How to Dispose of Soil

Once you have completed a renovation or gardening project, you may be asking yourself how to dispose of garden soil. Especially if you are expecting rain, as wet soil can be difficult to work with, and removing it causes a lot more mess. However, it is crucial that your disposal of soil waste is safe and legal.

One common misconstrued location where gardeners will put their garden soil is their general waste wheelie bin. If the bin company or local council identifies garden waste in your general bin, it is likely to be rejected. As a quick fix, you could dispose of small amounts of garden soil in your garden waste bin (check with your local council before doing this) but this is not appropriate if you have large amounts of soil to remove.

In this article, we will explore the different types of soil you can dispose of and the legal and safe options you have to carry this out. 

Types of Garden Soil You Can Dispose of

To better understand the ways in which you can remove soil from garden areas, it is important to understand the different types of soil you could come across.

Topsoil

Topsoil is usually located in the top 300mm of the soil and is the dark crumbly layer you see on top. It is extremely rich in soil ecology and when considering the disposal of soil waste, it is a lot more valuable to other people. It can be used for effective drainage, raised beds, or garden lawn turfs. Topsoil comes at a variety of prices and usually has a high demand so if you have topsoil to get rid of, you may find it easy for people to take this off your hands.

Subsoil

Subsoil is almost the opposite of topsoil. It is typically located 300mm or deeper in the ground and is made up of chalk and clay soil. Whilst there are ways you can improve clay soil, it is not usually wanted in excess. Subsoil is not as valuable as topsoil meaning it can be difficult to get rid of, as other gardeners don’t always want to take it off your hands.

Ways to Dispose of Soil

1. Hire a Skip

When looking at how to dispose of garden soil, a skip is a quick and easy option. This will be able to sit on your driveway or an open area outside your house and you can add all the soil that you need to dispose into there, making it a stress-free process and more efficient. You can also choose when you remove soil using a skip, so it is an extremely convenient option. Hiring a skip ensures that all soil is disposed of in a safe way, but you need to make sure the company you are using has a license to collect and dispose of soil.

2. Use an External Service

If you don’t have the time or resources to remove the soil yourselves or would rather somebody else do the job for you, you could use a site and land clearance company. This would eliminate the need for you to complete any job, as they will clear your area and dispose of all of the soil. This is a job that is usually completed quite quickly so could be an appropriate option if you need a quick fix. Again, this business will need a license before they begin to remove soil from garden areas.

3. Use it for Personal DIY Projects

Not all spare topsoil or clay soil is a hindrance to you. There are multiple DIY projects you could use your excess soil for during different months of the year. One example is to use it to build raised beds. These are a beautiful addition to your garden if you have the time and can be easy to build. Alternatively, you could either reuse this soil to level out your garden which would save you money if you were planning to purchase more soil in the future, or you could use it for your upcoming outdoor plants. It is important to maintain the quality of your soil if you are using it for a DIY project, but can save you money in the long term and means you don’t have to source a way to remove soil from garden areas.

4. Advertise it to Your Local Community

If you live in a community that has numerous gardeners or individuals that may be interested in purchasing some soil for a vegetable patch or different garden project, you could advertise your excess soil to them. This information can be shown through social media, groups or soil-sharing websites that you may have access to. Alternatively, if you know somebody in your community that may require some soil, you could use word of mouth to get this across. When advertising your topsoil or subsoil to other gardeners, it is essential to include pictures, descriptions, and amounts to give them an idea of what they would be obtaining.

How to Dispose of Garden Soil – An Overview

To safely and legally carry out the disposal of soil waste, there are many ways to complete this. Either hire an external company to take care of this for you, use a skip, advertise it to your locals, or upcycle it for your own projects. 

Alsoils are a site and land clearance company based in Hambledon, Hampshire. We offer disposal services for your garden soil waste as well as provide a range of premium soil products for purchase. We have been providing the highest quality services to our customers for over 35 years, giving you peace of mind that we can cater to your needs. Get in touch with a member of our team today to find out more about how we can help you remove soil from garden areas.