The History of Skips

The sight of a standard skip sitting on a building site in the United Kingdom is one that many people would take for granted, simply walking by without giving the sight much thought or consideration. However this critical addition to the construction industry has an interesting and colourful history that few are familiar with but that marks an important development in British industry.

Many people mistakenly attribute the invention of the skip to waste industry magnate Richard Biffa in the 1970s, claiming that the addition was made as a way of diversifying the Biffa company into commercial waste collection. The actual origin of the skip, however, came a little earlier.

As with many 20th Century inventions, the skip was a product of post World War Two necessity and the original concept was actually imported from Germany before appearing in the U.K. during the sixties. With the economy still struggling after the war, it became impractical for tipper drivers to wait idly whilst their vehicles were loaded with waste. Furthermore, in the absence of a better solution, construction rubblee was left to pile up until it could eventually be collected, creating a hazardous working environment for both builders and the general public.

With time and money being wasted and safety concerns mounting, a new solution was devised by the firm George Cross and Co. and the foundations for the invention of the modern skip were laid with the intention of improving efficiency and safety in the construction and waste industries.

The introduction of the skip allowed waste to be contained safely and then when it was time for collection, the tipper driver could simply load the filled skip itself onto his vehicle, rather than loading the waste bit by bit, consequently saving a significant amount of valuable time for businesses struggling in the post war climate. With manpower hours freed up and business efficiency improved, the idea of the skip quickly became commonplace in the waste and construction industries and although the item may be taken for granted today, the item made a massive contribution to Britain’s recovery from World War Two and remains just as valuable and necessary today.