Skip positioning
Each skip must not be bigger than 5 metres in length by 2 metres in width and skips must be positioned in the road unless the council has granted a permit for the skip to be placed elsewhere. If permission is granted to place skips on a footway or grass verge, a deposit is needed to cover any damage which may be caused.

Skip owners or suppliers who are issued with a permit to deposit skips in the road are responsible for ensuring that:

Skips are positioned on the road so that their longest sides are parallel to the edge of the road and are as near to the edge of the road as is possible.

Skips are not positioned less than 15 metres from a junction, except when permission has been granted.

Skips do not obstruct access to a premises, unless the consent of the occupier has been obtained.

Skips are positioned on the road so that they do not obstruct drivers and pedestrians in any way.

Skips do not prevent water drainage on the road or obstruct manholes or stop any functions that need to be carried out by the authorities.

If two or more skips are needed in the road, they must be positioned as closely as possible to each other.

Skip markings
Each skip must be clearly marked with the skip owner's or supplier's name and telephone number and all markings must also be kept clean and visible at all times.

The ends of each skip, i.e. the sides of the skip facing traffic in both directions, must be painted yellow and must be fitted with vertical red and yellow fluorescent reflective markings. These markings must comply with British Standard BS AU152:1970 and must be marked with that number.

Markings must be fitted as near as possible to the top outer corners of the ends of the skip, but no higher than 1.5 metres above ground level. The markings must not be fitted to lids and should only be fitted to a door when it is not possible to put markings on the end of the skip. When a marking has to be fitted to a door, the door should be kept closed, unless loading or unloading is actually taking place.

Cones and flash lights
If you are placing skips on the road you will require traffic cones on the approach side to guide traffic safely past them.

At night or in bad weather conditions, all skips must be marked by amber flashing lights which should be either attached to every corner of the skip or placed against the sides of the skip. If you have a row of two or more skips (with less than two metres space between them) you can put lights on the end corners of the row.

If the skip or skips are positioned on the road, lights should be placed between each of the road cones. You will be charged by the council if contractors have to be sent out to make a skip safe or to put lights on an unlit skip.

Skip contents
The contents of a skip placed on the road must not contain any inflammable, explosive, toxic or other dangerous materials or anything which is likely to cause a nuisance to road users. You must keep the contents of the skip covered to prevent dust or spillage on to the road. The skip must not be overloaded and must be removed when it is full.

Emptying skips
All materials placed in skips must be properly disposed of. Full skips must be removed for emptying as soon as possible and in all cases not later than two working days after they have been filled.

Other regulations
Other regulations that the skip owner or supplier is responsible for adhering to are:

Getting insurance so that the council is covered against any claims made regarding skips in the road.
Not subletting or transferring the ownership of any skips licensed by the council.

Skip permit expiry
Once the skip permit issued by the council has expired, you must remove the skip from the road. The road where the skip was positioned must also be left in a clean and tidy condition. If you need to have a skip in the road for an additional amount of time, you must reapply to the council for another skip permit.

What materials can't I put in my skip?
The following items are considered hazardous waste and must not be disposed of in a skip:
asbestos
paint
tyres
gas bottles
fridges
freezers
TVs
fluorescent tubes
light bulbs
vehicle batteries

Now, here is the full legal position when depositing a skip on the public highway...

CONDITIONS & REGULATIONS
To Deposit a Builder’s Skip on the Public Highway
HIGHWAYS ACT 1980, SECTION 139, 140 & 140a,
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATIONS ACT 1984, SECTION 65
BUILDERS SKIP (MARKINGS) REGULATIONS 1984, (S.I 1984 No.1933)
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT 1990, SECTION 34
1
Part One:
Conditions to be met by the owner of a Builder’s Skip when placed on the Highway
1. Each skip shall be deposited on the carriageway/verge* (only in exceptional circumstances will
skips be permitted on a footway) and shall be positioned
(a) so that its longer sides are parallel to the edge of the carriageway and as near to the
edge of the carriageway as is reasonably practicable and
(b) so that it does not impede the surface water drainage of the highway nor obstruct access
to any manhole or the apparatus of any statutory undertaker or the Council and
(c) subject to the following special conditions: -
2. Where the skip(s) occupy highway space upon which there is a traffic regulation order relating
to on street parking, the skip owner must reimburse the Devon County Council for loss of
income.
3. It is a requirement when carrying out any work on the highways that the works are adequately
signed, guarded and lit during the hours of darkness as stipulated in “Chapter 8 of the Traffic
Signs Manual” and the “Safety at Street Works and Road Works Code of Practice”.
To meet these standards each company must have an employee, registered with the Council
and trained and accredited in the “Signing, Lighting and Guarding” module as prescribed in the
New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, an approved module for skip installers is also
acceptable.
Where the signing and lighting requirement stipulated for an individual is more onerous than
the standard layout (shown in these regulations) then the person delivering the skip must be an
Accredited Operative or the company’s Accredited Operative, who must be present during the
installation to ensure the appropriate signing is correctly positioned to safeguard the public.
4. No skip shall be deposited in or partly in the carriageway of the road such as to prevent the
free passage of vehicles or pedestrians along the carriageway in at least one direction; nor
shall it prevent the free passage of pedestrians when deposited in a pedestrian precinct.
5. No skip shall be deposited in or partly in the carriageway of the road such as to prevent the
free passage of vehicles and or pedestrians to any premises unless the consent of the occupier
of those premises has been obtained.
6. Each skip shall not exceed 5 metres in length by 2 metres in width.
7. Each skip or group of skips shall while on the highway; be marked, guarded and lit in
accordance with the following requirements: -
(a) The ends of each skip (that is to say, the sides of the skip facing traffic in both directions
when the skip is positioned as mentioned in condition 2 above) shall be painted yellow
and must be fitted with vertical markings in accordance with the “Builders’ Skips
(Markings) Regulation 1984”, (SI 1984 No. 1933), in having broad red fluorescent and
yellow reflecting diagonal stripes (see section A in part two of this document).
The painting and stripes of material shall be at all times kept clean. Damaged skips are not
acceptable and may result in a skip being required to be removed.
(b) Each skip shall be guarded by a line of at least 4 traffic cones complying with B.S.873:
Part 8 1985, placed on the carriageway at 1.2m centres on the approach side of the
skip, at 45’ to the edge of the carriageway (see section B in part two of this document).
Where 2 or more skips are deposited in a row, so that the distance between adjacent
skips does not exceed 2 metres, the row shall be guarded as if it were one skip.
(c) At night (that is to say, between half-an-hour after sunset and half-an-hour before
sunrise); A lamp should be placed against or attached to each corner of the skip or the
end corners of the row of skips where two or more skips are deposited in a row and the
distance between adjacent skips does not exceed 2 metres and shall also be placed
between each cone and the next (see section B in part two of this document).
Lamps shall comply with the Traffic Sign Regulations and General Directions. Each
shall have an illuminate power of not less than 1 candle and shall remain lit throughout
the night.
(d) It is a condition of this permission that all necessary cones and lamps are provided for
the customer’s use by the skip owner and all are in good working order.
(e) The skip owner must ensure that the necessary cones and lights are placed in position
immediately the skip is deposited on the highway.
(f) Each skip or container shall be clearly and legibly marked with the owner’s name,
address, and telephone number including out of hours emergency contact number.
8. No skip when standing in the highway shall contain any inflammable, explosive, noxious or
dangerous material or any material which is likely to putrefy or which otherwise is, or is likely to
become, a nuisance to users of the highway.
9. No skip shall be used in such a way that any of its contents fall on to the highway, or there is
an escape of dust from the contents of the skip when standing on the highway.
10. Each skip shall be removed for emptying as soon as practicable and in any case not later than
2 working days after it has been filled.
11. No skip shall remain on the highway pursuant to this permission after the period of the
permission specified has expired.
12. All materials placed in each skip shall be properly disposed of and the highway where the skip
or skips have been deposited shall be left in a clean and tidy condition on the expiration of this
permission.
13. In accordance with the Highways Act 1980, the skip owner shall secure compliance’s with
these requirements whilst the skip is on the highway.
14. The Licensee is responsible for ensuring that the skip is kept free from fly posting and
graffiti. Any occurrences must be removed within 48 hours. Failure to do so will result in the
licence being revoked, the Council removing the fly posting or graffiti and recharging the cost
to the Licensee
15. If an unlicensed skip is found on the public highway a letter will be sent to the company giving
them 72 hours to remove the skip from the date of the letter. If the company does not comply
the County Council will arrange for the skip to be removed and recover the cost from that
company. If the Council decides the skip is in a dangerous position it will be removed
immediately.
16. The licensee (the Company or person) intending to deposit a builder’s skip) must be covered
by Public Liability Insurance which should be available for inspection; minimum cover to be
£5m. Such insurance must indemnify the highway authority from and against all actions,
claims, losses and expenses whatsoever in respect of loss of life, or personal injury or damage
to property, howsoever caused, arising out of or in anyway attributable to the presence of the
builders skip.