Designing Bins

It was the other day that the environment engineer at one of the Municipal Corporation offices said he wanted to install a specific kind of bin in a high-traffic commercial lane. “Being a commercial office area, especially during lunch time this place gets messy. We want to install wall mounted bins which are not too big and match the business class area,” he said. Another Corporation is looking at a suitable bin to avoid littering around the existing waste bin.

Similarly, industries have always been demanding sturdy bins to stock their wares and for transporting to delivery points. Manufacturing units look at bins that can accept any kind of dirt and slime.

Designer Bins

There are more than 1000 to 2000 designs of bins being manufactured with both utility and aesthetic value. While much-thought goes into the creation, bins leave their mark in any given premises with their attractive looks and design, even a white waste bag hanging on four legs have been found to be very appealing.

It is thus challenging for bin suppliers to meet all the specific requirements across various clients. Suppliers today need to have a larger number of designs and varieties to meet requirements. Apart from having trendy designs, waste bins should also meet the status of the property. “We always endeavor to meet the client’s requirement either by giving the right alternate design or by customizing the bin design for the client,” says Naveen Chauhan, Director, KC Green Revolution Private Limited, New Delhi. The major clients of Green Revolution include hospitals, hotels, infrastructure companies, institutions, industries and Government segment with municipal corporations being the largest buyer.

“Biggest challenge in marketing waste bins is customization in shape and design of the bins. If the requirement is big, customization can be done easily, otherwise an alternative is suggested. We generally import bins from Singapore and Germany but we are now developing bins indigenously based on the demand of the local customers. International Airport, New Delhi, Wipro and Airtel are some of our major clients amongst the clientele of 500 corporates. We plan to introduce more colours and sizes of collection bins to suit the customer demands,” Chauhan adds.

Varied Applications

Whatever the design, the operation of the bin varies with its application. Hospitals require foot operated pedal bins as per norms defined by World Health Organization (WHO). The role of such bins is more to do with curtailing contamination by avoiding touching of the bins with hands.

Colour coded bin system is another essential element when it comes to healthcare and other related areas. As specified in the Bio-Medical Waste Handling and Management Act, bio-medical waste should be segregated and kept in colour coded containers or bags at the point of generation prior to its storage, transportation, treatment and disposal. Colour coding for containers or bags (yellow, red, blue, black) for collection of various categories of bio-medical wastes, including the treatment options have been specified to avoid overlapping and confusion. Though mandatory, Clean India Journal found that more than 60% of the hospitals in smaller cities of South India are not following colour coding methods.

Yellow colour is primarily used for biomedical waste. Three different coloured bins are used to collect clinical and related wastes. Clinical Waste Yellow Waste bins are marked ‘Clinical Waste’, with the International ‘Biohazard’ symbol. Cytotoxic Waste Purple Waste bins are marked ‘Cytotoxic Waste’ with the cell in ‘telophase’ symbol. Clinical Waste Orange Waste bins are marked ‘Pharmaceutical/Anatomical Waste’, with the International ‘Biohazard’ symbol.

Different coloured bins are much in demand as it helps in differentiating its use easily. Further, in a country where most of the cleaning personnel on the field coming with a low education background find colour coding easy to comprehend. Most of the suppliers have colour coded dustbins in their product profile in which colours and text are customized as per customer’s requirement. These bins are available in both steel and plastic body, which is on par with international standards and available at very affordable price.

Another of the pedal operated bins which is now fast catching up is the feminine hygiene bins. Corporate offices including banks where the number of female employees is high, the need is much higher. The awareness of such solutions is yet to penetrate every segment. As innovations continue, there are sensor operated feminine hygiene bins besides the pedal operated ones. Informs Chauhan, “We intend to manufacture a few of the bins in India, especially the feminine hygiene bins and colour coded bins in the near future.” Colour coded bins and shapes again vary in industries.

Municipal bins

One of the biggest consumers of bins are the municipal corporations, as their requirement is in volumes to the tune of1000 to 2000 pieces per order. The customization may range from wall mounted bins with colour coding on both plastic and metal bins and also wheeled bins. In a specific requirement, bins are customised as per the area with instructions written in the local language in order to guide the people.

“Biggest challenge in marketing waste bins is customization in shape and design of the bins. If the requirement is big, customization can be done easily otherwise an alternative is suggested” – Naveen Chauhan

“The requirement may be in the form of wall mounted bins for bus stops or colour coded bins for parking and cafeteria,” adds Chauhan.

Mumbai Based Time Technoplast Ltd is offering Wheeled HDPE bins – Dumpo Bins, which are available in three different models of 120lt and 240lt models with flat lid and 240lt with dome lid. These come in different sizes for easy handling of daily waste from residential and commercial places in green, grey and blue colours.

Devanand Kolekar, General Manager, Marketing, Time Technoplast Ltd, Mumbai says, “Other sizes available in the market start from 80lt scaling up to 1100lt capacity. Pole mounted bins are also available. We are a leading Indian manufacturer of such type of refuse bins done by injection moulding process, which conform to EN standard norms.”

“We manufacture various type of refuse bins by injection moulding process, and conforming to EN standard norms” – Devanand Kolekar

Otto Waste is a German group having 10 production units in six countries. The group caters mainly to Municipalities, private and public bodies, corporates, hotels, institutes, institutions, colonies and societies. Says Pankaj Kumar Malhotra, Director, Otto Waste Systems Pvt Ltd, “We have the product portfolio comprising of street furnishing bins and litter bins. These are design bins, which comes in various shapes, capacities and colours to suit the ambience of the property and designs to suit the location.”

“Garbage trolley bins are designed in such a way that they can be lifted by Municipal compactors for easy handling and portability. “– Pankaj Kumar Malhotra

The company is catering to BMC, NMMC, Vasai- Virar and Thane Municipal corporations in Maharashtra and Bengaluru Municipal Corporation and Chennai Municipal Corporation. They majorly use wheeled bins ranging from 60lts to 1100lts. These bins are made of HDPE material through injection molding and conform to European Norms EN standards, and can be lifted through multiple compactors. Garbage trolley bins are designed in such a way that they can be lifted by Municipal compactors for easy handling and portability. The company has also come out with FRP series in which bins can be customized according to the requirement of the client with the help of stickers.

Trends

Talking about the demand for bins in the market place, Chauhan said, “Five Star Hotels like Taj Hotels, Aman Hotels, ITC and Leela are our biggest client in the hospitality sector. We have provided 15 lakh dust bins to Leela Kempinski for their total requirement ranging from stair case to washroom.”

Demand is huge because of awareness with regards to easy handling, strong and durable products. There is also a lot of competition in the market place. “With waste segregation coming into force effectively, the consumer is required to segregate waste at source as wet waste and dry waste. To ease the processing of waste, it should be efficiently handled in an environment friendly manner. The industry should work towards creating awareness about this by explaining the end user about the advantages of the same,” says Kolekar.

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Bin Maintenance

Whether they are placed in a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom or even outside of a home, waste bins are a necessary component of maintaining a clean living area. Waste bins come in a variety of sizes and materials, depending upon function, and are usually categorized by how many quarts or gallons of liquid the receptacle can hold. Although many waste bins will never hold anything more than paper or plastic, it is vital to know how to clean bins which have held spoiled food, bacteria-harboring facial tissues and other germ-infested items.

Remove the plastic liner from the waste bin once it’s filled to capacity. This is one of the simplest methods of ensuring that garbage overflow does not result in bag leakages into the container itself and will make the task of cleaning the waste bin more efficient.

Take the empty waste bin outdoors to an area where it can be hosed down, if necessary. Many waste bins become sticky from items such as beverage cans, soda bottles and other liquid-container wastes. Spray the inside of the waste bin with water from a spray hose and use a disposable sponge to manually scrub away all visible liquid stains.

Coat the inside of the waste bin with a multipurpose degreaser. Depending upon the brand, it may be necessary to first pour the degreaser into a separate spray bottle, although you may also apply the substance with the aid of a disposable sponge. Allow the degreaser to dissolve surface dirt and grime for at least five minutes before rinsing out the solution with warm water. Use a clean towel to dry the bin if you do not wish to wait for it to air dry.

Sanitize the interior and exterior of the waste bin by spraying it with a sanitizing disinfectant. Spray the waste bin in an open area to alleviate sinus irritation and lingering strong smells. Coat every surface of the bin. Allow the bin to air dry completely without rinsing away the sanitizer.

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