Recycling Bins – Getting it right

Written by: Richard N Williams

Recycling has become a big industry over recent years. Not only are more and more people opting to recycle to ease their environmental conscience but also many local authorities and councils are insisting that residents and businesses start recycling. And fines and penalty notices are now being handed out to home and business owners who fail to do so.

There are now numerous recycling suppliers selling all sorts of recycling products such as the recycling bin. However, with so much variety on the market it can be quite difficult to establish the type of recycling bin that is required for your home or business.

There are a large number of recycling bins available for both the office and home and choosing the right bin can often depend on the circumstances but there are some key things to remember when buying a bin for home recycling or an office recycling bin:

*    Recycling bins are often sold in different colours to conventional waste bins This allows the users to easily distinguish between what is meant for recycling and what is normal rubbish. Different colours are often used to denote the different recycling materials such as green for garden recycling, brown for glass, white for paper, blue for kitchen waste etc. It doesn’t matter which colour you nominate for which material just as long as everybody that uses the bin is aware of the colour scheme.

*    If you only have space for one recycling bin then you can buy bins that have sperate compartments for the different recycled materials.

*    Some local authorities collect recycled material along with the other household waste so it is a good idea to ensure your bin is large enough to cope with all your recycling between collections. If a bin is too small then people may be tempted to dispose of the recycled material in a conventional waste bin which could lead to a fine in some local authorities.

*    Composting is a great method of disposing and recycling kitchen waste. Compact kitchen composers are available that can store and compost kitchen scraps while large compost bins are available to handle all the garden waste that can be recycled to provide plant feed.

Recycling bins are becoming ever increasingly more important so it is important you select the right recycling bin for your home or businesses.


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The Sanitary Bin – Washroom Hygiene

Written by: Richard N Williams

The sanitary bin is unlike other waste bins we may have around the home and office. Sanitary bins are designed fro washroom and bathroom locations and as such, are often used to dispose of feminine hygiene products, razor blades and all manner of personal, hygienic and medicinal waste.

For this reason the sanitary bin should have several features. Firstly, a good bin for washrooms or bathrooms needs to have a pedal or sensor system. Nobody likes to handle bins, especially if somebody else has placed personal waste in their which may have traces of body fluids such as blood.

Secondly, a bin for the washroom needs to be of adequate size. If the sanitary bin is for a workplace wash room or bathroom then it needs to be large enough that it won’t fill up between emptying times. If a bin is full then many of the items that should be thrown in the waste bin will get discarded in the toilet. Some of these items such as feminine sanitary devices can block up toilet systems very easily and so failing to have the right sized bin could cost a fortune in plumbing bill.

Washroom bins and bins for the bathroom are also often made from Polypropylene. This is a man made polymer and is well suited for this type of location as it is quite resistant to bacteria and microbes as there is nowhere for the bugs to hide on the bin surface.

Other materials that are good for sanitary bins are stainless steel, although stainless steel bins are often more expensive but they offer good protection against bugs and are easy to clean too. Materials to be avoided are things like wicker or mesh. These may make attractive waste paper baskets but they are not fit for purpose in a sanitary location.

There are other areas to the washroom and bathroom where a sanitary bin is often used such as medical facilities and hospitals although specialist hospital bins and bins designed to take medicinal products are available for clinics, surgeries and hospitals. These are very similar to sanitary bins but are often larger, sturdier and have to adhere to numerous regulations including fire retardation.

Sanitary bins are an important part of washroom hygiene so please ensure your home or workplace has an adequate sanitary bin.


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Are you Ashamed of your Bin?

Written by: Richard N Williams

There has been a trend in the last decade of home improvement. Many people are choosing to invest time and money in their homes; and why wouldn’t we – we all like to live in a nice home.

Carpets, curtains, interior furnishings and wall paper are often changed to keep up with the latest designs and to ensure the household décor is complementary. And yet in all this refurbishment there is one item that is in every room that rarely gets an upgrade – the bin.

While many of us may change the wallpaper, three-piece suite and carpets – every few years or so – often the same tatty waste bin has been sitting on the corner through every generation of improvement.

Tucked under a coffee table or behind the toilet cistern the same problem occurs in nearly every room – the chic new furnishings are let down by the small embarrassment tucked in the corner.

And bins are in every room and yet we hide them away so they become a nuisance to use. These practical parts of our furnishings can and should be shown off as part of a regular furnishings.

Household bins may hold our rubbish but that doesn’t mean they have to look rubbish too. The bin has to sit in nearly every room so why not make sure it looks good too.

Designer bins are available now that can blend and match nearly any interior theme of a home. Often they are made from shiny alloys and have a modern trendy feel. They can also be really practical and have some great mechanisms for opening the lids.

Some sensor bins you don’t even have to touch, they have movement sensors on the lid so as soon as you come close they open up allowing you to drop any waste in them without having to handle the bin. These are great for kitchen or bathroom bins.

Other designer bins are available for nearly every room in the home, from living room bins to designer waste paper bins – and there are even bins for kids. So have a look in the corner of your rooms and ask yourself – am I ashamed of my bins?


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Back to Basics – Save the Environment and your Pocket with a Nappy Bin

Written by: Richard N Williams

Having a child can be the most joyous of occasions but it can also be one of the most hectic and expensive. We are more fortunate than our parents and theirs before them in that we have some great technological advancements that make parenting a lot easier.

Washing machines, powdered milk, designer push chairs and baby monitors can make parenting far less of a chore than what our parent had to endure. However, some technologies and advancements come with a price.

Disposable nappies may save us bundles of time and hassle when it comes to changing babies but they are quite expensive products and are environmentally damaging too. Disposable nappies account for nearly five percent of all household waste and as they can’t be recycle and take ages to degraded they linger around in land fills for years. They are very expensive too with the cost of nappies for a new born baby can reach easily be in excess of several thousand pounds.

However, is going back to using washable nappies really as troublesome as we may imagine? Well disposable nappies need not be any more hassle than disposables – the baby still has to be changed and as the washing machine does most of the hard work it is really just a case of storing the dirty nappies in a nappy bin until it’s time to wash them.

A good quality nappy bin is essential for this. Not only can dirty nappies be extremely unsightly they can of course smell so a good sized nappy bin – and the size will depend on how often you get round to washing them – with a decent lid will ensure the nappies are kept out of sight and smell, until they are washed.

There is no need to wash the nappies from the nappy bin at extreme temperatures either. Even soiled nappy will get clean at normal wash temperatures, especially with modern machines and washing powders.

By returning to washable nappies not only can you help reduce waste on the environment but you may also save a packet too – as the only outlay is a good quality nappy bin.


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The Gardener’s Friend – The Gardening Waste Bin

Written by: Richard N Williams

Any good gardener knows the importance of a good gardening bin. It seems it doesn’t matter whether we are weeding, mowing, planting or seeding the garden is a key place for generating waste.

Many of us are now fortunate to receive gardening bins for our household gardening waste but so much more can be done with the waste from our back gardens that we are quite literally wasting our waste.

Most of the stuff that gets thrown out from when we are gardening such as lawn mowing clippings, weeds we’ve pulled up and leaf litter; can actually be reused by composting. Composting is simply the process of rotting down vegetable matter and using the by-product (compost) as food for the garden. It all sounds quite yucky and messy but there are compost bins available that can keep you compost out of sight.

A good gardening bin is still essential as not everything can be composed. Branches for instance will just sit on top of a compost heap and not decompose so a good sturdy bin is still required. It is always best to select a gardening bin with wheels for convenience as its better to bring the bin to you than traipse handfuls of gardening waste through the house.

Most gardening bins are similar to the conventional wheelie bin although they are mostly coloured green this is also quite useful as it stops you confusing gardening waste with other household rubbish which can be quite important as most gardening waste can be recycled but a lot of household litter can’t.

A good gardening bin needs a good lid too. Especially in the summer as keeping out flies from any bin is important otherwise they will slip through and lay eggs in the bin which can be horrible to clean up.

If you local council does not provided a gardening bin then they are not too expensive and a good quality gardening bin should last years so they are excellent value for money. Heavy duty gardening bins are also available for those that have allotments or work professionally in the gardening industry. These are often larger and are built to a higher standard to allow them to take the rigours of a busy working garden.


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Keeping the School Yard Clean

Written by: Richard N Williams

One of the biggest problems with running a school, college, university or other educational establishment is keeping the grounds tidy and litter-free. Schools and colleges can very quickly become untidy, partly because they house hundreds of young people with appetites for crisps and snacks.

Most of this rubbish is responsibly discarded in the school litter bin, however, in some schools and colleges. Headmasters and principles find certain areas become littered very quickly.

Often the playground or school yard and playing fields are quite susceptible to litter, with crisp bags and sweet wrappers quite often blowing across these areas. While there is much a headmaster and principle can do to ensure that pupils and students always use the school litter bins when necessary, solving the problem often takes more than threats of detention.

By and large, people – even students – would like to throw their rubbish away sensibly but it is often the size and logistic location of the school litter bins that causes the problem.

One of the major causes of littering in schools and indeed other places outside of educational establishments, is simply down to the lack of  litter bins. People will walk a good few yards to dispose of their litter, however, if that journey turns to a ten minute or an amble up stairs and around a corridor, the temptation to throw the litter on the floor can often be too strong.

Also litter bins that fill too quickly are also a cause for littering as people will continue to use a bin, even though it is overflowing and a full bin becomes nothing more than a pile of litter. It can also help to ensure you have the right school litter bin for the area. A small bin next to the vending machines will quickly fill while a litter bin placed in a quiet corridor can go unused for days.

Ensuring that there are enough bins in enough locations and they are the correct size will go a long way to ensuring that pupils and students are not littering but are using the school litter bins provided.

By assessing the number of school litter bins and their location and size can quite often reduce the amount of litter suffered by the school or college and will help to make the environment a better place to work and learn for all.


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The Smoking Ban and Discarded Cigarette Butts

Written by: Richard N Williams

The smoking ban has created a better environment for all of us. But its introduction has had some unforeseen side effects; outside many buildings where smokers now congregate, an unsightly build up of discarded cigarette butts can often be seen.

Many pubs, bars and restaurants have installed ashtrays but often they are too small and they soon over flow and the discarded cigarette butts end up falling on the floor.

Smoking bins are a far more practical solution, especially with the smoking ban meaning that more and more bars, pubs and restaurants have a regular crowd of people outside the doors. Unlike normal litter bins and waste bins, a smoking bin is designed to allow the cigarette to be safely stubbed out before it is discarded.

These cigarette bins are also able to hold large amounts of cigarette ends and can cope with the demands of a busy restaurant or bar. They are also made from metal to prevent any possibility of fire, a problem that can often occur if smokers are forced to discard cigarette ends in conventional waste bins.

A free standing smoking bins as well as wall mounted cigarette bins when compared to ashtrays, don’tt have to be emptied as often and will ensure that the front of the building is not littered with cigarette ends.

Cigarette bins can also help to ensure people are not congregating and blocking entrances and exits. By placing a smoking bin or cigarette bin away from the front door it will steer smokers away from the building’s frontage. Although, if there is no cover you may find people congregating under the nearest porch and so would be best to place the smoking bin there.

Any you could be legally responsible too. Many local authorities are cracking down on the discarding of cigarette materials and large fines are being imposed on both smokers and businesses who allow the littering on the front of their premises.

More and more bars and restaurants are realising that they need to provide facilities now for smokers to prevent either their doorways being blocked or cigarette butts from littering the floor. Smoking shelters are becoming common place and for every shelter it is important that good sized smoking bin is provided to prevent litter.


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