Skip bin sizes Cairns
Pick the right skip.
Seven sizes from 2m³ to 15m³, drawn to their real dimensions so you can see the difference rather than guess it. Pick the waste type in the express quote and only the sizes that suit it appear, priced by email and text within minutes.
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Our pick for this job
4m³
- Long
- 3.0 m
- Wide
- 1.6 m
- Deep
- 0.9 m
Larger bathroom renovations, kitchen renovations and work-site clean-up.
Household clear-out allowance600 kg· about 4 trailer loads
Side by side, one ruler.
The five bins with published dimensions, on one scale. The striped post is 1.8 m. Tap a bin to see it in 3D above. The 8m³ and 15m³ site bins are limited supply with dimensions on request.
What are you clearing out?
These are the jobs we run most often for Cairns homes, the size each one usually lands on, and the one thing worth knowing before the bin turns up.
Kitchen renovation
4m³
A stripped kitchen takes up far more room than it looks like it will. Carcasses, doors and the old splashback are mostly air, and they fill a bin fast.
Before you book
Clear the pantry and the fridge before the bin arrives. No bin takes food scraps, whatever grade it's booked as. The old fridge, dishwasher and oven are fine and go in as general waste.
Bathroom renovation
3m³
A vanity and a screen fit the 3m³. If the bath, the wall tiles and the floor are all coming out, take the 4m³.
Before you book
This is one of the heaviest jobs for its size. Tiles, render and the old bath add up fast, and it's booked as building waste, where excess is $330 per tonne up to a capped rate. Ceramic tiles can't go in a concrete bin.
Yard and garden clean-up
6m³
Prunings, fronds and clippings are light and bulky. Size up rather than down, because green waste fills space long before it reaches the weight.
Before you book
Keep it to vegetation and the bin is graded as green waste, where excess weight is $90 per tonne instead of $395. Drop a single sack of household rubbish in with the clippings and the whole bin is re-graded, so keep that sack out of it.
Storm and cyclone clean-up
6m³
Fronds, branches and a stripped garden fill a 6m³ quickly. After a big blow, book early rather than waiting until the pile is complete.
Before you book
Vegetation is green waste. Sheet metal, fence palings, shade sails and damaged furniture are not. If the yard has both, ask us about two bins instead of one mixed load, because mixed grades are processed at the dearer rate.
Whole-house clear-out
6m³
Furniture, mattresses and the contents of every cupboard. Most whole-house jobs go beyond a single bin, so it's worth walking us through the property first and booking the run properly.
Before you book
Set aside gas bottles, paint tins, oils and thinners, batteries and car tyres before you start. None of them can go in a bin, and they are exactly what surfaces at the back of a cupboard on the last day.
Garage and shed clear-out
4m³
The workbench, the old mower and years of boxes. Bins open on the short end, so heavy items walk straight in with no lifting over the side.
Before you book
Half-used paint, oil containers, old fuel and batteries are the four things in every shed that cannot go in the bin. Cairns Regional Council takes household chemicals separately.
Deck, fence or pergola removal
4m³
Decking boards, posts and palings. Timber is light for its bulk, so the bin fills on space rather than weight.
Before you book
Treated, painted and structural timber is building waste, not green waste, even though it came out of the garden. Booking a green waste bin and filling it with decking re-grades the load at the weighbridge.
Driveway, path or slab removal
2m³
Concrete is the one job where the smallest bin is the right call. It hits the weight limit long before it looks full.
Before you book
A concrete bin takes plain and reinforced concrete, masonry, pavers, bricks and rock. No ceramic tiles, and no soil or roots mixed through it. Kept clean, it's crushed into road base instead of going to landfill.
Moving house
4m³
Everything that is not worth the truck. Book it for the week before the move rather than the week of it, while you still have time to load it properly.
Before you book
Bins fill to the top rail and no higher. Anything heaped above it isn't safe to drive, so it means another day and another run, and moving week is the one week with no room in it.
Small DIY projects
2m³
A weekend job, a single room, or the pile that has been beside the shed since Easter. Small bins suit tight driveways and courtyards.
Before you book
Tell us when you book if there is plasterboard going in. It's building waste rather than general, and flagging it at booking means the bin is graded right the first time instead of re-graded afterwards.
Not on the list, or caught between two sizes? Pick the waste type in the express quote and only the sizes that suit it appear. Or ring the office and describe what's going in. We size these every day and it takes about a minute on the phone.
Every size, with the numbers.
Dimensions and the weight allowance included on quoted rates, by waste grade. Four household sizes, three limited site bins. 8m³, 9m³ and 15m³ bins are limited supply and available for 7 day hire only.
Weight allowance on quoted rates
| Bin | Long × wide × deep | Building waste | General waste | Household waste | Green waste | Clean fill | Concrete |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2m³about 2 trailer loads | 1.9m × 1.6m × 0.9m | 500 kg | 400 kg | 300 kg | 400 kg | Soil only | Concrete only |
| 3m³about 3 trailer loads | 2.4m × 1.6m × 0.9m | 750 kg | 600 kg | 450 kg | 600 kg | Soil only | Concrete only |
| 4m³about 4 trailer loads | 3.0m × 1.6m × 0.9m | 1 tonne | 800 kg | 600 kg | 800 kg | Soil only | Concrete only |
| 6m³about 6 trailer loads | 3.7m × 1.6m × 1.25m | 1.5 tonne | 1.2 tonne | 900 kg | 1.2 tonne | · | Max. 6 tonne |
| 8m³about 8 trailer loads · limited | Dimensions on request | 2 tonne | 1.6 tonne | 1.2 tonne | 1.6 tonne | · | · |
| 9m³about 9 trailer loads · limited | 4.2m × 1.8m × 1.5m | 2.3 tonne | 1.8 tonne | 1.35 tonne | 1.8 tonne | · | · |
| 15m³about 15 trailer loads · limited | Dimensions on request | 3.6 tonne | 2.9 tonne | 2.2 tonne | · | · | · |
A dot means we don't run that grade in that size. Soil and concrete bins are weighed at the weighbridge and take that material only. Go over the allowance and the excess is charged at the published per-tonne rate for the grade, never a surprise.
Size questions.
Seven sizes, from 2m³ to 15m³. The 8m³, 9m³ and 15m³ are limited supply. One cubic metre is about a 6×4 trailer load.
Yes, the 2m³. It takes concrete, soil, green waste, building and household rubbish, and it suits small jobs and tight spaces.
One phone call and we bring the next size up and take the full one away on the same run. Nothing heaped above the top rail can go on the truck, so don't try to make the wrong bin work. Torn between two sizes when you book? Describe the load and we'll pick it.
Heavy waste is dense material: soil, rock, concrete, bricks, pavers, tiles and render. The quick test is a bucket. Fill one, lift it, and if that's a struggle you're dealing with heavy waste. Dense loads run out of weight allowance while the bin still looks half empty, so a concrete or soil job needs a small bin. A bigger one doesn't get more in, it just gets you a bin you can't fill.
Bins may be filled to the top rail and no higher. As it is illegal to transport overloaded bins, the Tropical Skips drivers cannot accept skips if the waste inside exceeds the bin capacity or is higher than the top rail.
Yes. Most of our bins open on the short end, so couches, furniture and a loaded wheelbarrow go straight in with no lifting over the side. Close the door once the big stuff's in and fill the rest over the top.
Our triple guarantee
Three promises, in writing.
Full Transparency Guarantee
Every cost is confirmed and every scenario explained before you book. If we did not mention it, you do not owe it.
On-Time Guarantee
We deliver and collect on the day we said we would. No chasing, no ghosting.
Environmental Guarantee
Every collection gets sorted for what can be recycled: green waste to mulch, concrete to road base, metals to scrap recycling.
Word of mouth
What Cairns says.
841Google reviews, rated 5.0
“Easy to deal with, paper work free, timely service”
George
“Great service and friendly staff. Would definitely use again. Thanks.”
Ryan Paiaro
“Tropical Skips provided a timely and professional service.”
Laurie Coyne
“Easy to contact, flexible to change arrangements and fast delivery”
Kasper Fratczak
“Excellent prompt service and was kept up-to-date with text as to when bin was arriving and being picked up excellent service”
Stef Baksaj
“Absolutely great service highly recommend”
Liam Elder
“Efficient, professional and competitively priced.”
Mohan Chinnappan
“Very organised, everything has been done on time. Very good communication.”
katy zhou
“Friendly, prompt and always keen. The best skip service we’ve ever seen. For many years you’ve helped us through, so here’s a heartfelt thank you!”
Beverley Gribble
“Delivered on time, very happy with service.”
McCarthy Tegan
“Punctual , professional, great service.”
Don Wong
“Promot and great to deal with”
Alan Pullen
“Great experience – From the outset, Bree was a pleasure to speak to and then through to the delivery, price and pick up. I would definitely recommend without hesitation.”
Christine Clifford
“Excellent service, modern equipment delivered in a timely basis with no complications and ease of invoicing and payment.”
Steve Crampton
“Very punctual on time dilivery and pickup”
Sunia Tuirara
“One week was ample time to fill this 2 square metre skip with my green waste. It was delivered on time and collected one week later. Thanks for the service.”
Dorothy Barker
“Two skips ordered. Both delivered and removed quickly. Thank you so much for a smooth transaction. Highly recommended. 5 stars!”
Joanne Houghton (The Artful Maverick)
“We recently used Tropical Skip Bins and were extremely impressed with the service from start to finish. The booking process was simple, delivery was right on time, and the driver was friendly and professional. The skip bin was clean, placed exactly where we needed it, and picked up promptly when finished. Pricing was fair with no hidden surprises. It made our clean-up so much easier. Highly recommend Tropical Skip Bins to anyone needing reliable and hassle-free skip bin hire.”
Noel Andersen
“Friendly and quick service, highly recommended.”
Joshua Ferguson
“Great service, great price. Made everything easy”
Patimah Singe
“Awesome to deal with everything was easy from delivery to pickup”
Rylan Hearn
“Very happy with the experience as a whole, have delt with a few skip companies in cairns and tropical are by far the best to deal with”
Tym Peterd
“Thank you so much! Prompt, friendly and efficient. Will definitly recommend and use again when needed.”
Lynne Rees
“Best price, prompt service, no issues, very happy.”
Sergey Yashumov (Русский гид в Австралии)
“Fast, efficient service from Tropical Skips. Highly recommend and would use again”
mandy ross
“Great and easy service! Enquired Tuesday and had a skip bin delivered at the exact time requested Saturday morning. Highly recommend!”
Rachel Walsh
“Had a great experience with Tropical Skips Cairns. Was hesitant about ordering a skip bin but everything went smoothly and the price was more than reasonable for hiring a 6m2 skip for 3 days. I made sure I was waiting for the driver when they deliver and also had the gates open. Will definitely use them again if needed.”
COURIER 6
“Always reliable and super friendly local crew. Keep up the good work team.”
Gabby Azzopardi
“Great service at reasonable price, nice job. Strongly recommended if I need bins hires.”
Giang Nguyen
“Great service and Value. Great people to deal with. The driver was a legend and very helpful”
Matt Zaccour
“Fast efficient service (delivery & pick up) Friendly staff with professional outlook.”
Gada Morris
“I called Tropical Skips close to closing time on Saturday for an urgent delivery. They were very helpful and were able to accommodate. They were very polite and punctual and r reasonably priced.”
Tammy Saunders
“Cheap, easy not fuss service 😁”
Mimi Blow
“They were great to deal with, communication was 150%. Prompt, put the bin where I wanted it even though it was a bit tricky, picked it up with no fuss when we were done. Highly recommend.”
Jenelle Morris
“So easy to deal with, Bri was fabulous in the office & no fuss, in & out with the skips. Thanks team x”
Suzanne Whitten
“Great, friendly, professional service.”
Sue MJ
“Fast and efficient service, couldn’t fault Tropical Skips”
PETER SMITH
“Reliable service and easy, hassle free process 🙌🏼”
Kiara Sclip
“Good service as always 😊👍”
Jori Poutanen
“Great service - reasonable price”
Alison H
Still between two sizes?
Get an express quote and the price comes back by email and text within minutes. Getting it right the first time beats paying for a second delivery.