Archive for April, 2014
A Simple Guide to Choosing and Placing Receptacles
Indoor Trash Cans
Choosing and Placing Receptacles
Your choice and placement of trash and recycling receptacles will go a long way toward ensuring that employees and guests take advantage of them properly, keeping your workplace and outdoor areas free of rubbish and odors. The following tips can help you determine the best trash bins and placement for your needs.
Choose an Appropriate Material
The best receptacle for any office or industrial location is determined in large part by the material it is made of. Trash and recycling containers come in a variety of materials to withstand different degrees of use, including:
- Steel and stainless steel
- Wood
- Plastic
- Concrete
Wood trash cans, often with decorative elements, are perfect for offices and even some outdoor spaces. Stainless steel trash cans are durable and attractive, and come in a variety of sizes and styles for office, outdoor and industrial use. For maximum durability with the bonus of anti-theft protection, concrete trash cans are perfect for very high use or park areas where theft, elements and rough use are expected.
Size According to Location and Use
When choosing receptacles for your place of business, it’s important to determine what size will fit both the space and your waste requirements. Small wastebaskets placed around the office or under desks will keep individual spaces clean, while moderately sized trash cans — preferably with lids to keep odors under control — are optimal for shared spaces such as break rooms, lunch rooms and kitchens. Industrial locations and some outdoor places like parks or walkways usually require larger trash cans to accommodate higher traffic and larger items.
Color Coding Promotes Recycling
Color coding your waste receptacles is an easy way to encourage employees to dispose of their trash or recycling properly. While blue is the standard catch-all for recycling, other colors can be implemented according to your workplace needs — for example, using green bins for plastic, yellow for cans, white for paper, etc. No matter what color coding method you choose, be consistent with them throughout the workplace.
Placement and Visibility Are Key
Finally, proper placement of receptacles is actually more important than how many bins you have. Consider what sort of trash will be disposed of in specific areas and place bins accordingly. Here are a few handy tips:
- Large sturdy trash bins just outside doors allow people to discard trash before entering
- Lidded receptacles placed next to tables or benches in outdoor spaces make food disposal a snap
- Cigarette receptacles and outdoor ashtrays are best placed just outside of rear or side doors or in any outdoor break area for quick disposal before entering the building
- A combination of bins for recycling, food and trash is perfect for high traffic areas such as kitchens, break rooms or outdoor areas
Receptacles come in such a wide variety of sizes, colors and materials that, with a little advance planning, you can easily select the perfect combination for your workplace.
FollowHow to choose the right trash can for your business
Concrete Outdoor Trash Cans
Choosing the Right Indoor Trash Cans for your Business
Indoor trash cans are more than trash receptacles. They add to your overall office decor theme, so it’s important to keep an eye on your design ascetics to create a cohesive overall look. Identify where your biggest trash can needs are throughout the office. Ideal locations include larger communal trash cans in the break room and kitchen, individual trash cans for each office, and meeting room trash cans.
Consider smell reducing designs, such as trash cans that have lids with dome tops or other ways of mitigating smells, for trash cans that get a large amount of food waste. The trash cans at the desks get paper waste, snack wrappers, and other generally smell-free objects so it’s less of an issue here. Once you have your garbage cans set up, make sure your janitorial staff empties them on a regular basis so employees are encouraged to keep up on their cleanliness.
Choosing the Right Outdoor Trash Cans for your Business
Your focus for outdoor trash cans is more on utility than appearance, although you still want your trash cans to promote your overall business look and theme. Put trash cans by any entrances and exits, especially if you have customers coming into a storefront business. When you encourage customers to dump their trash from a food court or another business before coming into your store, you don’t worry about trash strewn around that may not get discovered until much later.
Outdoor ashtrays are another necessary component to your overall commercial trash can needs, as there’s nothing that gives more of a negative impression than your front door surrounded by cigarette butts. Focus on more durable materials for your outside trash receptacles so they stand up to high use and the elements.
