Posts filed under ‘Premium Waste Receptacles’

A Simple Guide to Choosing and Placing Receptacles

Brass Trash Cans

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.

April 26, 2014 at 12:39 am

How to choose the right trash can for your business

Outdoor Trash Can

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.

April 16, 2014 at 1:23 am

Are you using the right trash cans for your commercial building?

Steel Trash Cans

Stainless Steel Commercial Trash Cans

Use the Right Commercial Trash Cans

Disposal receptacles can say a lot about your business. The availability of recycle bins might promote a green corporate culture. Fewer trash cans can help cut down on litter. The addition of covered ashtrays may reduce the number of cigarette butts cluttering up a store front. The type, number and style of commercial trash cans can help promote the brand associated with your company, and improve the perceived reliability of your services/products.

Offer Receptacles for All Types of Trash

Cutting down on litter creates a more welcoming atmosphere, and that starts with offering the right combination of trash receptacles. Outdoor trash cans help catch items people do not want to carry inside, like an empty drink or food container. Of course, it is always a good idea to offer two different options, one for trash and one for recyclables. Smokers receptacles offer an approved depository for butts that would otherwise cover the ground. For non and recovering smokers, nothing is more off putting than discarded butts. Inside the building, discretion is the better part of valor. Small, unobtrusive and decorative cans can be used to help create a pleasant visual. Make sure they are emptied frequently to avoid any overflows, and visitors will respond more positively to the cleaner atmosphere.

Prepare for the ‘Pay as you Throw’ Model

Technology now allows trash companies to track the amount of garbage produced by your company. RFID tags embedded in your trash cans can actually measure trash disposal by weight. That could spell some changes to the way disposal companies handle removal charges. Ramp up the recycling to help prepare for potential changes. Google has paved the way with a new program in their London office that removes individual trash cans. No more waste baskets at individual desks. Instead, employees all go to a central disposal location for trash. As a result, they have seen a 50 percent increase in recycling.

Bigger Isn’t Always Better

As more cities cut down on trash collection services, the temptation is to replace existing trash cans with larger alternatives. Before making that decision, take a serious look at your trash production. Would more aggressive recycling reduce your trash collection needs? If so, think about implementing alternatives that promote a cleaner approach to trash. Your trash cans are your direction to employees. Make sure they say the right things and encourage the right behaviors. TrashcansUnlimited.com can help.

Resources:
http://commercialobserver.com/2014/01/fewer-trash-cans-less-litter-mta/
http://www.mnn.com/money/sustainable-business-practices/blogs/no-trash-cans-for-google-employees
http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/pure-genius/trash-collection-goes-high-tech-to-promote-recycling/
http://home.ieis.tue.nl/ydkort/0013916507311035v1.pdf

February 27, 2014 at 11:12 pm

Indoor and Outdoor Recycle Bins

Half Round Recycle Bins

Half Round Recycle Bins

Why Recycle?

The two main reasons to recycle are to conserve the Earth’s resources and to reduce harmful CO2 emissions that result from the manufacture of products. When considering the carbon footprint of a manufactured product, one must consider the materials used, the energy used to create the product and the transport of the product. In addition, waste products created during manufacture must also be considered. Some of these waste products contaminate the environment and harm wildlife. The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) perhaps says it best when it points out that the manufacture and transport of products “leaves the world poorer, not better off.” The hole in the ozone layer, smog, global warming and water pollution are all a direct result of manufacturing.

While it is unrealistic to discontinue the manufacture and transport of products, homes and businesses can reduce their impact on the environment by recycling. The average American produces an estimated 4.3 pounds of trash a day, according to Population Education, and businesses often produce much higher amounts, depending on the industry. Recycling can greatly cut down on the total amount of waste. For example, recycling aluminum greatly reduces the emission of greenhouse gases because it takes 95 percent less energy to make aluminum cans out of recycled aluminum than it does to use virgin aluminum, estimates the Can Manufacturers Institute.

Ways to Recycle

There are two main ways that homes and businesses can recycle. One is to reuse products. The more products that are reused, the less that have to be purchased. The other main way is to send products to recycling facilities where they will be processed into a raw material and reused to manufacture a new product.

Home and Business Recycling Options

Homes and business can go green by using the proper waste control and management. First of all, trash should be divided from recyclable materials. The best way to do this is to recycling containers for the collection of recyclable materials. Businesses should place recycle bins in strategic locations throughout the workspace to ensure employee cooperation with recycling efforts. Different recycling trash cans should be set out for different types of materials. For instance, plastics, aluminum and paper can be put in a recycling bin that is set for trash pickup. Other materials that waste management companies generally do not pick up, such as Styrofoam, asphalt roofing tiles, electronics and batteries should be placed in separate containers for special pickup or drop off to places that accept those materials.

Recycling is perhaps the most sustainable step homes and businesses can take to help preserve the environment. The right recycling bins make the effort a lot easier, because items can be categorized according to their final destination. A recycling container can even be set out for items intended for donation. For example, one company may have no use for its scrap materials, but another company may indeed have a use for them.

Trash Cans Unlimited makes recycling easy for homes and business with its attractive recycling can choices in different styles and sizes to meet every need.
Sources:

NRDC: The 3R’s Still Rule

Can Manufacturers Institute: Recycling Facts

February 13, 2014 at 11:39 pm

Concrete Trash Cans

Exposed Aggregate Concrete Trash Cans are a great alternative to metal or plastic outdoor waste receptacles. With concrete you can add that decorative touch and still achieve your waste containment needs. Best of all concrete will last an extremely long time while still holding its visual appeal. Metal can rust while plastic can crack or fade. High capacity concrete trash cans stay where you put them. Most weigh 200lbs or more. This is a very real and important aspect. The last thing you want is some vandal stealing your trash container. Thus concrete waste receptacles are highly theft proof. Not even the toughest strong man is going to just pick it up and walk off with it. Most of them also include a lid cable to attach the lid to the container also preventing theft of the lid.

When choosing a concrete trash can there are a few options to consider. First of all theirs the finish. You can opt for the most popular which is exposed aggregate or a more contemporary textured weatherstone look, both of which are available in a variety of choices to match any decor. Exposed aggregate is what you will mostly find at various businesses or park settings. They consist of a pebbled rough surface. Weatherstone’s textured finish gives the trash container a slightly more decorative appeal. Another thing to consider is if you would like a rigid plastic liner for the inside of the unit. Most of the receptacles include a bag fix system allowing the user to use normal trash bags to hold the garbage. If you opt for the plastic liner all the waste gets thrown into the liner which in turn can be emptied when full. This liner can then be cleaned and replaced back into the waste receptacle for future use. You can also use a trash bag inside the liner preventing the liner from even getting dirty at all.

One last thing to consider is this. You may be thinking that since they are so heavy shipping is just going to kill your wallet. That doesn’t have to be the case. Freight can be very reasonable as long as you don’t get fooled by some who use the weight of the cans as a way to inflate the shipping costs. So now that you know the basics you can feel positive in the fact that concrete trash cans are a great way to dispose of public refuse while still maintaining visual appeal of the surrounding area.

You can view all of our concrete trash cans by following the link below.

http://trashcansunlimited.com/concrete-receptacles/

If you would like more info on our products you can visit us at TrashcansUnlimited.com.

April 29, 2010 at 8:12 pm 1 comment


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