Rubbish is unsightly, smelly and a health hazard. So much so that the Environmental Protection Act 1990 places a duty on local authorities and businesses to collect junk, debris and litter via recycling bins and waste bins, ensuring its safe handling and disposal within the law. The less waste that we accumulate, the fewer waste bins collections that will be needed, and the more money councils and businesses will be able to redirect to better causes.
However, despite our best efforts to reduce the amount of rubbish we produce, the most recent figures state that UK waste increased by 3.3% in 2014-2016 with a total of 221 million tonnes produced in 2016. Around a fifth of this came from industrial and commercial rubbish bins.
Though impressive changes have been made in the use of recycling bins (commercial, industrial and domestic recycling was up by 8.0% in 2014–2016), there still remains much need for frequent, legitimate waste bins collections with the cost of waste crime estimated to exceed £600 million a year.
When are my bins collected?
Finding out your bins collection day is easy enough when you are a domestic customer. All information is readily available from your local council and the cost of most bins collection services are included in your council tax. Some areas might make an annual charge for garden waste bins collection or a small charge if you have one-off larger items for disposal.
Aside from the occasional changed arrangements for general waste bins or recycling bins collection around bank holidays, these usually run to schedule week in and week out, thanks to the faithful service of our council refuse collectors.
Arranging the collection of commercial refuse bins is a different story. Here, the question isn’t, ‘When are my bins collected?’ but, ‘When do I need my bins collecting?’ in order to comply with waste disposal regulations. From both legal and logistical perspectives, businesses and organisations producing waste must employ the services of an authorised commercial rubbish bins collection.
Why must I organise commercial rubbish bins collections?
Unlike domestic properties where householders are only responsible until their waste bins and recycling bins have been emptied into the council’s collection vehicle, business owners are legally bound to ensure that all of the waste produced on site is handled, stored, collected and disposed of in a proper manner, right up until the final destination of the rubbish, whether that be landfill, incinerator or recycling station.
Large commercial waste bins cannot be included in routine household bins collections. Commercial bins on wheels, for example, need special lifting gear to allow them to be emptied into a waste bins collection vehicle. Hazardous and healthcare waste bins require special handling, and you will likely also have to consider recruiting the services of sanitary waste bins collection and perhaps chemical waste removal, too.
To ensure proper disposal, you must recruit a capable and licenced commercial bins collection service, specific to the type of waste involved, such as phs. They will perform a waste audit to determine your needs and recommend a suitable solution with appropriate commercial bins sizes and commercial bins collection routine.
The company you engage to empty your commercial plastic bins, cardboard bins, commercial recycle bins and commercial refuse bins must be able to provide details of the disposal in the form of a waste transfer note which must be completed by both your business and the bins collection service, and retained for at least 2 years.
The frequency of commercial bins collections may be regular or flexible, depending on the needs of your business. Seasonal businesses, for example may only require bins collections for several months of the year, while large manufacturers may need waste bins emptying more than once a week. It is for you to work with your commercial bins collections service to find an optimal routine.
Which commercial refuse bins do I need?
Good waste bin collection services, like phs, provide a range of commercial bins for hire, specially designed to hygienically contain waste. Commercial bins sizes vary from a few litres to a tonne or more. The waste bins you need will depend on the type and quantity of waste that your business produces, as well as the space available and frequency of bins collection. Commercial bins on wheels can be usefully moved and secured with lockable lid, if required, whereas commercial plastic bins can be part of a compactor or baling unit which can crush waste into handy bales for transport to recycling facilities.
By using commercial bins for hire you’ll often receive waste bins collection as part of the service. phs, for example, offers bins collection services for nappy and sanitary bins; dental, pharmaceutical and clinical waste bins; and commercial plastic bins/compactors as well as the appropriate commercial bins for hire.
