Each year, every household in the UK gets rid of about one tonne of rubbish. From kitchen scraps and waste containers to old newspapers and tin cans, a myriad of items are thrown away by each-and-every-one of us.

Coping with all this rubbish is down to the humble dustbin, wheelie bin or household bin. But things have been complicated in recent years with the need to recycle, fortnightly bin collections and restrictions to the amount of waste some households in the country are permitted to throw away.

All this has made getting rid of household rubbish a complicated task. Having to use different bins for recycling, trying to avoid pests and smells, and keeping on top of the household waste can be a chore. But here are some tips to make dealing with your rubbish problems a whole load easier:

Kitchen

Perhaps the busiest bin in the house. Nearly everything gets chucked into the kitchen bin from food scraps to old cartons, tins and wrappers. One of the biggest problems with kitchen bins is the mess and smell they can produce. But there are simple ways to reduce this. Firstly, a good tight fitting lid is a must for any kitchen bin. This will prevent smells but the lid does pose other problems.

As we frequently cook in the kitchen, touching the bin is unhygienic – so rather than frequent hand-washing you should consider a pedal bin, swing-top or even a sensor bin. Sensor bins are fantastic as they open and shut automatically, sensing when you are near and raising the lid just in time.

Sensor Bin - opens automatically

Recycling bins

To make that task of separating different items into different bins consider buying recycling bins.

Many of these are colour coded so you can separate waste before you have to put it into the different recycling receptacles outside. And if you haven’t room for several different bins – think about a double triple compartment recycling bin which are a convenient and space saving way of separating waste.

Bin deodorisers

All kitchen bins should be cleaned regular to prevent smells but a great way of ensuring your kitchen doesn’t stink of rubbish is to use a bin deodoriser. Bin deodorizers ensure your bin smells fresh and clean – no matter what you have been throwing away.

In the good old days many home owners had a large metal dustbin that they would place all their rubbish into before placing the large heavy lid on top. However, times move on and very few of us have a metal rubbish bin; instead a wide variety of wheelie bins and recycling bins adorn our streets.

In some areas, rubbish is deposited on the curbside in black bags and the result is that in many areas the bags attract vermin and other pests and rubbish can be leaked over the street; having been ripped open by foxes, cats and other animals.

And it’s not just homeowners and those that use black bags either. Even modern wheelie bins can be knocked over by some pests and for businesses, especially ones that dispose of large quantities of food waste – failing to keep flies, rodents and roaches at bay can lead to closure of the business.

Types of pest

There are all sorts of animals that find human waste appealing. For homeowners the biggest problem can be foxes, cats and dogs. They can knock open bins or rip open bags causing mess and nuisance.

But for takeaway and fast food businesses the problem is exacerbated by the sheer volume of waste they dispose of. Flies, cockroaches, mice and rats can be easily attracted but difficult to get rid of, and even if the problem doesn’t lead to the local authority closing the business – if word gets out a lack of customers might.

A good lid wil help prevent vermin

And new pests are starting to get attracted to the waste in cities too. Gulls, once only seen around the coast; plague nearly every city and town.

Preventing Vermin

Prevention is always better than cure and keeping pests away from your rubbish can be easy o accomplish by following these basic steps.

• To prevent large animals from getting into your bin – ensure you have a sturdy and strong outdoor bin. Make sure it has a heavy lid too.
• If food waste is thrown away and stored outside, it is essential it is kept in a rubbish bin with a tight fitting lid. This will prevent smells and prevent your rubbish appealing to the local wildlife.
• Clean the bin regularly; use bin deodorisers if necessary otherwise you may find the detritus in a dirty bin attracts flies.
• Think of other methods of getting rid of food waste; composting is one idea.

Rubbish and litter is an inevitability. Everybody accumulates waste and rubbish that has to be disposed of. The average person in the United Kingdom disposes of over 5 kilos of rubbish a week in their rubbish bin – a quarter of a tonne a year.

All that waste has to go somewhere too. It is either buried in landfills, burnt or it can be recycled. However, not everything can be recycled and much of what we throw away in our rubbish bins isn’t biodegradable, meaning it can linger around landfills for decades – damaging the environment in the process.

Types of rubbish

The type of rubbish we throw away can be divided into five different categories. Some of which is biodegradable, some which isn’t:

• Plastic – Most plastics aren’t biodegradable. Many can’t be recycled either which is why the use of plastics is becoming an increasing environmental concern.
• Paper/card – from packaging to newspapers most paper can be recycled in some for or another. Paper recycling bins and recycling containers make it easy to store before it is taken away.
• Tins and metals – Most metals can be recycled and special recycling facilities exist in most towns and cities to deal with it.
• Ceramics and glass – Both can be recycled so look out for bottle banks or glass recycling bins.
• Organic waste – from lawn trimmings to the garden to food scraps fro the kitchen. The least harmful to the environment, organic waste is useful as compost and fertilisers.

Recycling

Recycling is essential if we are to keep in check our growing need for landfill and the increase in rubbish that is being discarded. Different types of recycling bins are available for both public and home use.

Household recycling bins, for inside the home, are often separated into compartments to make recycling easier. The rubbish can then be disposed of in the relevant outdoor bins. Often recycling bins are colour coded to make the process easier.

Can bank

Non-recyclable waste

Waste that is thrown in the rubbish bin and can’t be recycled can become a nuisance, especially many plastics that linger in the environment. Look to ways to reduce the amount of plastics and packaging you consume to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill. You will be surprised at how little you really do need to throw away in the waste bin.

There has been quite a bit of bad press about the littering caused by students in some university towns. And in many areas where residents live in local proximity to local schools, college or universities, littering is a cause for tension between the local community and the educational establishment.

The problem with litter around education buildings is the sheer number of people that use these areas. But neither the students or the schools or colleges are to blame. Often the cause of the littering and the discontent amongst the local community is as a result of bad planning with the areas litter bins and bins for the public.

Student Lifestyle

Students also have an active lifestyle and consume more packaging and fast food products than regular consumers which often leads to a greater amount of litter in areas with a high student population.

This is often overlooked by local authorities who find that the number, type and frequency of emptying of their litter bins is often underestimated causing overflowing bins and strewn litter.

Bin collections too are often too infrequent in these locations and it is often forgotten that in student areas there are many adults living under the same roof so the amount of household litter will also be higher than in residential areas.

Increasing the frequency of collections in these areas will reduce the litter in the residential parts of town.

Public Bins

Around the high street the public bins may need replacing or increasing in number. If there is littering then it is likely there is one of three problems:

• There are not enough public outdoor bins
• The outdoor bins are not large enough
• The public bins are in the wrong location

If the local bins are often full then the problem is going to be size or number. However, it is quite common for the high street litter bins to be half empty but there is still a high level of litter. This may often be because the litter bins are in the wrong location. Ensure fast food outlets and main thoroughfares are covered with large capacity outdoor bins.

Public litter bins

Increasing the number of bins around an area will also reduce the amount of litter but this there is often an added cost to doing this as there will be more bins to empty. By replacing the public litter bins with larger ones this will prevent additional costs from occurring.

While I have stayed in many rubbish hotels, I have yet to stay in one made from rubbish. Yet, environmental campaigners in Rome have done just that.

To raise awareness of pollution the campaigners have constructed a temporary hotel made nearly completely from rubbish. Complete with five rooms and a reception it is lined with tonnes of rubbish from tin cans, to car exhaust pipes.

While the campaigners are trying to raise awareness about the problem waste can cause, it also highlights another problem. How public buildings, like hotels deal with tonnes of waste that is thrown away in their buildings.

Hotels, shops, bars, restaurants and other public buildings accumulate vast amounts of waste from the people that visit, work or use the facilities and it is a perennial headache for those running these buildings to ensure the waste is disposed of.

Hotel Bins often have to be fire retardant

Public Bins

Public bins do differ to the household bins that we use at home. There are other aspects to think of when supplying bins for the public. Quantity, size and safety are important factors.

As an example, bins for hotels quite often need to be fire retardant bins as the consequence of a clumsily disposed of cigarette could be catastrophic.

Another problem with public bins is the quantity of waste and the frequency of emptying. Us householders may be able to go a week without seeing the dustman but this is not possible when there are vast amounts of waste accumulating in public buildings.

Often places like hotels will have large capacity outdoor bins. These large external bins can hold several day’s worth of rubbish and are often emptied frequently by independent contractors.

The actual indoor bins themselves in public buildings are also larger in capacity than kitchen bins or other household rubbish receptacles. It is also often a full-time job to ensure bins in public buildings are emptied frequently enough, even with these large capacity litter bins.

Providing public litter bins and waste containers is not as simple a task as it may first appear. There is more to the humble outdoor and public bin than just being a receptacle for rubbish. And quite often, if when local authorities, hospitals or other public body gets their waste bin decisions wrong – it can be disastrous and expensive.

There is so much to think of when supplying public bins and there is more to it than just supplying somewhere for the public to throw their litter.

Size, quantity and location

highly important as too small a bin, not enough of them or the wrong locations will just ensure littering continues. Establish the footfall in the area; what type of businesses are in the location (such as fast food places) and how often the bins get empties to ensure you get the right size and quantity. And place them where they are clearly visible and easy to access – a bin outside a fast food restaurant should be outside, not across the road!

Smells

If there are food businesses around then you will need to ensure that there is appropriate external bins provided for customers. These will need lids as the smell of rotting food is not only unpleasant it will attract vermin.

Transparent bins prevent explosive devices from being hidden

Fire retardant and Bomb threats

Often a consideration in public buildings like hospitals. Litter can often a be a source of fire so fire retardant bins are important as lives could be at risk. Also in public areas bins and waste containers have been used by terrorists and many public areas in countries that suffer this sort of problem use transparent bins to prevent the hiding of explosives.

Vandalism

A public bin needs to be tough and secure enough that it can’t be tipped over by vandals otherwise it will constantly get kicked over, spewing litter across the public are – making the bin pointless.

Sanitary Bins

In places like hospitals or public washrooms appropriate sanitary bins need to be used to prevent spread of disease. Regular bins should never be used for things like ladies hygiene products or waste bandages.

One of the unforeseen challenges to any business, local authority, council, institute or contractor is equipping a new building or facility with refuse bins. Waste bins after all are a common-or-garden object, so how difficult can it be?

Well actually, choosing the wrong type of bin can have all sorts of repercussions in the smooth running of any building or institute. Ensuring you kit any building out with the right equipment is crucial and making sure you select the right bins is no different. Not only can litter and mess build-up if the right bins are not provided but all sort of other problems can occur – from vermin to potential fires.

Essentially there are four things to think about when supply bins for a building, facility or institute:

Type of Waste

The first thing to think about is the type of waste that is disposed of. This will go along way in helping you decide what type of rubbish or waste bin is required. If food waste is being disposed of a good kitchen bin with appropriate lid is essential and so is an external bin capable of repelling vermin and pests and also keeping smells at bay.

In most offices, the largest volume of waste is paper based. Whilst simple waste paper baskets are adequate inside the building, you will need to ensure any external bins are fire retardant in case the paper is accidentally or deliberately ignited.

Fire retardant bins should be considered if combustible materials like paper is discared in quantity

Size of Bin Required

The size of both internal and external bins relies on two points:

* The frequency of emptying

* The amount of waste discarded

Location of bins

Another aspect to get right is ensuring the bins are in the right place. If bins are in the wrong location littering and waste time can often occur. Think of the workforce and where they will be when they require a waste bin.

Volume required

Ensuring you have enough bins is also important as is choose the right bin for the location too – kitchen bins should be provided where food is served and in bathrooms some sort of sanitary bin will be required.

The kitchen bin is one of the most used items in our home. Everything gets thrown into them, from food waste to old newspapers, and failing to get the correct bin can cause problems.

Ensuring you get the correct kitchen bin can be important but often people buy the wrong types of bins for the kitchen and getting it wrong can cause all sorts of problems.

The wrong type of kitchen bin:

* Can lead to bad smells around the home

* Can attract vermin and pests

* Can look bad

* Can be messy

* Can be unhygienic

In buying a kitchen bin there are several important aspects to think about which will ensure you don;t suffer any of the problems above.

Size

A kitchen bin needs to be large enough to cope with the amount of waste it will receive. Think about how many people will be using it; how often you can empty it and where it can fit in the kitchen. It’s important to remember that height will make a difference when it comes to disposing of things. Too low and you may find the bin gets covered in waste.

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

Lid

Perhaps the single most important aspect of any kitchen bin is the lid. A goo tight fitting lid is important to prevent smells from not only stinking the house out but also attracting the local wildlife. But a lid also has to be practical and easy to raise. Remember you may have to scoop food waste into the bin so a pedal bin, swing or even sensor activated bin lid will prevent food waste from dirtying the bin, it is also be more hygienic as you do not have to touch the bin to place waste in it.

Easy to clean and Empty

A bin has to be practical so avoid anything that is made form material that is difficult to clean or isn’t rugged enough. A good kitchen bin can be attractive but remember functionality is the key, it should also be easy to empty and shouldn’t be vulnerable to tipping.

Litter and rubbish bins are a practical and important part of keeping the world clean. We couldn’t live without them and one is probably sat no more than a few feet from you as you read this, but very few of us pay the humble rubbish bin any attention.

However, there are a few people who have found not only novel uses for some bins but also there are some weird and wacky bins out there.

Wheelie bin urinal

Perhaps the most bizzare bin in the world - this bin has an inbuilt urinal

Whoever thought of this must have been on the way home from the pub at the time. The idea is to prevent people from urinating in public but surely wouldn’t a toilet be a better solution?

Novelty Bins

There are bins representing almost every possible comic book and cartoon character out there. This is perhaps my favourite:

Feel the Force - a Novelty Star Wars Bin

The R2D2 bin is a great homage to the Star Wars film and a great way of helping to clean up the Empire.

Novel uses of bins

With a growing number of abandoned puppies being dumped on the German streets – the obvious solution – a puppy bin. But don’t worry, any abandoned puppy left in the puppy bin will be re-homed – lets just home they don’t find a litter of them in there!

The practical Bin

All these bins provide a fun approach to dealing with our litter. However, while novelty bins may brighten our day they are unlikely to provide a practical solution to preventing rubbish and litter. Rubbish bins are an important aspect to keeping the environment clean and choosing the right bin is important in preventing littering or other hygiene problems.

In providing litter bins you should always ensure the bins are :

Robust

Have a tight fitting lid

Be practical to use

Large enough to cope between being emptied

Plentiful

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.