The busiest area of the home is undoubtedly the kitchen. It is the location where most of the household tasks are completed: cooking, cleaning and washing clothes etc. And the kitchen is also the area that contains the busiest bin in the home.

Kitchen bins are the most important bin around the home. Not just because they are so busy, but nearly every type of waste, including food, is disposed into them. Food waste, in particular, can cause problems with smells, so ensuring the kitchen bin is appropriate will prevent your home from having nasty odours about the place.

The one essential aspect of a kitchen bin is therefore the lid. The lid will prevent any odours from escaping so all bins for the kitchen should have one, but the lid itself can cause its own problems.

A lot of what we do in the kitchen involves food and when we dispose of food waste this means we have to raise the bin lid, and the bin is not the most hygienic object in the home, no matter how often it’s cleaned. The result is that most of us spend our time going to and fro from the sink, every time we have used the bin.

There are several solutions to this problem but the traditional methods have their own problems. The first is the trusty pedal bin which has been around for years. The foot pedal raises the lid so you don’t have to handle the bin but the downside is that you have to feel around for the pedal which can be cumbersome in the middle of cooking.

Another method has been the swing lid where the weight of the food dropped into the bin causes the lid to swing out of the way. This, however, means the lid is never snugly fitted as it needs to be loose enough to swing and it can get very grubby with all that food bouncing off it.

A more modern and practical solution is the sensor bin. These kitchen bins have sensors that raise the battery operated lid when you approach. These are ideal for the cook because not only do you avoid handling the bin but the lid is snug enough to prevent smells and food waste never has to touch it so the bin remains clean.

Sensor Bin - opens automatically

The world of technology seems to be travelling faster and faster. Within the last decade we have seen the rise of mobile phones, the internet and a whole of host of gadgets, gizmos and ways of communicating.

But one area where you wouldn’t expect all this sci-fi technology to infiltrate is the kitchen, and in particular, the humble kitchen bin.

However, even the menial kitchen bin has had a twenty-first century make-over in the guise of the sensor bin.

Sensor bins

Sensor bins are not just stylised gizmos either. They make look modern and designer but there is practicality behind them as they are an ingenius solution to a common problem:

Handling bins is way of spreading germs around our kitchen so every time you throw something in the bin you should thoroughly wash your hands – but do you, and if so, you know how annoying this can be, having to keep running to the sink as you are preparing a dinner.

There are swing-top and pedal bins that do solve this problem but swing tops have the problem of the lid getting dirty very quickly while pedal bins can be cumbersome to use.

Sensor bins, as their name suggests, sense when you approach with a handful of waste. The bin lid, controlled by a battery powered motor, raises the lid and then closes it once you have disposed of the rubbish and walked away. This means you don’t ever have to touch the bin and the bin lid will remain clean.

Sensor bins are not cumbersome either. Most sensor bins raise the lid silently,quickly and effortlessly and are so easy to use you’ll wonder how you lived without them.

They are stylish too, many of them are made from a good quality steel that is easy to clean and looks modern and contemporary – and will suit any kitchen from the rustic to the modern.

Ensor Bins are an ingenius and high tech solution

They are not expensive either, many sensor bins can be purchased at a relatively low price, especially from online rubbish bin suppliers and they come a variety of sizes – up to 50 litres, large enough for even a commercial kitchen.

In every business there is waste. From discarded paper to scrap metal, waste is part and parcel of all businesses and industry. However, waste management in some business sectors is more important than in others.

Catering is one such industry where more thought and consideration has to be placed on the disposal of rubbish than in other sectors. Preventing vermin and pests, as well as ensuring there is no risk of food poisoning from your business should be a top priority for anybody starting out in the catering industry.

And one of the most important aspects of this waste management is the use of the right bin. The right kitchen bin is crucial for any catering business and the criteria for a kitchen bin often differs to conventional bins. Kitchen bins have to store food products that will rot and smell whilst also preventing the attraction of pests and vermin.

A swingtop bin will also prevent you from having to handle the bin

The lid is perhaps the most important aspect of the kitchen bin. A good fitting lid that prevents smells and will ensure the local wildlife are not attracted to your kitchen. But also there are other aspects to the kitchen bin that needs to be considered.

A pedal bin should be really used in a kitchen as a lid that is opened manually can soon get dirty and will force you to wash you hands every time you use the bin. A kitchen pedal bin means that you can quickly dispose of peelings or other items without having to run to the sink which cumulatively will save a lot of time. A swing top bin will also prevent the need for touching the lid.

Pedal bins are a good idea for the kitchen

Kitchen bins get more use than other types of bin and ensuring they are a good size is important (and a bin is easier use if it’s waist high as you won’t risk missing it) but the size is also dependent on how often the bin is going to get emptied.

The exterior bin used for a catering business is also important to consider and although a good fitting lift to prevent smells is important aswell, most rubbish should be bagged up in there so a more important aspect to the exterior bin is to ensure that the local foxes, cats and rodents can’t gain access. Like the kitchen bin the exterior bin’s size is also dependent on how much waste you dispose of and how often the bin is emptied but in both cases it is always best to buy kitchen bins or exterior bins that is slightly larger than needed.