Guide
Which skip bin size do I need?
Updated Sep 22, 2026
In short
Most household clear-outs and single-room renovations fit a 3ft skip bin, which is about 10.4 cubic metres. Take the small bin when space on site is tight rather than when the load is light, and take the 5ft bin for a full home renovation or a construction site. Weight decides as much as volume: heavy waste such as concrete, tiles and soil fills a bin's limit long before it fills the space.
Three bins cover almost every job in Singapore, and choosing between them takes about a minute once you know what the numbers mean. This guide walks through the three sizes, the jobs each one suits, and the two things that catch people out — the names, and the weight.
The three bins, side by side
Every measurement below is the bin itself, length by breadth by height. The volume is the box those dimensions describe; usable capacity is quoted level-full and is a little under it, which is why we say about.
| Bin | Feet | Metres | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small bin | 6 ft x 4 ft x 4 ft | 1.8 m x 1.2 m x 1.2 m | About 2.6 m³ |
| 3ft skip bin | 16 ft x 8 ft x 3 ft | 4.8 m x 2.4 m x 0.9 m | About 10.4 m³ |
| 5ft skip bin | 16 ft x 8 ft x 5 ft | 4.8 m x 2.4 m x 1.5 m | About 17.3 m³ |
The jump from the small bin to the 3ft is the big one: the 3ft holds roughly four times as much. The jump from the 3ft to the 5ft is far smaller than the names suggest, because both are the same footprint on the ground and only the walls get taller.
The trap in the names
“3ft” is the height, not the length
A 3ft skip bin is 4.8 metres long and 2.4 metres wide. Only its walls are three feet. People picture something that fits in a car park lot corner and get a container the length of a family car and a half.
The small bin is the exception, and it is the one most often misread in the other direction. It is named for being small overall, and it genuinely is: 1.8 metres long, and taller than it is wide. It holds about a quarter of what a 3ft bin holds. If you are clearing a whole flat, it is not the bin you want — it is the bin you take when there is nowhere to put a bigger one.
This matters more here than it would elsewhere, because Singapore sites are tight. The question is rarely “what is the most waste I could produce”. It is “what will fit in the space I am allowed to put it”.
Start with the job, not the bin
The quickest way to choose is to find your job below and read across. These are the jobs we see most often, and the size that usually suits them.
| The job | Usually |
|---|---|
| Clearing one room, a store room or a garden | Small bin |
| Clearing a flat before a move or a handover | 3ft skip bin |
| A kitchen or bathroom renovation | 3ft skip bin |
| A full home renovation, several rooms at once | 5ft skip bin |
| Renovation debris with tiles, concrete or brick | 3ft skip bin, for weight |
| Soil, earth or landscaping spoil | 3ft skip bin, for weight |
| A construction site running for weeks | 5ft skip bin, often swapped |
| An office or shop fit-out strip-out | 3ft or 5ft, depending on furniture |
Two rows there say “for weight” rather than naming the biggest bin, and that is the single most useful thing on this page. It is explained next.
Weight fills a bin before space does
Disposal is charged by weight at the facility, and every bin has a limit on what a lorry can safely lift. Light waste and heavy waste behave completely differently in the same box.
- Light waste — furniture, cardboard, plastics, timber, general household clear-outs. This fills the space long before it troubles the weight limit, so take the size that matches the volume.
- Heavy waste — concrete, tiles, brick, screed, soil and earth. A 3ft bin filled to the brim with broken tiles is far heavier than the same bin filled with sofas. It reaches its limit when it looks half empty.
So for a tiling job or a soil removal, the right answer is often a smaller bin taken twice rather than a bigger bin taken once. It is not an upsell we are declining to make: an overloaded bin cannot be lifted, and a lorry that arrives and cannot take it helps nobody.
If your load is mostly rubble or soil
Tell us what it is when you book and we will say which bin to take and whether it should be swapped rather than filled. Describe the job and we will size it against the limit for you.
Where the bin has to stand
A bin needs two things: somewhere to stand, and a path a lorry can reach it by. Both bigger bins share the same footprint, 4.8 by 2.4 metres, which is roughly a generous car park lot. The small bin needs about a third of that.
- Measure the space where the bin will stand, including room for the lorry to set it down and lift it away. It is lowered from above, so there must be clearance.
- Check the approach: a narrow turn, a low car park ceiling or a steep ramp decides the answer more often than the bin size does.
- Decide whether it is standing on private property or on a public road. Placement on a road is a separate question, so tell us when you book and we will walk you through it.
If you are not sure whether the space works, send a photo of it on WhatsApp. It takes one message and it is a far better answer than any measurement over the phone.
How long you keep it
Each bin includes the rental days quoted with your bin. Keep it beyond that and an extra-day rate applies, because that bin cannot be on another job. When you book you choose both dates — delivery and collection — and if you genuinely do not know when you will finish, book the delivery and leave the collection open. We set the date when you call.
Both trips can be any day of the year, Sundays and public holidays included. A trip outside normal hours, or on a Sunday or public holiday, adds S$50.00 for that trip. The earliest date you can book online is 3 days ahead; sooner than that we take by arrangement, by phone.
If you are between two sizes
Take the smaller one and tell us it might be tight. A bin that fills up can be swapped; a bin too big for the space cannot be shrunk on the day, and it is the one that turns into a wasted trip. The exception is the small bin against the 3ft: those two are far apart, and if you are hesitating between them you almost certainly want the 3ft.
You can also just describe the job. Send a photo of what needs to go, or of where the bin would stand, and we will tell you which size to take before you book anything. See our bin range for the full specifications, or what affects the price if cost is the deciding factor.
Still not sure which one?
Send us a photo of the job and we will tell you the size. It is one message and it costs nothing.
On this page
Questions about this
- What is the most common skip bin size in Singapore?
- The 3ft skip bin, at about 10.4 cubic metres. It suits a flat clear-out, a kitchen or bathroom renovation, and most single-unit contractor jobs, which together are the majority of what we deliver.
- How much does a 3ft skip bin hold?
- About 10.4 cubic metres. The bin is 16 ft by 8 ft by 3 ft, or 4.8 by 2.4 by 0.9 metres. Usable capacity is quoted level-full, so it is a little under the box volume.
- Is a 5ft bin much bigger than a 3ft bin?
- It holds about two thirds more, but it takes up the same space on the ground. Both are 4.8 by 2.4 metres; the 5ft has taller walls. If your constraint is floor space, the two are identical.
- Can I put concrete and tiles in a skip bin?
- Yes. Rubble, concrete, tiles and soil are all handled. Tell us that is what is going in, because heavy waste reaches a bin's weight limit long before it fills the space, and the right bin may be a smaller one taken twice.
- What if I choose the wrong size?
- Message us before the delivery date and we will change it if the schedule allows. Once a bin is on site and full, the usual answer is a swap rather than a bigger bin, and we can arrange that too.
- How much space does a skip bin need?
- The 3ft and 5ft bins both need about 4.8 by 2.4 metres, roughly a car park lot, plus overhead clearance for the lorry to lower and lift it. The small bin needs about a third of that.
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