Wheelie bin

A wheelie bin is a type of waste container and is made in several different types.

__TOC__They are known by different names. In the United States it is technically known as a "mobile garbage bin" or MGB. Green bin is a term used in Canada and the United Kingdom. A more sophisticated relation of the traditional round bin, it is a rectangular box on wheels usually of injection molded high density polyethylene (HDPE) although the larger ones may be made of steel. It is designed to be emptied mechanically and is therefore constrained by various standards to ensure that it mates correctly with the unloading machinery.

George Dempster 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 waste collection vehicle of the 1950s, but wheelie bins did not become commonplace until the 1970s. The term dumpster 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 invention of the 1970s in a patent held by Schneider, and licensed to other companies outside Germany.

Design

The smaller wheelie bins, for domestic or light commercial use, typically hold 120, 240 or 360 liters, with 240 liters being the most common. They have a hinged flap lid and two wheels 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. The 240 liter bin is usually considered to have the same capacity as three traditional waste containers.

The dimensions of these bins vary with manufacturer and standard, but are roughly:
* 120 liters - 93 cm high, 48 cm wide, 52.5 cm deep
* 240 liters - 107 cm high, 58 cm wide, 74 cm deep
* 360 liters - 110 cm high, 62 cm wide, 86 cm deep

These bins are usually black or green, but other colors include brown, gray, blue and red. Frequently several different colored bins are provided for different types of waste so that it may be recycled: for example garden waste, plastics and metal. Sometimes the term wheelie bin is taken to cover these smaller bins and not their four-wheeled cousins.

Design criteria

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 collector, who risked injury through lifting the traditional bin or from sharp, or possibly contaminated objects in garbage bags. The bins only need to be wheeled to the waste collector where they are emptied by machinery.

Standardization 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 bins. Steel bins have a much simpler lip owing to the properties of steel.

The early standard for these bins was the German DIN Standard 30740 and DIN 30700 parts 1 + 2 and later RAL-RG 723/2, but in the European Union 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 for collection.

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, 660, 770, 1000, 1100 or 1280 liters, with 1100 liters being the most common. Galvanized steel is often used for their construction in place of high density polyethylene, where resistance to vandalism is important.

Materials subject to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive are marked with a "Wheelie Bin" label, consisting of an iconic representation of a wheelie bin crossed with a large X.

ee also

*HDPE
*Injection molding
*refuse collection

Trivia

Cricketer Ashley Giles was famously labelled "Wheelie Bin" because of his trundling run-up by BBC's Test Match Special commentator Henry Blofeld. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/test_match_special/3097549.stm TMS Edgbaston diary: Day three] ]

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A480278 BBC - h2g2 - Wheelie Bins]

References