There is nothing worse than a smelly bin. If it’s outside the home it can cause a nuisance to neighbours, attract vermin and make your home unpleasant to visitors, while a stinky bin inside the home will make the whole house smell and can take ages to air.

The biggest weapon against bin smells is the bin lid, a poorly fitting lid is the cause of many unnecessary bin smells. If a kitchen or exterior bin has a decent lid then the majority of smells can be avoided. These types of bin often contain the smelliest of waste such as kitchen scraps, soiled nappies and so on, but if they are stored in a receptacle with a tight enough lid the smells shouldn’t creep out.

Kitchen bins, for instance need to have a decent lid that fits snugly, this does have the problem of having to frequently open the bin, but an open bin in the kitchen will stink in next to no time. Nappy bins are another example and these have snugly-fitting lids to ensure no unpleasant smells escape.

Keeping a bin clean is another cause for bin smells and often they can get neglected when it comes to cleaning. Both the interior and exterior of a bin needs cleaning on a regular basis, many people give them a good wipe with a damp cloth every time they are emptied and normally this is enough to ensure they stay clean.

For bins which have to endure a lot of smelly waste, bin deodorizers will help prevent the smells from becoming too overpowering when the bin is emptied. Bin deodorizers are good for kitchen bins too if you have been cooking with stronger smelling ingredients than usual.

Another sure-fire way of reducing bin smells is to ensure they are emptied frequently enough. Food waste that has been left for a week is going to have become rotten and will inevitably smell, so ensuring the kitchen bin is emptied on a frequent enough basis will reduce the risks of bin smells  causing the house to stink.

In order to keep a public location clean and tidy, the public bin is the most fundamental and important tool available. Providing receptacles for the general public to dispose of their waste is vital, especially in busy locations such as the high street, them parks and around fast food eateries.

Simply placing a bin in a public location, however, is not necessarily enough to ensure that the pavements and walkways remain clear and free from litter. Often locations either have bins placed in the wrong location, or not enough of them to begin with, which causes litter to be disposed of on the floor making the grounds unsightly and costly to clear up.

Having enough public bins and placing them in the right location is, therefore, an important aspect of dealing with waste in public locations.

Location of Bins

Placing a bin in the right location is key to ensuring a public area remains rubbish-free. Public outdoor bins need to be placed along walkways where the most footfall is, as those tucked away around corners will be easily missed.

Furthermore, the location of bins should depend on the type of facilities and services that are around. Areas with snack bars and eateries, for instance, will need bins around that are clearly visible, while remote areas with fewer people around and where food and other items that can cause waste are not sold will not be as important to place bins in.

Number of Bins

Ensuring you have enough public bins is also important. If outdoor bins get too full, too quickly then waste will soon spill out and build up around the area. Again, the number of bins is often dependent on the area. If there is a lot of fast food vendors around then several bins will be needed, however, in other areas a single bin may suffice.

Footfall is a good indicator to the amount of bins needed too. The more people, the more rubbish will be disposed of hence more bins.

Getting the number of bins and the right location to place them is an essential part of public waste management and getting it right is important to ensure the public areas remain litter-free.

Location of bins is important

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 streets of the UK are awash with rubbish at the moment. So many areas, from Birmingham to Exeter, Milton Keynes to Thame, mountains of rubbish remains uncollected – some areas not having a collection for over a month.

Caused by the winter weather disruption and council strikes, the waste is becoming a problem in many areas, attracting vermin and providing an unsightly hazard for residents. And many home-owners are feeling rightly aggrieved at having paid their council tax bills, while the local authorities are failing to provide the services they have been paid to do.

Waste left on the streets can cause a myriad of problems. Not only is it unsightly, with mountains of bin bags dumped on corners, but it can have further consequences too. Vermin is attracted to rubbish and many of the uncollected bin bags are ripped open as cats, foxes and even rats scavenge for food.

And while many areas now have wheelie bins, these barely have enough space for one weeks worth of rubbish, let alone a months worth, with the result being bin bags piling up on the streets next to the packed wheelie bins.

While councils have promised to clear the streets of rubbish over the next few weeks, many local authorities may suffer in the forthcoming local elections as disgruntled residents mark their protests in the ballot box.

And with more and more rubbish being collected each year, this is a problem that may soon become common, especially as Coalition cuts may generate more strikes and forecasters suggest harsher winters may be more frequent in the future.

But what can house-holders do to help alleviate the problem? Well one way is to ensure you recycle as much as possible. If you don’t already own any its perhaps a good time to buy recycling bins. By recycling we can drastically reduce much of the waste we throw away and its not just the obvious paper and glass that can be recycled too.

Metal, plastic bottles (in some areas) and food waste can all be recycled rather than thrown away in the rubbish bin. As recycling bins tend to be colour coded, they are simple and easy to use, taking little getting used to.

By using recycling bins you can drastically reduce the waste you throw away and can help prevent the build up of waste that is now littering our streets.

While Christmas is a period of giving and receiving, with retailers experiencing the busiest time of the year, it is also a period when we throw far more rubbish out than at any other time. Rubbish bins are often full to bursting at this time of year as we all throw out packaging, cards, Christmas trees and food.

All this can be a bad time for the environment, as much of what we throw away ends up on landfill sites. But there are ways of recycling your Christmas rubbish and cutting down on what you throw away.

Christmas Trees

Every year nearly ten million Christmas trees are bought and disposed of each year, many of which are simply thrown away into the rubbish bin; however, Christmas trees are easy to recycle and provide useful materials such as wood chippings.

Many councils offer a collection and recycling service for Christmas trees but failing that, most household recycling centres will have somewhere for trees to be recycled.

Packaging and Gift Wrapping

Thousands of tonnes of wrapping paper is also thrown away each year. Sadly, the majority of gift wrapping cannot be recycled as the ink and sticky tape that covers it is too difficult to remove. You could of course look for better alternatives to the coloured wrapping paper, or try and reuse it rather than just throw it in the waste bin.

Excess packaging is also a problem at this time of year, and many people are now being careful of the products they buy are not full of excess packaging. Fortunately, a lot of it can be recycled so make sure you use the recycling bin and not just dump it in the dustbin.

Christmas Cards

Nearly a billion Christmas cards are bought and sent each year and many of these cards can easily be recycled, so again, use the recycling bins, not the dustbin.

Food Waste

While most of us eat and drink a little too much at Christmas, we also throw away tonnes of unwanted food. Try and buy less this year but if you do end up with too much food think of other ways of getting rid of it such as composting rather than just dumping it in the rubbish bin.

Recycling bins are inexpensive and look great

All kinds of recycling bins are available for around the home and if you have not got one yet, look around, especially on the internet, as you may be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to find low cost recycling bins.

There are many locations where the amount of rubbish thrown in public bins can be excessive. While high street bins are very busy, and those outside fast food restaurants in particular, there are some areas where even these pale in significance.

These areas are either places where vast numbers visit for a specific event, or places where people spend all day enjoying leisure facilities – and it’s these types of areas where waste management and keeping the place litter-free can be a real challenge.

Theme Parks and Zoos

Theme parks and zoos are a good example of this. Because these areas have captive visitors – in other words people stay within the confines of the park all day. This means everything they consume, food, snacks, drinks, cigarettes etc are discarded on site. For some theme parks, zoos and attractions that can mean tens of thousands of people throwing vast quantities of rubbish away every day.

Sports Stadiums

Sports stadiums are another such location. Here, even greater numbers in a far smaller area congregate, again consuming food and drinks – all of which has to be disposed of. Again, these are captive visitors so everything that is consumed on the premises gets disposed of there too.

Managing Waste

So how do locations like this manage to keep litter-free and handle all that waste? Well there are four aspects for waste management in such high volume areas:

Number of Bins

Ensuring they have enough rubbish bins is essential for these locations. Not enough bins will mean the waste bins that do exist will quickly fill, overflow and lead to littering.

Public bins have to be large

Size of Rubbish Bin

Another key aspect is ensuring the rubbish and litter bins are big enough. If bins are too small then the same problems as above will exist which is why large exterior and public bins are used in such areas.

Location of Bins

If the bins are in the wrong location people may not find them or may choose to dispose of litter on the floor rather than walk round looking for the bins so good planning to site the bins in the right location (such as near eateries and snack bars).

Frequency of Emptying

Finally, ensuring the litter bins are emptied frequently also ensures that they don’t over flow. Most areas like this have a team of waste management technicians who continually empty the bins disposing of the waste in large exterior receptacles.

Rubbish bins are a necessary requirement of public bodies, institutions and businesses that work with children. Nurseries, schools and colleges generate a lot of waste and providing receptacles for safe and hygienic disposal is important; however, children and bins can often come into conflict and preventing injury, mess or damage is important when providing waste bins where there are children around.

From a young age bins are a part of helping bring up children. Nurseries require bins, not just to put the litter and waste into but also nappy bins as more and more parents wish to bring their children up in a more environmentally responsible manner.

Nappy bins need to be kept secure in nurseries and play schools. They should be large enough to cope with the waste requirements and sturdy enough to prevent little fingers from tipping it over. A 65 litre nappy bin is a good recommendation. It should be large enough for even the busiest nursery or care centre and sturdy enough to prevent accidental tipping.

65l nappy bin

Nappy bins should have a tight fitting lid to prevent smells too. This is essential and you should never overfill one, either.

For schools, while nappy bins are no longer a requirement, sanitary bins are required for older children’s bathrooms. These should be proper sanitary bins which prevent smell, infection and mess. As for the bins used by the rest of the students around the school, they should be large bins to cope with the waste of a busy school but should also be fixed.

Wall mounted bins prevent the bin from being either accidentally or deliberately tipped over and for areas like the canteen large sack-holders will be able to cope with the high demands. These can be quickly emptied and refilled and are ideal for busy areas.

Recycling bins should also be used, especially for items like glass. This is not just for environmental reasons, either. Glass bottles hanging around regular bins can lead to problems and is best stored in a bottle containers where it, or anyone else, can’t cause harm.

When providing bins for the public, whether you are a business, private organisation or a public body, it is important to remember that when providing rubbish bins there are safety and security aspects to think about.

Rubbish bins are an essential part of any building or premises, especially when members of the public are around. Ensuring there is somewhere to dispose of litter is important to keep the property clean but there are some important aspects to think about when installing and buying rubbish bins.

Hotel Bins often have to be fire retardant

Fire

An unfortunate side effect of most rubbish bins is that a lot of the litter can catch alight. Fires in public buildings can be catastrophic and even if no smoking policies are instilled in the area fires can still start, either accidentally or maliciously.

Fire retardant bins are especially important in buildings like hotels and hospitals where a fire could go unnoticed and spread before it can be dealt with.

Security

In busy pedestrian areas another aspect to think about is security. Bins have in the past been used to hide explosive devices in and a blast in a densely populated area could have terrible consequences.

See-though sack holders are often used in public areas like railway stations and airports. These prevent any suspicious package from being hidden inside as the contents of the bin are clearly visible.

Smells and Mess

Preventing smells and are also another consideration. Bins can be knocked over – deliberately or otherwise – so public bins should be mounted to either the floor or wall. If there is a food-premises around then you need to install a bin with a good fitting lid to prevent smells as this is unhygienic as well as repugnant – flies and other pest could be attracted to the bin.

Sourcing bins for public areas is not as simple as most people first think and if proper thought does not go into the problems that could occur then the rubbish bin could land you into trouble.

Tags: external bin, fire retardant bins, rubbish bin, wate management

When it comes to interior décor, a lot of emphasis goes into furniture, furnishings and colour schemes and yet, there is one item in nearly every room that can get neglected – the waste bin.

From kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, and living rooms, there is normally a bin sat in the corner of the room, but that doesn’t mean your waste bin has to be hidden away under a table or under a desk. Rubbish bins come in such a wide variety of styles, designs, sizes and shapes, they can become a part of your overall interior scheme, and even make attractive features themselves.

The type of waste that gets thrown away in each does go into deciding the type of bin that you will need – there is no point in sticking a waste paper basket in the kitchen, not when food scraps and peelings are disposed of; likewise, if there is only paper waste in a bin there is perhaps no needed for a lidded rubbish bin.

The most important bin to get right is in the kitchen. Kitchen bins need to be able to cope with a large variety of waste, from food scraps to empty cartons, whilst preventing smells and being large enough to cope with the household demands.

But they can also be stylish. Metallic bins and sensor bins are of a really good contemporary design and will suit most modern homes, while more modern plastics can, not only make attractive pedal bins and swing bins, but is also easy to clean.

Retro bins look great

Retro bins are also increasingly becoming common as nostalgia and fashion turns back to 60s, 70s and 80s. Designer bins can also look good in a bedroom or bathroom and for kids a novelty bin will help encourage them to keep the room tidy. Smaller sizes are best for these rooms though as the waste demands are a lot lower.

For the living room or office, waste paper baskets have moved on a long way. There are all sorts of modern materials that create attractive and functional litter bins for the front room or office and as the waste demands are low in these rooms a lot of them are very discreet ensuring the décor of your room is not spoiled by the rubbish bin.

Tags: designer bins, external bin, retro bin, rubbish bin, sensor bin

The subject of rubbish, waste collections and wheelie bins are a common topic in the newspapers and other media. It seems the subject of rubbish bins is a hot topic, but why?

The main problem with rubbish and waste collection is the sheer costs involved. Everything we throw away has to be either stored somewhere until it either rots or degrades, or it has to be recycled and converted into other useful items. And while more and more recycling is taking part all over the country, we still produce million of tonnes of landfill waste each year, the cost of which is crippling councils and local authorities who struggle for space which is in demand for housing, development and business.

While most of us are encouraged to recycle more and more, a lot of the difficulties are a0pften concerned with the various different recycling policies that run up and down the country.

Some areas, for instance, will recycle plastics, others cannot; in some towns everything gets thrown into one recycling bin, in others you have to separate you waste into two, three or even more, recycling bins.

But home-owners do not have to leave recycling down to the local authority, increasingly people are taking control of their own recycling and making use of the public recycling bins and bot that are becoming increasingly common on high streets and in supermarket car parks.

Colour coded recycling bins

One of the tools that is helping people take control of their own waste and recycling is the home recycling bin. Interior recycling bins, either separate colour coded bins, or bins with multiple compartments, allow householders to separate their own waste at the point of disposal so papers, metals and glass can be separated and easily disposed off at the appropriate paper, bottle, or can recycling banks.

One of the advantages of taking control of your own recycling is that when more draconian measures are forced through by the local authority, you are better equipped to deal with it, and indeed, if you local council turns up on your doorstep with yet another wheelie bin for recycled material, you will be totally equipped to begin using it.

Tags: external bin, household waste, recycling bin, rubbish bin

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