3 reasons why you should use wheelie bins in your business

What comes to mind when you think about the different bins businesses can use to organise and get rid of their rubbish? A lot could depend on the type of business you own. For example if you work alone from a home office you’ll probably think of interior flip-top bins. However if you own a business that operates out of a large factory with dozens of workers, wheelie bins of all shapes and sizes will probably be just as familiar to you as interior ones.

If your business is big enough to generate a reasonable amount of waste, wheelie bins could be a great asset for you. If you’re currently wondering whether to start using them or not, here are three good reasons why you should.

1: they’re quick and easy to put out to be emptied

Good quality wheelie bins are easy to use. They feature strong handles at the rear and two strong wheels that can take the weight of the bin while you wheel it into place. In some cases you might have a rubbish collection service that comes into your premises and empties the bins from there. In other cases you may have to take your bins out to the road for emptying.

In any case you will have cause to move the bins around from time to time. The very nature of wheelie bins means they are easier to move and more convenient too. Let’s say for example you get three brand new bins and move them into place so people can start using them. After a while you realise their position isn’t that practical, so you start looking for other places to put them instead. This is when you will be glad you have chosen wheelie bins because you can tip them up and wheel them easily into their new positions. Imagine if they didn’t have wheels. How would you move them then – even if they were empty?

It’s a question few people have to answer thanks to those wheels. It does however show you how important it is to choose wheelie bins that are well-made and built to a good specification. Investing a little more in these bins to begin with will ensure they will last a lot longer and can take everything you throw in them. It is important to look out for the quality mark EN840 for Design, Performance and Safety, ISO 9001 for Quality and ISO 14001 for Environmental Impact.

2: they’re less likely to cause injury to those moving them

Wheelie bins are measured according to the number of litres they can take. For example you’ll see 140 litre bins, 240 litre bins and even 1100 litre bins. Moving bins of this size is not easy, which is why they generally have wheels. As a business owner you have a duty of care to ensure all your employees are safe at work. If it is part of someone’s job description to move the bins into a convenient place to be emptied each week, you must ensure they are not lifting more than they should.

Investing in bins on wheels conveniently solves this problem. Anyone moving the bins should still take care to move them properly, but the presence of the wheels means a heavier weight can be handled with ease. This applies to all sizes of wheelie bins too. The smaller ones have two wheels at the rear and need to be tipped to be wheeled around. In contrast the larger ones have four wheels and two handles. They do not require tipping but they can still easily be moved from place to place when needed. The wheels are similar to those on some shopping trolleys in that they are not fixed: instead they are able to spin around as required. If a large bin like this is particularly heavy it can still be conveniently moved by two or more people if need be.

3: it is easy to get colour-coded bins to enable easy recycling

Sometimes it is easier to instantly recognise a colour than it is to read a sign. That’s one of the reasons why colour-coded bins are becoming more and more popular all the time.

Take the regular wheelie bins many councils use for example. Without even glancing at the contents you would probably guess that a black bin is for general rubbish. You’d probably also be correct in thinking a green one is for recycling, while a brown one is for garden rubbish. 

If you are purchasing bins for your own business premises it is a good idea to consider what colours you will need. There is a good assortment of colours to choose from aside from the three colours above, including yellow, blue and red for example. It is best to assess your needs so you can tell which options will be best for you. If you are going to have more than two or three bins you can always label them to ensure you know exactly what should go in where. This is particularly convenient for your employees (especially new ones who will be unfamiliar with the recycling process).

Conclusion

Recycling has become a major concern in recent years. Most of us now recycle a large amount of our weekly rubbish. Businesses have an arguably even more important role to play in recycling, since they are generating more rubbish. The more we can all recycle and reuse the better.

However it does make sense to make the entire process as easy as possible. Businesses can very easily become overwhelmed if the right rubbish bins are not chosen to start with. Wheelie bins have an essential role to play for many businesses, and that means making the most of the ones you have today.

In fact why not take a look at the wheelie bins you currently have and see how they are working for you. Are they making it easy to split your recycling from your general rubbish? Are your employees finding it easy to use them or do you need a better colour coding system?