Grab hire lorries hold quite the reputation for their ability to move large loads to waste and manoeuvre effortlessly onto difficult construction sites. But just how much do you know about grab hire lorries and their ability? 

At AJ Grab Hire, we have many years of experience of working with these incredible pieces of machinery. We’ve supported both small local landscaping projects, and even large public-facing construction projects. Each time the grab hire lorry has met the challenge.

As grab hire lorries continue to be developed and improved to ensure they operate at the highest standard, there is so much to learn about grab hire lorries and what can be achieved with them. 

A Grab Lorry Can Hold 16 Tonnes of Waste

There’s a lot of weight behind a grab lorry. When the lorry is empty, the truck weighs 16 tonnes. However, once a grab hire lorry is filled with muck or waste, it can reach a maximum mass of 32 tonnes. This means, on average, a grab hire lorry can hold 16 tonnes and 15 cubic metres of material. 

Grab Lorries Can Reach Over Walls and Fences 

The crane on a grab hire lorry is 8 metres. The ‘grabber’ as it’s called, always goes from the side of the lorry and not the front or back. With a height like this grab lorries can easily reach over walls and fences to collect material. 

Grab Lorries Come in Different Sizes 

Just like construction projects, there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to grab lorries. As each project might need something different, grab lorries also come in different sizes. 

While the largest 9 metre by 4-metre truck is ideal for large construction or engineering projects, at Aj Grab Hire, we also have a 4-wheel grab truck that is 7.8 metres. 

The 4-wheel grab lorry can only hold 10 tonnes, but as a smaller grab truck, it is much more agile, which means it’s ideal for smaller projects. 

It Takes Max 20 minutes to load a Grab Lorry 

When you’ve got a busy construction site, you need to know how quickly your waste or rubbish can be cleared – especially as it’s a vital part of site health and safety. 

Unlike a skip, which has to have the manpower to physically fill it, a grab lorry only takes between 10 – 20 minutes to load, depending on the amount of manoeuvring that needs to take place. 

Once on-site, the grab hire lorry is pretty quick and efficient at helping you get your site clear. 

For projects that are up against tight deadlines, a grab hire lorry is ideal for keeping the project moving forward and ensuring no large loads of waste slow things down. 

Grab Lorries Don’t Need Permits 

The extra benefit of a grab lorry is that you don’t need a permit to have your waste removed from the site. 

When you hire a skip on your premises, you need to ask your local council for permission, who then provides you with a permit. This is to ensure your skip won’t be in the way of local traffic or won’t cause any disruption to the area. 

Of course, this can be heavily frustrating when your permit is declined – especially when you have waste to be removed. 

However, a grab lorry doesn’t need a permit. Thanks to their quick turnaround time, a grab lorry collects your waste and removes it for you without any disruption or need for permits. 

Grab Lorries Are Responsible Recyclers 

As sustainability has become a vital part of the construction industry, at AJ Grab Hire we take great pride in the fact that we are certified by the Environment Agency for waste removal. 

By being certified by the environment authority, we are recognised as responsible recyclers, and can help you ensure the waste sent to landfill is minimised. 

At AJ Grab Hire, our grab lorries can collect the following waste which can be recycled. 

• Earth and soil 
• Concrete bricks 
• Topsoil and hardcore 
• Garden and tree waste 
• Non hazardous waste 
• Timber 

To book a grab hire lorry, or to discover which grab lorry would work best for your project, contact our team today. 

Opening times

Mon – Fri 9am – 5.30pm
Sat 9am – 12pm

T: 01763 233493

Lockdown in the UK may be easing, but during the long and quiet months of quarantine construction projects have continued across the nation. 

From ‘essential’ construction works being done to public facilities and social housing, to the dramatic rise in DIY; the UK’s need for construction has not dwindled. 

While the rise in construction projects provide a consistency to the UK economy that’s greatly required, the area that’s seeing a dramatic impact is waste.

It may not sound very glamorous, or as though it’s an extreme problem amid the outbreak of a pandemic, but as we begin to emerge from the crisis and into a new world, many in the construction sector are looking at how we can create more sustainability. 

The UK construction industry provides more than £110 billion per annum to the UK economy, that’s 7% of GDP, but waste in the sector is a growing problem. 

New Legislation 

The Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) is a not-for-profit, independent organisation founded in 1997 to raise the standards in the construction industry. 

In May 2020, the CCS proposed that tighter rules and regulations on waste and recyclable materials should be imposed across the construction sector. 

The industry currently claims around a 90% diversion from landfill, a strong recovery compared to other sectors. However, some research reveals that 13% of products delivered to construction sites are sent to landfill without ever being used. 

Furthermore, there is a large element of energy recovery through incinerators, with few organisations attempting to recycle or reuse. 

Therefore the new policy will put an emphasis on avoiding waste while encouraging recycling and reuse. The current strategy laid out reveals a ‘roadmap’ towards zero avoidable waste. 

Senior Sustainability Advisor and Circular Economy Programme Lead at the UK Green Building Council, said, “Construction, demolition and excavation in the UK currently produces a staggering 120 million tonnes of waste each year. This is nearly 60% of all UK waste.”

Once lockdown is lifted, it’s safe to say that the UK government and organisations across the building sector will be pushing these new green policies strongly. 

DIY During Lockdown 

It’s easy to assume construction waste is only a ‘big deal’ for large organisations and building contractors. But the simple fact is, construction waste is everyone’s responsibility regardless of how large or small the build. 

During the UK lockdown, there has been a significant rise in home DIY. According to figures released on 5th June by Alderman, 38% of UK residents have been ‘doing it ourselves’ during the imposed quarantine. However, 17% of people say they are planning to do more soon. 

The rise in a nation of self-builders has created more work for the professionals, as DIY disasters are now at the top of many builders project lists. 

The BBC reported that ‘DIY mayhem’ has swept the nation, with everyone from painters, to builders being called in to fix DIY attempts. 

Of course, while it’s a novel idea to try your hand at DIY, what people don’t realise, is it’s not just the skills they may be missing but the unintended consequences of their work. 

In May 2020, The National Environment Agency inspectors were called out to 20 incidents of water pollution caused by lockdown DIY. 

Beating the Criminals

In the world of construction waste, it may seem there’s a lot to clean-up.

It’s bad enough that our environment is being polluted by DIY amateurs, and the fact that construction waste is still ending up in landfill, but fly-tipping hit a 10-year high in 2019 and still remains a serious problem amongst all of this. 

In the UK, fly-tipping got so serious in November 2019, that an independent review by the Serious and Organised Crime in the Waste Sector had to be actioned. 

The review revealed that the majority of materials being tipped illegally were in fact, what we describe in the sector as ‘muck-away’. Essentially, inert rubble which was everything from steel to asbestos. 

According to reports multiple fly-tipping even increased in some parts of the UK during May 2020, with some claiming the increase was due to limited capacity at waste and recycling centres. 

As we emerge out of lockdown and begin to make plans for the future, everyone in the construction industry must start taking responsibility for the materials they choose and the way they remove their waste. 

At AJ Grab Hire, we are certified by the Environment Agency as responsible waste removers. A title we take seriously. 

If you’re concerned about how you’re managing your construction waste for your next project, commercial or domestic, contact our team today to discuss how we can help you be responsible with your waste.

Opening times

Mon – Fri 9am – 5.30pm
Sat 9am – 12pm

T: 01763 233493

While many businesses have been thrust into lockdown status across the UK over the past three months, at AJ Grab Hire, our operations have still been lightly running under strict social distancing measures. 

Our aggregate deliveries and grab hire lorries have been busy supporting projects in Cambridgeshire and surrounding area, as many landscaping and construction projects have continued. 

Under the government guidelines, we have been taking all the necessary precautions with our team and our customers to ensure that health and safety during this time remains a priority. This means our team has worn protective clothing and carried out rigorous cleaning procedures on each grab hire lorry.  

Much of the world has come to a grinding halt due to coronavirus, but as many of our clients have had to continue their work, we have also been on the frontline of these projects to ensure operations run smoothly, and waste is removed as quickly as possible from the site.  

Here are a few ways we’ve been keeping the grab lorries busy during Covid-19.

Helping Essential Construction Work 

In April 2020, the government’s position on construction work was that construction sites should continue to operate during Covid-19. 

A statement from the Secretary For Business Energy & Industrial Strategy, Alok Sharma, thanked the UK construction sector for “delivering for our nation through this difficult time”. 

However, it has been a difficult decision for many in the construction industry whether to keep sites open or shut them down amid health and safety concerns. 

Thankfully, the Construction Leadership Council produced industry-wide Site Operating Procedure (SOP) guidelines to give construction workers and businesses clear advice for operating during the pandemic. 

The SOP guides detail a list of topics, from travelling to the site, access points, hand washing facilities, and other welfare facilities, including toilets, canteens and changing rooms. 

With clear guidelines for those in the construction industry, many sites have re-opened quickly, and continued work across the UK, despite a police-enforced lockdown for many who were deemed as non-essential workers.  

The fact is, across the engineering and construction sector, many large scale projects have had to still continue. This includes work on roads, public facilities, and the remedial work launched by the government on fire stopping in all social housing.  

At AJ Grab Hire, this has meant we’ve continued to support our customers in helping them to move waste quickly from site to ensure that social distancing can remain in place and that there are no obstructions to vital access points. 

Supporting Local Landscapers 

In relation to the landscaping sector, the guidance from the government was very unclear as to whether work would be allowed to continue amid the covid-19 outbreak. 

The UK Landscape Institute sought clarification from the government and gained no official statement, they simply re-iterated the Chief Medical Officers statement – “ If you cannot work from home, then you can still travel to work.” 

While the Landscape Institute has urged members to minimise fieldwork, some essential works have still had to be continued. 

With this in mind, The British Association of Landscape Industries has since submitted guidance for all landscapers needing to work, on how work should be carried out to remain safe during the pandemic. 

At AJ Grab Hire, we’ve seen a number of small scale local landscape projects continue and supported in providing aggregate delivery and muck-away services with our fleet of grab hire lorries. 

Under the circumstances, our grab hire lorries have helped to keep these projects moving forward at a pace so that they can be completed quicker and minimise the need for more manpower on site. 

As a grab lorry can move more than a skip, in a much quicker time frame, there is no need for extra labour on site. 

If your construction or landscape project is due to start up again soon, contact our team to see how we can help support you. 

Opening times

Mon – Fri 9am – 5.30pm
Sat 9am – 12pm

T: 01763 233493