Each year in the UK alone, 22.5 million tonnes of waste is thrown in rubbish bins or waste bins around the home and office. All this waste has to be managed and waste management is of vital importance to ensure we are not all knee-deep in rubbish.

Waste management is becoming increasingly more important as government’s across the globe are trying to reduce the impact of waste on the environment. But what happens to all that rubbish that ends up in our waste bins and wheelie bins?

There are only really three methods for disposing of waste that we throw into our rubbish bins:

Landfill
Recycling
Incineration

And there are advantages and disadvantages in each method of waste management.

Landfills: land fills are either holes in the ground that are naturally forged such as canyons or ravines; holes forged by former industrial processes like mines or quarries; or just mounds where rubbish we place in our waste bins piles up.

Land fills are not necessarily detrimental to the environment. While they do create greenhouse gases such as methane, this is actually offering potential benefits as not only can the methane be captured to prevent it damaging the environment but also it can be used as a method of creating energy.

And while it is true that landfills can cause pollutants to enter the water table. Land fills can be covered over once used and the land can be converted into nature parks which can offset any damage the original land fill had on the environment.

Recycling: recycling is not just done at home by separating our rubbish by using a recycling bin. Much of what ends up in our conventional waste bin is now being recycled by waste management teams. And while recycling is obviously good for the environment, there are detrimental effects too. Some of our waste is exported abroad in vast quantities to be recycled but this can have harmful effects due to the carbon costs of transportation and the damage to local environment where the rubbish ends up, as often these are developing nations that have less stringent environmental rules.

Incineration: Incineration is perhaps the most environmentally unfriendly method of getting rid of the rubbish in our waste bins. Unfortunately, there are many nations that are forced to incinerate a lot of rubbish due to constraints in land space. The only alternative is to ship the rubbish abroad which is not only financially costly but also has environmental costs too.

We are all wasteful. Each year, an average person throws out over a tonne of rubbish into our waste bins. And our rubbish bins contain everything from organic and food waste to paper, plastic and even metals.

Even though many of us now recycle and use recycling bins, most of us are aware that much of the rubbish that we throw out ends up in landfill sites, often referred to as rubbish dumps, garbage dumps or tips. But these rubbish dumps are not the scourge on the environment many of us assume and far from just being just large pits where tonnes of rubbish is piled up for all eternity, land fills are constructed after a lot of thought and consideration.

For a site to be viable for a landfill or rubbish dump it has to adhere to many requirements, which include:
Location
Type
Stability
Capacity
Environment Safeguards

Location – the location of a landfill is incredibly important. Firstly, dumps can’t be built too near to people’s homes because of smells, the effects on house prices and disapproval of local residents. But also landfills need to have good access by road or rail, be cost effective (cheap) land to buy.

Type – Rubbish dumps are built in three different guises: Pits;often using existing holes forged my mining. Canyons; using holes forged by nature; and mounds; piling rubbish above ground.

Stability – Landfills have to be on stable ground. There should be no earth quake faults, water tables, rivers, streams or flood plains.

Capacity – Any planning of a landfill requires enough capacity for the authorities that use the dump. Busy city centres where millions of rubbish bins are emptied every week will require larger capacities than smaller areas where the amount of waste discarded is less.

Environment Safeguards – land fills are built under strict guidelines to prevent as much environmental impact as possible. Soil, water systems and other effects on the environment are seriously considered before any site is allocated as a land fill. And while a former land fill site will be no good to build houses on, in fact, many land fills are often turned into nature parks once they are filled which can off-set any damage done to the environment while the landfill was in use.

We probably walk past dozens each day and not give them a second thought but the public waste bin is a crucial part of ensuring we are not wading down the high street knee-deep in discarded rubbish.

But unlike internal waste bins for our homes and offices, the public litter bin has to cope with higher demands and risks that are not a consideration external bins.

Public bins have to have a larger capacity than those we use in our homes. While we may have half-a-dozen people at home throwing rubbish and litter in it, a public waste bin will have hundreds and perhaps thousands.

They also have to be sturdy. Even the common-or-garden plastic dustbin or trash can would not last too long in a public environment. Many of the public waste receptacles are manufactured from tough polymers that are not only resistant to the rigours of the weather but can they are often fire proof, an important consideration with something that may sit on a high street amongst the general public

Sadly, bins in outdoor locations have to be resistant to vandals and thieves too. For this reason many are wall mounted of bolted to the floor. Some public bins even have a locking mechanism to prevent people from emptying the contents on the floor.

They also have to come in numerous designs for the types of locations they may be placed in and the types of waste they are likely to encounter. Hospital bins, wall mounted ashtrays, bins for schools, high streets, and parks all require different designs.

Outdoor bins need also to be plentiful. If there are not enough of them then littering will soon become a problem. Many people will use bins if they are there, but if not, they may be inclined to dispose of there rubbish on the pavement.

And the right location is just as important. Along busy while they may be unsightly, they still need to be placed along thoroughfares and be clearly visible. A litter bin tucked around the corner or hidden behind a building will be useless. They need to clearly visible and accessible otherwise they just won’t get used.

There has been much emphasis in the media over recent years about hospital hygiene and in particular the battle against hospital acquired infections. However, when it comes to the importance of hospital hygiene there is one device that is often overlooked and yet it is perhaps one of the most important tools in hospital hygiene – the hospital bin.

Hospital bins are vitally important as they house a lot of waste that can contain traces of bodily fluids such as blood and other waste that can be infected with microbes. Hospital bins are unlike other waste bins in that they also have to conform with the most stringent regulations.

Fire retardant bins for hospitals are often required in many areas as the health and safety of patients is crucial.

Fire retardant bins are often required in many areas as the health and safety of patients is crucial in medical environments. Fire retardant hospital bins are often sack Holders that are manufactured from high density polypropylene. Not only does this material retard fire but also it has anti-bacterial and anti-microbial qualities so will ensure the bin is not responsible for spreading of infections.

Many hospital bins have to be colour coded too for different areas and different waste such as yellow, orange, white and black. This is important to prevent any contaminated waste such as bandages from ending up on a conventional landfill.

There are other important aspects to hospital bins also. Whilst many bins around hospitals are simple sack holder bins they often have pedals (and even sensors) that prevent the need to handle the bin. This can be quite important as handling a bin, especially if it contains infectious waste, is not desirable to most people and can also lead to the spreading of infections.

Another important aspect to hospital bins is ensuring they are all of an adequate size. If a bin is filled before it is empty the there is often a temptation by people to dispose of the wrong item in the wrong bin, this can lead to medical waste ending up on conventional landfills or worse infectious material lingering on top of a full bin!

The hospital bin is a vital tool in ensuring that hospitals remain hygienic so it important for any hospital administrator that they have the right bins, that are the right size in the right areas.