FEL bin hire and collection

An FEL, or front end loader, is a large steel bin that stays on your site and is emptied in place by a truck lifting it from the front. Sizes run from roughly 4,000 to 8,000 litres, and the largest are rated at around 600kg. It suits sites filling several 1100 litre bins a week.

We arrange collection through licensed carriers. The bin comes with the service and we do not sell bins. The price on your quote is the carrier's rate plus our margin, shown before you sign. Your quote names the carrier and their permit CARRIER + EA PERMIT — Kev to supply. Our broker registration is WASTE BROKER REGISTRATION No. — Kev to supply.

Size and capacity

Two size conventions circulate and they disagree. Biffa publishes 4,000L, 6,100L and 8,000L containers. Reconomy works in yards: 4,600 litres at 6 yard, 6,000 at 8, 7,600 at 10 (both checked August 2026). Ask which mapping your quote uses.

Biffa rates its 8,000L container at 330kg to 640kg depending on waste type. Reconomy publishes a maximum of 300kg. Your carrier and the waste set the allowance, so treat 600kg as the top end rather than the norm.

An 8 yard FEL holds about five 1100 litre bins and a 10 yard about seven (Fresh Start Waste, checked August 2026). Published heights run from 1.85m to 2.8m across designs (Gaskells and Biffa, checked August 2026), so measure your yard first.

Who it suits

High-volume retail, hospitality groups running several outlets, warehouses and industrial units. It takes light, bulky waste, mostly general waste and cardboard (Fresh Start Waste, checked August 2026). Glass and hazardous waste are excluded (Biffa), and carriers commonly exclude food and clinical waste (Waste Managed, checked August 2026).

In England, workplaces with 10 or more full-time equivalent staff have had to separate food waste and dry recyclables since 31 March 2025, even with no kitchen on site (GOV.UK, checked August 2026). Plan on separate containers beside the FEL. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ. The full range sits on commercial bins.

How FEL collection works

The truck pulls up facing the bin, slides its forks into pockets on the front and tips the container over the cab. The bin stays with you and is emptied where it stands (WikiWaste, checked August 2026). The trucks need "an adequate area to safely manoeuvre, and to couple to containers without having to push or drag the container" (WISH INFO 28, V1, May 2025).

What it costs

No carrier publishes an FEL price. Every page ranking for FEL hire in August 2026 gates it behind a quote or a call. Your number depends on volume, streams, lift frequency, weight allowance and how the truck gets in. Biffa also states FELs are not available in all locations, so check coverage at your postcode first.

If your current contract and frequency already fit the site, we say so and you stay put. Waste money usually goes wrong at renewal, where a rollover clause hands the carrier next year's price.