Soil and dirt
Soil skip bins in Cairns
Soil, sand and gravel with nothing else through it. Taken in the 2m³, 3m³ and 4m³ only, soil only, and reused as fill at our own yard, not tipped.
The job
Soil is the load you measure in cubic metres and we book by weight
You searched for a soil skip bin because a garden bed, a trench, a pool or a slab prep has left a heap of dirt that has to leave the block, and you have a rough idea how many cubic metres it is. What you need is the bin that takes that much without going over the weight, a straight answer on whether the turf and roots can go in with it, and a truck that turns up when the dig is done. That is the page.
- 1The bin that takes that much without going over the weight
- 2A straight answer on the turf and roots
- 3A truck that turns up when the dig is done
The dig-out
How much dirt have you got?
Measure the hole, or the heap, and read which bin it books. Soil comes in three sizes, soil only, and past the 4m³ it is a second bin or a swap for an empty one.
That is about
1.2 cubic metres
Which bin
Books a 2m³ bin
Our smallest bin, good where space is tight
Soil only
Loaded level, to the top rail and no higher. If you are between two sizes, tell us the job and we will make the call with you.
What soil only is
Soil, sand or gravel with nothing else through it.
Turf, roots, timber, concrete or rubbish in with it and it is no longer clean fill: it cannot be reused as fill, so it is booked and priced as builders waste, and it is only partly recycled, if it can be split.
Soil by size
Every waste type, every size2m³
Soil only
clean fill
3m³
Soil only
clean fill
4m³
Soil only
clean fill
6m³
Not offered
clean fill
Soil reaches the weight limit before it fills a larger bin, which is why it stops at the 4m³.
Step 1: Tell us it is soil, and roughly how many cubic metres.
Details go to our platform and the quote comes back by email and SMS. Not sure? Give us the length, width and depth of the hole and we will size it from the job.
Step 2: Call it in.
Builders get same-day delivery, often within a couple of hours of the call. Everyone else, give us 24 hours where you can. Multiple trucks run across Cairns every day. Put it on the driveway, the lawn or the site itself. A council car park, such as the parking bays in the Cairns CBD, needs a permit arranged before delivery.
Step 3: Load it level.
Soil goes in level, to the top rail and no higher, so the tarp fastens and the bin can legally leave. Some of our bins open on the short end, so a barrow can go straight in; ask when you book if that matters on your job. Keep the turf and roots out of it.
Step 4: Call when it is full.
We come and get it, or swap in an empty one if there is more soil still coming out of the ground. Standard hire runs up to 7 days, with a small cost to extend if the dig runs long.
Hire period and collection
Decided before the truck leaves
Is it still soil?
A garden bed comes out with the turf on it, a trench with the old path over it, a slab prep with the formwork beside it: most dig-outs throw off something else as well. Keep the soil on its own and it is booked as clean fill and reused as fill. Tip the turf, the timber or the concrete in with it and the whole bin re-grades to builders waste: dearer to process, and only some of it comes back out for recycling.
Talk to us before the bin arrives and we will work out whether one bin or two saves you money on the job. Soil and concrete in particular belong in separate bins: concrete is crushed to road base, and the 6m³ takes concrete but not soil. Turf, roots and prunings are green waste, shredded to mulch and compost, with their own line on the waste types page.
This page
Soil, sand or clean fill
Reused as fill, 2m³ to 4m³ only
You are hereIts own page
Concrete and masonry
Crushed to road base and drainage gravel, up to the 6m³
Go to the pageIts own page
The mixed load
Turf, timber, concrete and soil in one bin, booked as builders waste
Go to the page
Our own yard
Reused as fill, not dumped
Clean fill does not get tipped. It comes to the sorting and recycling facility we run with Tropical Skips, our own yard rather than somebody else's transfer station, and it is reused as fill in land reclamation and construction projects. That is why it has to arrive clean, and why a clean load costs less to process than a mixed one, which shows up in your quote.
The trucks and bins behind this page are Tropical Skips': two trucks and 115 bins in 2019, 800 bins and 10 trucks now, and more than 30,000 Cairns jobs between them. Same yard and the same drivers whether the bin is going to a pool dig or a garden bed.
- Clean fill
- Reused as fill, in land reclamation and construction projects
- Concrete and masonry
- Crushed to road base and drainage gravel
- Turf, roots and prunings
- Green waste, shredded to mulch and compost
- Anything mixed in
- Builders waste, partly recycled if split
Named, not hinted at
Before you book
- Weight
- The 2m³, 3m³ and 4m³ are soil only. Soil is not taken in the 6m³, because it reaches the weight limit before it fills a larger bin. Load it level to the top rail and no higher, so the bin can legally leave.
- Size
- The 2m³ measures 1.9m long by 1.6m wide by 0.9m deep and is the one for soil where space is tight. The 3m³ and 4m³ are the same width and depth, longer. Between two? Give us the length, width and depth of the dig and we will size it from the job.
- Access
- The lawn, the driveway or the site itself. Soil bins are the small ones, so they fit where a bigger bin will not. A council car park needs a permit arranged before delivery. Call us first and we will work out where it goes.
- Turnaround
- Builders get same-day, 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. Dig finished early? Call and we will collect it.
- Cost
- No price is quoted blind. Cost depends mostly on the size and what goes in it. Clean fill is reused, so it costs less to process than a mixed load, and since the 2019 waste levies made dumping dearer, that gap is real money on a soil job. Tell us the material and the size and we will quote it on the spot.
The five real questions
Frequently asked questions
Soil, sand or gravel with nothing else through it, from a dig-out, a garden or a site. Turf, roots, timber, concrete and rubbish all take it out of clean fill, and the bin is then builders waste.
One of the small ones. Soil is taken in the 2m³, 3m³ and 4m³ only, soil only, because it reaches the weight limit before it fills a larger bin. Measure the hole, length by width by depth, and that is roughly the cubic metres; the tool above reads the bin off it. More than a 4m³ holds and it is a second bin, or a swap for an empty one when the first is full.
Not in a soil bin. Turf, roots and prunings are green waste, shredded to mulch and compost, and soil with them through it is no longer clean fill. If the job has both, tell us and we will work out whether one bin or two saves you money.
Keep them apart. Clean fill is reused as fill and stops at the 4m³. Concrete is crushed to road base and drainage gravel and goes up to the 6m³. Two bins, two clean loads, each processed the cheaper way.
It goes to our own sorting and recycling facility and is reused as fill in land reclamation and construction projects, not tipped.
Google reviews
What the people who booked said
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Standard hire period is 7 days · Accounts available for builders and tradies