| Home improvement projects are rapidly becoming | | | | of skip hire companies within the central Sydney |
| the norm amongst homeowners in Australia and the | | | | area, a 7 day hire of a 2 cubic metre mini skip costs |
| Western world in general due to a combination of | | | | in excess of $200AUD. A skip bag as a comparison, |
| factors including: | | | | costs $40AUD plus $130 collection charge. |
| - Growing number of DIY stores | | | | 2. Proly bags are conveniently available in stores from |
| - Cheaper materials/tools due to the China effect | | | | leading hardware stores and can even be purchased |
| - Growth in instructional DIY internet sites and | | | | online. |
| magazines | | | | 3. Proly bags are flat packed until needed. Skip bags |
| The result of this growth in home DIY improvement | | | | are approximately 50cm x 50cm x 5cm and naturally |
| projects? More rubbish and waste that needs to be | | | | can be stored anywhere at home or in the boot of a |
| collected from the residential consumers. With this in | | | | car. |
| mind, the skip/bin business will be doing a roaring | | | | 4. No rental time restrictions. Large DIY projects put |
| trade. However, for the domestic market, is a skip | | | | you under pressure to get the task completed as |
| hire the best solution? | | | | the cost of a skip increases on a daily basis. |
| In Europe and the US, skip hire is dwindling for the | | | | However, use a proly bag and you can spend as long |
| growing majority of domestic home improvement | | | | as you want doing your rubbish removal project. |
| projects. Due to advances in polypropylene | | | | Spend weeks, months even. There is no extra |
| innovation, a new breed of skip has emerged - a skip | | | | charge. |
| bag (proly bag). These are essentially plastic bags | | | | 5. No need to take a trailer to the tip or waiting |
| made out of polypropylene and have incredible | | | | around for skips to be delivered. Everything is done |
| strength and durability. They can handle all kinds of | | | | at the customers pace. |
| waste including bricks, roof tiles, ceramics, gravel, you | | | | 6. Use in your garden or on your driveway - helps |
| can even throw a bath tub in there. They are initially | | | | keep your property tidy and minimise damage caused |
| flat-packed and are roughly A3 size. However, they | | | | by heavy metal skips. |
| expand to 2.5 cubic metres and can contain up to 1.5 | | | | 7. No hidden additional dumping fees when using a |
| tonnes of debris. Lapordata (the International | | | | skip bag in Australia. Some skip companies charge |
| Materials Testing Institute) testing on the new skip | | | | extra for the cost of dumping different types of |
| bag which has just been introduced into Melbourne | | | | waste e.g. bricks/gravel. |
| and Sydney in Australia has been tested up to 9 | | | | 8. Great for tight spaces. The skip bags are collected |
| tonnes. Yes, that wasn't a typo, the poly bag passed | | | | using crane trucks that can even lift up the bags |
| a stress test at 9 tonnes. As the the skip bag's | | | | from behind a garden fence. |
| marketing messages point out on their website, it | | | | 9. Skips parked on the street are open to abuse by |
| really has the strength of a steel skip yet the | | | | other people. How many times do you see skips with |
| convenience of a bag. Other brands common in the | | | | other people's rubbish thrown in? By keeping your |
| US and Europe are generally able to support a load of | | | | skip bag on the drive way, or on your front lawn, |
| 4 tonnes however, crane trucks are only capable of | | | | there is less exposure to this kind of opportunistic |
| lifting 2 tonnes so as a rule, the rubbish within a skip | | | | abuse. |
| bag should not be in excess of 1.5 tonnes. | | | | 10. These bags are environmentally friendly - a truck |
| These heavy duty polypropylene bags really are | | | | can only service one metal skip at a time. Several |
| taking off. In USA alone, skip bags delivered over | | | | skip bags can be picked up by the same truck and |
| USD $130M retail sales for a single brand through | | | | taken to a waste collection centre in one single trip. |
| hardware retailer LOWES within a 6 month period. | | | | This reduces the carbon footprint. |
| UK company Hippowaste currently achieving sales of | | | | Households throughout the world are generating |
| 18,000 units per month (B&Q) with a growth rate of | | | | more and more rubbish with the advent of increases |
| >10% per month. And if those figures aren't startling | | | | in DIY home improvement projects and the affect of |
| enough, the USA retail sales growth of skip bags has | | | | our materialistic society. These new polypropylene |
| gone up 230% in the past 12 months. | | | | bags are revolutionising the way the domestic |
| So why are these bags preferable to traditional metal | | | | market dispose of their rubbish and evidence of that |
| skips for your every day DIY enthusiast? Here are | | | | is widely seen in the US and Europe. Australia are |
| ten reasons right off the bat. | | | | catching on and the skip bag is the final step in the |
| | | | DIY consumer experience - waste generated by DIY |
| 1. Cheaper than a skip. Skips vary in costs according | | | | projects requires large volume rubbish removal. |
| to the location however after contacting a number | | | | |