Over the last few weeks, the wheelie bin has become the centre of some unwanted attention after a woman was filmed placing a cat into it, seemingly for no reason. The story went around the world and the woman was (quite rightly) condemned from all directions; however, this incident was not isolated and the sad fact of the matter is, that bins, and in particular wheelie bins have been used for all sorts of sinister purposes over the years, and the latest incident is only one of several grim tales.

Animals are commonly found dumped in bins and the latest story at least had a happy ending in that the cat was retrieved safe and well, but many animals are found in public bins and not all of them are alive. Yet, it gets worse. New born and unwanted babies are also commonly found in bins – the Americans even have a term for it: ‛trash can baby’

It is because bins, especially large ones like wheelie bins have a lid and are unused for long periods of time that people use them for such sad reasons but wheelie bins have also been used for even grimmer purposes.

Several bodies have been discovered in wheelies bins, not to mention body parts, although this is often a mistake by the criminal as they are good places to preserve evidence as the bin lid keeps the elements away, making it easier for police to track the culprits.

Contraband, such as drugs and guns, are often discovered in outdoor and public bins too, and terrorists have been known to use them to hide explosive devices in – often in busy public areas to cause large scale mayhem. In areas like these it is common to see simple sack holders with transparent bags being used as bins to prevent anything sinister being planted and hidden in them.

Bins themselves have also been known to cause incidents too. Because burnable material like waste paper is often disposed of in bins, they can easily catch alight which is why in many places like hotels, hospitals and other pubic buildings, fire retardant bins are used.

Despite all these grim associations with bins, they are a real necessity and we would be awash with litter, rubbish and detritus without them. So next time somebody buts something in a rubbish bin – lets not blame the bin.

While few people planning the interior of a home or business pays much attention to the rubbish bins, often this can be a mistake as no home or business can function without one. There are bins in almost every room of most homes and no matter what type of business or building you work in – you will need some where to dispose of your rubbish.

Waste bins play an important role but that doesn’t mean that they have to look drab or unsightly – the right interior bin can make all the difference to the décor of a room and can be both practical and suited to the style.

Home Bins

For bins around the home it is important to remember that different rooms have different practicalities. Kitchen bins, for instance, need to contain smells, house food waste and be larger enough to cope with a busy household’s waste. A good fitting lid and made from an easy to clean material like stainless steel is important but that doesn’t mean they can’t look good and there are many stylized and designer bins for the kitchen.

Other bins around the home tend to only house paper and other dry waste so lids and being easy to clean are less important and the bins can be even more stylized. Designer bins, retro or even novelty bins can be used in differing room.

Fire retardant bins

Office Bins

For businesses and around the office practicality is also important. Size and the type of bin are important to ascertain; it needs to be big enough to cope with the waste produced in between emptying while it also has to be practical to use – not taking up too much space. Often wall mounted bins are used in business as they can’t get accidentally knocked over.

Public Bins

With public bins there is another aspect to consider – safety. Ensuring the bin is safe is important. For this reason many public buildings have fire retardant bins and use transparent sack holders to prevent the possibility of the bin being used to hide contraband or explosives. Ensuring the bin is secure in any public building is also important so wall mounted bins tend to be used here too.

Tags: bins, designer bins, rubbish bin, waste bin