Waste container
Encyclopedia
Container
Container may refer to:* Items used to contain, store, and transport products, such as:** Carton** Bottle** Can , several meanings* Shipping containers include** Crate** Wooden box...
for temporarily storing refuse and waste. Different terms are in use, depending on the language area, the design and material (small or large, with or without lid; metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
or plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
) and the respective site (public space, private home).
The most general terms are waste receptacle and container bin.
Common terms include dustbin (GB), rubbish bin (GB), refuse bin (GB), litter bin (GB), litter receptacle (GB), kitchen bin (GB), garbage can(US), trash can (US), trash barrel, trash bin.
Public containers with wheels are termed wheelie bin (GB) and mobile garbage bin (MGB) (US) respectively.
Large metal containers for construction waste are termed skip in Great Britain and dumpster [TM] in the USA.
Open containers with a wire structure for light material are called waste baskets.
Open containers for paper waste and indoor use are called wastepaper basket (GB) and wastebasket (US) respectively.
Curbside waste containers
Curbside waste containers usually consist of three types: trash cans (receptacles often made of tin, steel or plastic), dumpsterDumpster
A dumpster is a large steel waste receptacle designed to be emptied into garbage trucks. The word is a genericized trademark of Dumpster, a American brand name for a type of mobile garbage bin...
s (large receptacles similar to skip
Skip (container)
A rubbish skip is usually called merely a skip or waste bin. A skip is a large open-topped container designed for loading onto a special type of lorry. Differing from dumpster, instead of being emptied into a waste vehicle onsite, a skip is replaced by an empty skip and then tipped at a landfill...
s) and wheelie bins (light, usually plastic bins that are mobile). All of these are emptied by collectors
Waste collector
A waste collector is a person employed by a public or private enterprise to collect and remove refuse and recyclables from residential, commercial, industrial or other collection site for further processing and disposal...
who will load the contents into a garbage truck and drive it to a landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
, incinerator or crusher
Waste compaction
Waste compaction is the process of compacting waste. Compaction means to compress, condense or consolidate. It is often used to reduce the size of waste material. Garbage compactors and waste collection vehicles compress waste so that more of it can be stored in the same space...
facility to be disposed of. The standard-sized UK wheelie bin household collection is 240 litres or more.
In certain areas there is also a recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
service, often with one or more dedicated bins intended to receive items that can be recycled into new products. These bins are sometimes separated into different categories (usually represented by colours) which determine what materials can be inserted into the bin. The contents of the bins are taken to a recycling plant to be processed, and there are various systems for recycling-bin collection: single-bin-combined stream systems, multiple-bin systems, and cyclic collections with different materials collected on different days.
In some countries there are large (5 cubic meters and more) waste containers serving several buildings. Special garbage trucks have been developed for raising these heavy containers and emptying them. Another option is a truck that replaces the container with a clean one, and takes the whole container to the garbage depot. This design is unique an the same in many ways, but never underestimate it. Without it, how would we carry or bring lots of trash at a time. It also gives you less work to do.
Wheelie bins
The "wheelie bin" is a waste container on wheels designed to make it easier for users to transport heavy loads of refuse to the curb or other pick-up point. George DempsterGeorge Roby Dempster
George Roby Dempster was an American businessman, inventor, and politician, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, during the first half of the twentieth century. Dempster is best known for the invention of the Dempster-Dumpster, a now-commonly-used trash receptacle that can be mechanically...
invented the Dempster-Dumpster system in the 1930s for automatically loading the contents of standardized mobile steel containers onto the dustcart. This led to the classic Dempster Dumpmaster
Dempster Dumpmaster
The Dempster Dumpmaster, introduced in the 1950s, was the first United States commercially successful front loading garbage truck.Built by Dempster Brothers, Inc of Knoxville, Tennessee, they used the Dempster-Dumpster system of mechanically emptying standardised metal containers, which had been...
waste collection vehicle
Waste collection vehicle
Garbage truck refers to a truck specially designed to collect small quantities of waste and haul the collected waste to a solid waste treatment facility. Other common names for this type of truck include trash truck and dump truck in the United States, and bin wagon, dustcart, dustbin lorry, bin...
of the 1950s, but wheelie bins did not become commonplace until the 1970s. The term dumpster
Dumpster
A dumpster is a large steel waste receptacle designed to be emptied into garbage trucks. The word is a genericized trademark of Dumpster, a American brand name for a type of mobile garbage bin...
is frequently used as a generic term for a large MGB or the non-mobile variety (known as a skip in the UK or Australia) in the United States. The modern bin is a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
invention of the 1970s in a patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
held by Schneider, and licensed to other companies outside Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Wheel
A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...
s on the bottom on the same side as the lid hinge. There is a bar behind the hinge on the top of the bin which is used to move it, or to hoist it up onto a garbage truck for emptying. The 240 litre bin is usually considered to have the same capacity as three traditional waste containers. In the UK, "wheelie bins" for non-recyclable domestic waste are currently collected either weekly or once a fortnight, depending on the local Council's waste management policies.
Design
The design objectives behind the bin were efficient use of space and safety: to provide at least as much space as the older round bins, whilst reducing the risk of injury caused by moving it. This is important for both the householder and the waste collectorWaste collector
A waste collector is a person employed by a public or private enterprise to collect and remove refuse and recyclables from residential, commercial, industrial or other collection site for further processing and disposal...
, who risked injury through lifting the traditional bin or from sharp, or possibly contaminated objects in garbage bags. Standardisation of dimensions is important because the bins must be lifted by a standard sized hoist on the dustcart. The bins are lifted by the lip at the front which must be designed for maximum stiffness and mechanical strength. The underside of the lip is therefore reinforced by numerous ribs in the case of the thermoplastic
Thermoplastic
Thermoplastic, also known as a thermosoftening plastic, is a polymer that turns to a liquid when heated and freezes to a very glassy state when cooled sufficiently...
bins. Steel bins have a much simpler lip owing to the properties of steel.
The early standard for these bins was the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
DIN
Din
DIN or Din or din can have several meanings:* A din is a loud noise.* Dīn, an Arabic term meaning "religion" or "way of life".* Din is one of the ten aspects of the Ein Sof in Kabbalah ....
Standard 30740 and DIN 30700 parts 1 + 2 and later RAL-RG 723/2, but in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
the specification of wheelie bins is now governed by the European Standard EN840, Part 1 of which covers the construction and dimensions of two wheeled bins with a range of capacities.
Many local authorities have made this type of bin compulsory, and usually require that bins are presented at the curb
Curb (road)
A curb, or kerb , is the edge where a raised pavement/sidewalk/footpath, road median, or road shoulder meets an unraised street or other roadway.-Function:...
(or kerb) for collection. A waste container or waste basket is used for just simple and plain old waste. you could also put in small items but never gum. Gum will ruin a part of it.
Industrial bins
The larger bins, intended for commercial use, are mounted on four wheels and usually have a folding lid and are covered by Part 2 of EN 840. They have capacities of 500 l , with 1100 litres (2,324.7 US pt) being the most common. Galvanized steel is often used for their construction in place of high density polyethyleneHigh density polyethylene
High-density polyethylene or polyethylene high-density is a polyethylene thermoplastic made from petroleum. It takes 1.75 kilograms of petroleum to make one kilogram of HDPE...
, where resistance to vandalism is important. In the UK most common Galvanised Steel waste container is the Continental 1100 manufactured in the UK by Taylor which conforms to Parts 2, 5 and 6 of the EN840 Standard.
Materials subject to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive is the European Community directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment which, together with the RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC, became European Law in February 2003, setting collection, recycling and recovery targets for all...
are marked with a "Wheelie Bin" label, consisting of an iconic representation of a wheelie bin crossed with a large X.
Wheelie bin urinals
The traditional wheelie bin takes on an additional function in the wheelie bin urinalUrinal
A urinal is a specialized toilet for urinating into. It has the form of a container or simply a wall, with drainage and automatic or manual flushing....
. It is a makeshift solution to the shortage of proper urinals in city centres after the closing time for pubs, when urination sometimes becomes an urgent need. The device involves a relatively simple adaptation of the ubiquitous waste container to an additional purpose. It was designed by Stephan Bischof. Collected in a chamber at the bottom that contains grass clippings, the urine can be converted into a fertilizer. Normal rubbish collection functions are not impaired by the adaptation to urine collection.
Bins in public areas
Certain public areas such as parks have litterLitter
Litter consists of waste products such as containers, papers, wrappers or faeces which have been disposed of without consent. Litter can also be used as a verb...
bins which are placed alongside paths frequently walked by visitors. This encourages people to avoid littering, which creates an unhealthy and aesthetically unpleasant social environment
Social environment
The social environment of an individual, also called social context or milieu, is the culture that s/he was educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom the person interacts....
.
Bins in outdoor locations or other busy public
Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...
areas are usually mounted to the ground or floor. This discourages theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
, and also reduces vandalism
Vandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
by making it harder for the bins to be physically moved or maneuvered.
In the past terrorists have left bombs in bins. The bomb is much less likely to be spotted than an unattended bag and the metal bins provide extra shrapnel
Fragmentation (weaponry)
Fragmentation is the process by which the casing of an artillery shell, bomb, grenade, etc. is shattered by the detonating high explosive filling. The correct technical terminology for these casing pieces is fragments , although shards or splinters can be used for non-preformed fragments...
that injures people nearby when it detonates. For this reason there are no bins in most railway stations, most airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
s and many shopping centres in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, or if they are provided they are just a bin bag hanging from a metal hoop.
Apartment buildings often have dust flumes in which residents can dispose of their waste in stainless steel waste containers. These chutes usually lead to some large receptacle or waste-disposal complex in the basement.
Uses of the term in popular culture
The term 'garbage can' is also used for a model of decision making, the Garbage Can Model.A 'trash can
Recycle bin (computing)
In computing, the trash is temporary storage for files that have been deleted in a file manager by the user, but not yet permanently erased from the physical media...
' metaphor is sometimes used for a place in a computer which stores a collection of deleted files. This location is called 'Trash' on an Apple Macintosh, BeOS
BeOS
BeOS is an operating system for personal computers which began development by Be Inc. in 1991. It was first written to run on BeBox hardware. BeOS was optimized for digital media work and was written to take advantage of modern hardware facilities such as symmetric multiprocessing by utilizing...
and other systems, and 'Recycle Bin' on Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. Formerly known as 'Trash' and 'Wastebasket' on GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
desktop environments, it is now simply called "Deleted Items". The 'trash can' icon remains intact, however.
On the internationally distributed children's television series Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, the character Oscar the Grouch
Oscar the Grouch
Oscar the Grouch is a Muppet character on the television program Sesame Street. He has a green body , has no nose , and lives in a trash can. His favorite thing in life is trash; evidence for this is the song "I Love Trash". A running theme is his compulsive hoarding of seemingly useless items...
lives in a waste container, and sings the song "I Love Trash".
In-ground waste containers
In the late 1980s, a new type of waste container was developed by Veikko Salli in Finland. In this new system, two-thirds of the container is underground. The Molok deep collection system is the original in underground waste containment and has been adopted all over the world.Collecting waste in a semi-underground container allows for much more capacity in a smaller area. Also, because temperatures are lower underground, there is less bacterial development and therefore, fewer odours and pests.
There are now several variations of underground waste containers that have been developed by competitors. With the original Molok system, at least, the containers are emptied via a reusable lifting bag. The reusable bag is lifted out of the well with a crane and positioned over the collection truck. Once in the correct position, the bag opens from the bottom, emptying its contents into the truck. Other variations utilize disposable bags or a front load collection vehicle.
The benefits of this system are many:
- The low cost of installation, and the long lasting time of the container.
- Emptying less frequently
- Better containment, so no smell, no insects and no rats.
- The large amount of garbage is compressed naturally by its own weight.
- Lower maintenance and running costs for the municipality.
- Takes up less area above ground - since most of the volume is vertical and the full width is underground.
- Looks aesthetic.
The container has a section for gathering liquids in case of failure, which can easily be pumped out and cleaned.
See also
- Automatic waste containerAutomatic waste containerAn automatic waste container is a waste container which is automatic. This helps prevent the bin lids becoming clogged with trash.It has an infrared system that allows it to detect human presence and open or close the waste container....
- Bin bugBin bugThe term "bin bug" was coined in August 2006 by the British media to refer to the use of Radio Frequency Identification chips by some local councils to monitor the amount of domestic waste created by each household. If the pilot schemes are successful it is expected that most British cities will...
- curbside collection
- DumpsterDumpsterA dumpster is a large steel waste receptacle designed to be emptied into garbage trucks. The word is a genericized trademark of Dumpster, a American brand name for a type of mobile garbage bin...
- HDPE
- Injection moldingInjection moldingInjection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...
- Push the Talking Trash CanPush the Talking Trash CanPush the Talking Trash Can is a radio-controlled robot, created by Daniel Deutsch, which makes daily rounds throughout Tomorrowland inside the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida; Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure park in Anaheim, California, Hong Kong...
- Recycling binRecycling binA recycling bin is a container used to hold recyclables before they are taken to recycling centers. Recycling bins exist in various sizes for use in homes, offices, and large public facilities...
- Skip (container)Skip (container)A rubbish skip is usually called merely a skip or waste bin. A skip is a large open-topped container designed for loading onto a special type of lorry. Differing from dumpster, instead of being emptied into a waste vehicle onsite, a skip is replaced by an empty skip and then tipped at a landfill...