The best bulk bags, compared.
Top pick: A&A Supplies UK 1 tonne builders bag, 85 cm – Highest score at 86: 1,000 kg stated, four loops, and 4.7 from 1,542 reviews at about £8.79. Best value: DIVCHI 1 tonne builders bags, pack of 10 – About £3.05 a bag at about £30.49 for ten, the lowest unit price here. Score 82. A safety factor is not printed. Updated 22.10.2026.
A bulk bag for a UK DIY or site job is an empty: a woven square sack with an open top, a flat base and lifting loops. Shoppers also call it a dumpy bag, a tonne bag or a builders' bag. You are not buying a merchant's delivered bag of gravel, a pop-up garden bag or a small rubble sack. What matters is the printed safe working load, whether a safety factor is printed, and whether the loops are named. A 5:1 factor is the single-trip class in UK site guidance. It is not permission to refill the bag all summer. None of these six prints 6:1 or 8:1, and none shows a certificate number. The label checks are in the [bulk bag buying guide](/hub/diy-supplies/bulk-bag/sub/bulk-bag-buying-guide). A pop-up garden bag, a leaf bag and a 60 by 100 cm rubble sack are different products.
A bulk bag for a UK DIY or site job is an empty: a woven square sack with an open top, a flat base and lifting loops. Shoppers also call it a dumpy bag, a tonne bag or a builders' bag.
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What safe working load do you need?
The A&A Supplies UK 85 cm bag is a single white polypropylene sack at a saved amazon.co.uk price of £8.79, with 4.7 from 1,542 reviews, the largest count in this set. The listing states 1,000 kg, an 85 x 85 x 85 cm body and four sturdy lifting loops, and the bag is listed at 740 g. A safety factor is not printed, so the 5:1 line on a sister A&A bag does not belong here. Reviewers often praise it for soil and garden waste. One reviewer said four bags developed holes in the bottom after one garden-waste use. Top and base are not stated in the saved attributes.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A single empty 1,000 kg bag when you want the deepest review sample in this set and can accept a missing safety factor.
Less suitable: Anyone who needs 5:1 printed on this listing, or a thorny load that will be dragged.
Specifications
Common questions
What safe working load does the listing state?
The bullets say this jumbo bag can hold up to 1 ton, and the capacity line is 1,000 kg. A safety factor is not printed.
How many lifting loops are listed?
Four sturdy lifting loops. Top and base design are not stated in the saved attributes.
What do the saved UK reviews say about damage?
Praise centres on strength for soil and garden waste. One reviewer said four bags developed holes in the bottom after one garden-waste use.
The DIVCHI ten-pack is the lowest unit price in this capture, £30.49, about £3.05 a bag. The capacity line says 1 ton, and a bullet says up to 2,200 lb of dry material, which restates that claim rather than adding a second tonne. Corner loops are named without a count, the top is open, the base is flat, and the fabric is polypropylene. The bullets say 85 x 85 x 85 cm while the item-dimensions line says 85 x 80 x 85 cm, so the size lines disagree. The star line is 4.7 from 954 and matches the five-pack, including the rank line, so treat it as one printed pool. A safety factor is not on the page, and the item weight is not stated.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A clearance that will use several bags, when the lowest unit price in this capture is the point.
Less suitable: One bag with 5:1 printed, or a job that needs a single agreed cube size.
Specifications
Common questions
Which size should I trust?
The bullets say 85 x 85 x 85 cm. The item-dimensions line says 85 x 80 x 85 cm. Both are in the capture. Neither is a measured fill.
Is the safety factor printed?
No. Capacity is given as 1 ton, and a bullet says up to 2,200 lb of dry material.
Are these reviews separate from the 5-pack?
The star line, rank and review themes match the 5-pack ASIN in this set. Do not add the two 954 counts together.
The DIVCHI pack of five is £22.00 on the saved listing, about £4.40 a bag, with a stated 1,000 kg capacity and an 85 cm cube. The star line is 4.7 from 954 reviews, and that same 954 line is printed on the ten-pack, so the two counts are one pool. Corner lifting loops are named without a count, the top is open and the base is flat, and polypropylene is named. A safety factor is not printed. A bullet also says up to 2,200 lb of dry material, which is the same order as 1,000 kg, not a second tonne. UK reviews repeat side splits when bricks are lifted unless bags are doubled, dragging is linked to holes, and one later delivery was described as much thinner.
Pros
Cons
Best for: Several empty bags for lighter waste when a five-pack matters more than a printed safety factor.
Less suitable: A single bag of lifted bricks, or a job that needs 5:1 on the label.
Specifications
Common questions
Is a safety factor printed?
No. The listing states 1,000 kg and also up to 2,200 lb of dry material. It does not print 5:1 or 6:1.
How many bags are in the pack?
Five. Number of items and unit count both say 5. The review total matches the 10-pack listing in this set.
What failure do UK reviews repeat?
Sides can split when bricks are lifted unless bags are doubled. Dragging is linked to holes, and one later delivery was described as much thinner.
AirTech-UK prints several lines the other bags leave blank: 1,000 kg, a 5:1 safety factor, four reinforced 30 cm side-seam loops, an open top, a flat bottom and an 85 cm cube. The saved price is £15.98, and the star line is 4.6 from 945 reviews. The title and the number-of-items line say two bags, while the unit-count line says 3.0, and UK reviews say the photo looks like three bags and two arrive. The capture says certified and does not include a certificate number. Recommended uses include kitchen waste and food waste, but the bullets do not describe a liner or a food-grade bag. The pack is listed at 1.46 kg.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A small pack when you want 5:1 and four measured loops on the listing, and you can accept the pack-count clash.
Less suitable: Anyone who needs a proved count of three bags, or a food-grade liner.
Specifications
Common questions
How many bags are in the pack?
The title and number of items say 2. The unit-count line says 3.0. UK reviews say the photo looks like three bags and two arrive.
What safety factor is printed?
5:1, with a stated load of 1,000 kg. The capture says certified and does not include a certificate number.
Is it described as food-grade?
No. Recommended uses include kitchen waste and food waste. The bullets do not describe a liner or a food-grade bag.
This is the only 500 kg bag in the set. The saved price is £8.99, close to the one-tonne singles, for a green bag of about 70 x 70 x 70 cm with four sturdy lifting loops, an open top, a flat bottom and a printed 5:1 safety factor. The star line is 4.5 from 117 reviews, and the item weight is 550 g. One UK reviewer says the half-tonne size is manageable for a car if it is not overfilled, which is a review rather than a measured boot. The page asks whether the bag is weatherproof and the saved file does not answer, so the bag is not shown as waterproof. Fabric is not named.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A smaller cube for a part-filled car run, when 500 kg is enough and 5:1 is printed.
Less suitable: A stated 1,000 kg load, or anyone treating £8.99 as a saving against the one-tonne singles.
Specifications
Common questions
How is this different from the 1,000 kg bags?
The listing states 500 kg, about 70 x 70 x 70 cm, a green bag, four loops, an open top and a flat bottom, and a 5:1 safety factor.
Will it fit in a car?
One UK reviewer says the half-tonne size is manageable for a car if it is not overfilled. That is a review, not a measured boot size.
Is it described as weatherproof?
The page asks the question. The saved saved listing does not answer it. Do not treat the bag as waterproof.
The A&A Supplies UK 90 cm bag is the cheapest single in the capture at £8.71, and it prints both a 1,000 kg safe working load and a 5:1 safety factor. The body is 90 x 90 x 90 cm. The star line is 4.4 from 182 reviews, a lower rating and a smaller sample than the 85 cm A&A. Loop count, top and base are not stated, and the material field says 1 Bag rather than naming a fabric. Item weight is 680 g and net content weight is 850 g, so those two lines conflict. The capture does not include a certificate number, and a question about a flat bottom is on the page without an answer in the saved listing.
Pros
Cons
Best for: One empty bag when a printed 5:1 and a 90 cm body matter more than a named loop count.
Less suitable: A machine lift where you need the listing to number the loops before the bag arrives.
Specifications
Common questions
What load and safety factor are printed?
Safe working load 1,000 kg and safety factor 5:1. The capture does not include a certificate number.
Does the listing number the lifting loops?
No. Loop count, top and base are not stated. A question about a flat bottom is on the page and is not answered in the saved listing.
Which weights conflict?
Item weight is 680 g and net content weight is 850 g. Both lines are in the capture.
Shelf prices, stars and printed lines are the amazon.co.uk captures already stored for these six listings. This is not a laboratory test. Stars, the size of the review sample, the printed specification and category fit make the score, and those four weights sum to 100 before deductions. A repeated split or a failed base, a single hole report, a pack-count clash, and puncture or drag themes are deductions. Value is not inside the score. The highest score is the top pick. Best value is the lowest unit price among the other listings.
Amazon stars
40%The amazon.co.uk star rating, scaled so a full five stars is 40 points. Both DIVCHI packs share one 4.7-from-954 line, so that sample is not counted twice.
Review sample
20%A larger amazon.co.uk review count scores higher, up to 20 points. The A&A 85 cm bag has 1,542 reviews. The half-tonne bag has 117.
Printed specification
20%Up to 20 points for a printed safe working load, named loops, a printed safety factor, dimensions, and an open top or a flat base. A missing line is not filled in from a sister listing.
Category fit
20%Each kept listing is an open-top FIBC builders' bag, which is 20 points. A pop-up garden bag, a leaf bag and a rubble sack are out of this set.
Buy the empty sack, then read the label. A bulk bag here is an open-top FIBC with lifting loops, not a delivered load of stone and not a pop-up garden bag. Match the printed safe working load, look for a safety factor only where that listing prints one, and check the loops and the pack count. Stored amazon.co.uk prices run from about £8.71 to about £30.49.
A bulk bag in this comparison is an empty FIBC: a woven square sack with an open top, a flat base and lifting loops. Shoppers also call it a dumpy bag, a tonne bag or a builders' bag. You buy the empty sack. You do not buy a merchant's delivered bag of gravel, and an empty bag at about £9 is not the same deal as delivered stone. A pop-up garden bag, a leaf bag and a 60 by 100 cm rubble sack are different products. Only open-top, flat-base builders' bags stay on this page.
A pop-up garden bag, a leaf bag and a 60 by 100 cm rubble sack are different products. This page keeps only open-top, flat-base builders' bags with lifting loops.
UK plant guidance uses 5:1 as single-trip, 6:1 as limited reuse and 8:1 as heavy-duty reusable. None of these six prints 6:1 or 8:1. Do not copy 5:1 from a sister listing, and do not hang a damaged bag on a machine.
Airtech's title says two bags and the unit-count line says 3.0. UK reviews say the photo looks like three bags and two arrive. Do not price that pack from both counts at once.
Safe working load is the first line, in kilograms. In this set that is 1,000 kg, or 500 kg on the green A&A bag. Tonne in a title is the class of the empty sack, not the weight of a filled gravel order. Five listings sit in the 1,000 kg class. The DIVCHI ten-pack states that as 1 ton on the capacity line, and a bullet also says up to 2,200 lb of dry material, which restates the claim rather than adding a second tonne. The half-tonne bag states 500 kg on a body of about 70 cm.
Lifting loops are how a machine takes the bag. Use every loop. Do not gather them on one hook, do not drag, and do not lift over people. Airtech prints four reinforced 30 cm side-seam loops. The A&A 85 cm bag and the half-tonne bag print four loops. DIVCHI names corner loops and does not print a count. The A&A 90 cm bag does not number them. Top and base are open and flat on Airtech, both DIVCHI packs and the half-tonne bag. Size and pack count are the other lines on the page.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You want a part-filled bag that can go in a car if you do not overfill it. The A&A half-tonne bag is about £8.99, about 70 cm, with 500 kg and 5:1 printed. One UK reviewer found that size manageable in a car. A full 500 kg bag is still not a one-person lift.
Soil and hardcore need the printed safe working load, and a machine, or the bag stays put. The A&A 85 cm bag is the top pick at about £8.79: 1,000 kg stated, four loops, and 4.7 from 1,542 reviews. A safety factor is not printed on this listing.
A clearance that will use several bags, when the unit price is the point. The DIVCHI ten-pack is best value at about £30.49, about £3.05 a bag. The capacity line is in the one-tonne class. A safety factor is not printed, and the size lines disagree.
The top pick is the A&A Supplies UK 85 cm bag at about £8.79. It scores 86, the highest here: a stated 1,000 kg, four lifting loops, polypropylene named, and 4.7 from 1,542 reviews. A safety factor is not printed, and one reviewer reported holes in the base after one garden-waste use. Best value is the DIVCHI ten-pack at about £30.49, about £3.05 a bag. It scores 82. The five-pack scores the same 82 and costs more per bag, so it does not take the value badge. The Airtech bag scores 85 and prints 5:1, with a pack count the listing does not agree on.
A&A Supplies UK 1 tonne builders bag, 85 cm
Highest score at 86: 1,000 kg stated, four loops, and 4.7 from 1,542 reviews at about £8.79.
DIVCHI 1 tonne builders bags, pack of 10
About £3.05 a bag at about £30.49 for ten, the lowest unit price here. Score 82. A safety factor is not printed.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources from the research digest, plus the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Shelf figures are saved captures, not a live check on 22 October 2026.
This page contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Amazon links use the tag pcuk26-21. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures already stored for this set. This is not a laboratory test.
