Ripping out and replacing a driveway is one of the most physically demanding home improvement projects you can take on — and driveway waste disposal is a significant part of the job. Concrete, tarmac, block paving, and sub-base hardcore are all extremely dense materials that require careful planning to dispose of safely and cost-effectively. Get your skip hire strategy right before the first breaker goes in, and the clearance side of the project runs like clockwork.

This guide covers everything from breaking up different surface types to choosing the correct skip, keeping your materials separated for recycling, and understanding the machinery and safety considerations involved in a full driveway removal.

What Driveway Removal Actually Generates

The volume and type of waste from a driveway project depends on the existing surface and what lies beneath it. A typical full driveway removal might produce:

• Concrete slab — heavy broken slabs of varying thickness, often 100–150mm deep
• Tarmac or asphalt — dense, slightly flexible, and typically 50–100mm deep in residential driveways
• Block paving — individual concrete or clay blocks, often salvageable if carefully lifted
• Sub-base hardcore — crushed stone or Type 1 aggregate, typically 100–200mm deep
• Excavated subsoil — where the level is being altered or the sub-base is being entirely replaced
• Old edging and kerbing — concrete or stone kerbs around the driveway perimeter

It is worth measuring your driveway and calculating the approximate volume before you book a skip. For a typical car-length double driveway, you can easily be looking at several tonnes of material once you include the surface, sub-base, and any excavated soil.

Why Driveway Waste Demands Smaller Skips

Driveway materials are among the heaviest waste types you can generate from a domestic project. Concrete, tarmac, and compacted hardcore are all extremely dense, and a skip that looks only a quarter or half full on volume can already be approaching its maximum permitted weight.

This is the most important principle of driveway waste disposal: use smaller skips. A 4-yard or 6-yard skip is typically right for broken concrete and tarmac — not because there isn’t more material, but because you’ll likely reach the weight limit before you reach the volume limit.

Attempting to fill a large 10 or 12-yard skip with concrete rubble is a common and costly mistake. You’ll hit the weight limit long before the skip is full, the driver will be unable to collect it as loaded, and you’ll face an overloading surcharge and the task of removing the excess material yourself.

For large driveway projects, the efficient approach is to plan for multiple skip exchanges — having a fresh skip delivered as each one is filled to its safe capacity. This keeps the project moving and avoids the overloading problems entirely.

Concrete, Tarmac, and Block Paving: Key Differences

Understanding the material you’re working with helps you plan both the breaking-out process and the disposal.

Concrete

Concrete is the heaviest common driveway material. Even a modest concrete driveway can weigh many tonnes once broken up. Reinforced concrete — which may contain steel mesh or rebar — is common in older driveways and adds further weight. When breaking concrete, a petrol-powered breaker or electric demolition hammer is usually required. The resulting rubble is irregular and tends to pack down well in a skip, but the weight accumulates rapidly.

Tarmac and Asphalt

Tarmac is slightly less dense than concrete but still very heavy. It also has the advantage of being a highly recyclable material — reclaimed asphalt planings (RAP) are routinely reprocessed back into new tarmac mix, making it one of the most recycled construction materials in the UK. Cold tarmac can often be broken up with a spade and mattock for thin layers, but older, thicker tarmac usually requires a breaker.

Block Paving

Concrete block paving is worth lifting carefully before disposal if the blocks are in reasonable condition. Reclaimed blocks can be reused, sold, or passed on — they have real value. If the blocks are being skipped, they’re heavy but compact and load well. Clay pavers are similarly recyclable. Even if the blocks are no longer useful to you, check whether a local landscaper or community project could make use of them before sending them to the skip.

Sub-Base Hardcore: Separating for Better Recycling

Beneath most driveways sits a layer of compacted hardcore or Type 1 crushed aggregate sub-base. This material is clean inert hardcore and is highly recyclable — it can be screened and reprocessed into recycled aggregate for use in new groundworks and construction projects.

Where your project and site layout allow, keeping the sub-base hardcore separate from the surface materials improves recycling outcomes. A clean hardcore load is easier and cheaper to process than a mixed load of hardcore, tarmac lumps, and concrete fragments. This may mean loading it into its own skip or arranging separate collections, but it’s worth considering for larger projects.

If separation isn’t practical — which is often the case on smaller residential driveways — a mixed inert load is still accepted and will be processed at a licensed waste transfer station, though some of it may go to fill rather than high-grade recycled aggregate.

How Concrete and Tarmac Are Recycled

The environmental case for proper driveway waste disposal is a strong one, because both concrete and tarmac are genuinely recyclable at scale.

• Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is produced by crushing and screening broken concrete. It is widely used as sub-base material in road construction, foundations, and general groundworks. It reduces the need for quarried virgin aggregate.
• Reclaimed asphalt planings (RAP) from tarmac can be reintroduced into new hot-mix asphalt at high percentages, reducing the need for new bitumen and virgin aggregate in road surfacing.
• Crushed brick and block paving similarly becomes recycled aggregate or granular fill.

Keeping loads as clean as possible — avoiding mixing in soil, timber, plastic, or general waste — maximises the proportion that enters these recycling streams rather than going to landfill.

SuDS and Permeable Driveways: A Brief Note

If you’re replacing an impermeable concrete or tarmac driveway with a new surface, it’s worth being aware of the regulations around permeable drainage. Under planning rules introduced in England in 2008, new or replacement front driveways of over five square metres must use a permeable surface, or drain water to a lawn or border, to avoid requiring planning permission. This affects your choice of new surface — permeable block paving, gravel, and resin-bound systems all comply — and may also affect the sub-base specification, which in turn influences the volume of hardcore you’re excavating and replacing.

Machinery, Safety, and Skip Placement

Breaking out a driveway is physically demanding and potentially hazardous work. A few practical points:

• Use the right breaker. A heavy-duty electric or petrol demolition hammer (also known as a kango or breaker) makes short work of concrete and tarmac. Hiring one for the day is far more efficient than hand tools alone.
• Wear PPE. Eye protection, ear defenders, heavy gloves, and steel-toecapped boots are essential when operating a breaker.
• Watch for buried services. Before breaking ground, check for underground pipes, cables, and drainage runs. A Cable Avoidance Tool (CAT) scan is advisable on older properties where service records may be incomplete.
• Consider skip placement carefully. The skip should be as close to the work area as possible to reduce the distance you’re carrying heavy material. On most driveways this is straightforward, but if the driveway is being completely cleared you may need to plan the skip position so it can be reached throughout the job.
• Permit requirements. If your skip needs to go on the public highway, a council permit is required. Most driveway skips can sit on the cleared driveway itself, avoiding this need — but if access requires roadside placement, we’ll arrange the permit for you.

Estimating How Much Skip You Need

1. Measure your driveway — length × width in metres.
2. Estimate depth — typically 50mm for tarmac, 100–150mm for concrete slab, plus 100–200mm for sub-base if you’re removing that too.
3. Calculate volume — area × total depth in metres gives cubic metres. Apply a bulking factor of roughly 1.3–1.5 for broken material.
4. Estimate weight — multiply bulked volume by 1.5–2 tonnes per cubic metre.
5. Compare with skip capacity — a 4-yard skip holds roughly 2–3 tonnes of heavy inert material; a 6-yard around 3–4 tonnes.
6. Plan the number of skips or exchanges needed accordingly.

For most standard car-sized driveways, two to three 6-yard skip loads is a reasonable estimate when removing both the surface and sub-base. For larger double driveways or those with deep concrete, plan for more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can tarmac and concrete go in the same skip?

Yes, they can be mixed in the same skip and will be processed together as mixed inert waste. Where possible, keeping them separate improves the quality of the recycled material produced — particularly for tarmac, where clean loads can be reprocessed into new asphalt — but for most residential projects, a mixed inert load is perfectly acceptable.

Can I put soil from the driveway excavation in the same skip as the hardcore?

A small amount of soil mixed with hardcore is usually acceptable as mixed inert waste. However, where large volumes of soil are involved — for example if you’re lowering the driveway level significantly — it is worth separating the soil into its own skip, both for recycling purposes and to keep weights manageable.

Do I need a skip permit if I’m replacing my driveway?

Not if the skip can be placed entirely on your driveway or other private land. If the skip must go on the road or pavement, a highway permit from the local council is required. We handle permit applications on your behalf — just let us know the intended placement when you book.

Can old block paving go in a skip?

Yes, block paving is accepted as inert waste. However, if the blocks are in good condition, it’s worth considering whether they can be reused, sold, or donated before they go in the skip. Reclaimed block paving has real value and a ready market among landscapers and homeowners.

Get Your Driveway Project Started — Book a Skip Now

Whether you’re breaking out a tired concrete slab, replacing old tarmac, or lifting a full block-paved driveway with its sub-base, efficient driveway waste disposal starts with booking the right skip. Our team can advise on the number and size of skips for your specific project and handle any highway permits needed. Visit skiphire.uk.com to get an instant quote, or call our team free on 0800 028 3368 — let’s get your new driveway underway.