1. Taking care of the bag
The HIPPOBAGis very strong but may be weakened if damaged. Check your bag after unpacking it and avoid puncturing or tearing it during use. Do not use the bag to dispose of sharp objects, hot ashes or anything that may penetrate it. The HIPPOBAG is a single trip bag and will not be replaced.
2. Positioning the bag
Do this before you start to fill it. You may not be able to move it later and any attempt to do so may result in you damaging the bag or hurting yourself.
Please bear in mind:
- The HIPPOBAG must be left within 4 metres (13 feet) of a public highway. Please note: our lorries will not drive on to block paving due to the risk of damage.
- The highway must be at least 4 metres (13 feet) wide to enable access for the lorry.
- Please be aware that your collection will be carried out by a large lorry. Our standard fleet consists of 26 tonne vehicles, which are about the size of a fire engine. If you have any concerns about access, please contact us for full specification before you place your order as if a collection fails due to access, or we have to collect via one of our specialist smaller vehicles, then a handling fee may be applied.
- The bag must be well clear of any walls, trees, parked cars, overhead wires or anything else that might obstruct the operation of the crane.
- You should not place your HIPPOBAG on public highways, pavements or verges without obtaining prior permission to do so from your local authority.
- Should access to the bag be restricted, there may be a charge incurred to accommodate an alternative collection vehicle. Please contact us for more information.
3. Filling the bag
Distribute your waste and its weight evenly and do not overload or fill the bag above the top edge. Maximum 1 tonne for a Midibag and 1.5 tonnes for a Megabag. If the bag is overfilled, you will be charged extra.
As a guide:
- Heavy soil = 2/3 per bag
- Rubble = 3/4 per bag
- Builders’ waste = level bag
Due to it’s large size, the HIPPOSKIP bag can only be filled up to 1/4 full with heavy waste such as bricks and masonry. The HIPPOSKIP bag is intended for the disposal of large amounts of light, bulky waste such as kitchen units, and care should be taken not to overload the bag. If you are in any doubt, please contact us before purchase!
Please Note: The HIPPOBAG is intended for the disposal of ordinary household, garden and builders’ waste only. The bag should not be used to dispose of hazardous or specialist wastes. Examples include asbestos, fridges, freezers, batteries, electrical goods, gas bottles, liquids, chemicals, sprung mattresses and clinical or food waste. These are more costly to recycle or dispose of so if we find any of the above in your bag, any surcharges will be passed onto you directly. You should also be aware that failure to declare these wastes or comply with this guidance may put you in breach of UK environmental protection laws. For an exhaustive list of prohibited items or for further information regarding a particular waste stream, please contact us or refer to our Prohibited Waste Streams’ factsheet.
Due to EA legislation, plasterboard cannot be accepted if mixed with other waste streams. We can only collect plasterboard if it is segregated into it’s own HIPPOBAG. Please contact us on 0845 850 0 850 if you have any questions regarding the waste in your bag.
4. Contacting us to arrange collection
We are open Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm (excluding bank holidays); these hours may be extended during peak season. Be ready to tell us your unique collection ID, if you’ve used a HIPPOBAG before, your contact details including a daytime telephone number, what’s in your HIPPOBAG, where your HIPPOBAG is located, how many HIPPOBAGs and what size are ready for collection, if your road is wide enough for our collection lorry (at least 4 metres), if you think there may be any other access issues and finally, if you need to be there when we collect.
Our prepaid bag and collection service is valid for 1 year from the date of purchase. The price paid at the time of purchase is valid throughout this timeframe. If you wish to arrange a collection after this time you may incur a surcharge. There are a handful of postcode areas we are unable to extend this prepaid offer to. For more information call us on 0800 068 9386. HIPPOWASTE will aim to collect your bag within 5 working days, starting from the day after your request. This may be extended during peak times (e.g. bank holidays) but we’ll always keep you posted.
Please note that the collection price will be confirmed at time of booking. Price variations may apply in some areas (e.g. remote postcode zones or London congestion area). If you have any concerns regarding your location please contact us before you purchase the bag and we will be able to confirm your collection price.
5. Allow access
Make sure that our collection representative can access the collection site at any time between 6am and 9pm seven days a week, even if nobody is there. Please note that we reserve the right to refuse collection if a bag is positioned beyond the reach of our vehicle, our lorry would need to drive onto block paving, the crane operation is obstructed, our collection representative cannot gain access to the site, or if the bag is overloaded, overfilled, damaged or contains anything other than ordinary household, garden or builders’ waste (refer to ‘Filling the bag’ above).
Please advise staff at time of booking of any restrictions that may apply to the collection site e.g. red route network, no parking, no waiting etc.
If collection is unsuccessful for any of these reasons it may not be possible to issue you with a full refund. Please be aware that the HIPPOWASTE fleet are costly to run so for this and environmental reasons we aim to keep mileage to a minimum.
6. Refund policy
We hope you won’t change your mind but if you do, you have up to 28 days to return your purchase and request a refund. Simply let us know so we can amend your details and return your HIPPOBAG to us unused, and in its original packaging. When we’ve received it, we’ll cancel your order and issue a full refund.
In accordance with the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000, you are unable to cancel your order once the collection service part of the package has commenced. Therefore, it may not be possible to cancel a collection request after the end of the working day on which you made arrangements with us.
