arranged before delivery. Call us first and we will work out where it goes.
- Turnaround
- Same-day for builders, often within a couple of hours of the call. Everyone else, 24 hours where you can. Collections can slip to the next day when the run is full.
- Hire period
- Up to 7 days as standard, extended for a small additional cost. Strip-out done early, or the bin full on the first day? Call and we will collect it, or swap in an empty one.
- Cost
- No price is quoted blind. Cost depends mostly on the size and what goes in it. A separated load costs less to process than a mixed one, and steel with plasterboard and timber through it is a builders load, so what comes off the metal before it goes in comes off the job. Tell us the job and the size and we will quote it on the spot.
The five real questions
Frequently asked questions
Recyclable metal: steel, aluminium, brass and copper. Roofing iron and sheet metal, steel posts, gates and mesh, studs and track, frames, ducting and pipe. One metal type per bin. Not timber and palings, plasterboard, concrete, vegetation or general rubbish: each of those has a bin of its own. Gas cylinders, batteries and tyres are never accepted, in a metal bin or any other.
A metal only bin is a single metal type. If the job throws off more than one, steel studs and aluminium shopfront frames off a strip-out, say so when you book and the load is graded right the first time.
The 3m³, 4m³ or 6m³. Iron and posts sit awkwardly, so size on what is on the ground, not on what it could pack down to. The 4m³ suits a work site clean-up, the 6m³ a work site or industrial clean-up.
To a scrap metal recycling plant, by way of the yard we run with Tropical Skips at Holloways Beach. Recycled metal becomes new product, so less has to be mined. Kept to the metal, none of it is tipped.
Then it is a builders load, not a metal only bin. It is pulled apart at the yard, the metal that comes out on its own still goes to the scrap plant, and the rest is builders waste. Battens, rails, a sheet of plaster on a stud: each is worth knocking off before the truck comes. Say what is coming off the job when you book and we will tell you which bin each thing belongs in.
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Standard hire period is 7 days · Accounts available for builders and tradies