Great way to hold rubbish and recycling bins closed for Wellington

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Great way to hold rubbish and recycling bins closed for Wellington - bungee cords

timmmay

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#133985 11-Nov-2013 09:06

I was out walking this windy morning, there was rubbish and recycling all over the place. Some people had a rock or brick on their bins like I've been doing, but the best idea I saw was bungee cords. Short ones hooked from the back of the bin, or long ones hooked from down by the wheels, up the back of the bin, over the top and onto the front lip. It should probably be attached so it doesn't come off accidentally.

It should be pretty easy for the collectors too - just take the hook off the front, empty, don't bother putting it back on.

Has anyone come across a better idea?

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#930522 11-Nov-2013 09:08

But will the collectors really like having an addition thing to deal with?

Inphinity

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#930523 11-Nov-2013 09:10

A better solution imho is if they just provided bins with weighted lids. I can see the collectors not bothering to take the bungee off (that extra few seconds per bin will add up across the whole run, too) and bins not being emptied.

itxtme

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#930548 11-Nov-2013 09:34

Lid just needs a weight say 1kg under the lid to hold it closed. No more work for the staff as the machine tips them upside down.

wellygary

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#930549 11-Nov-2013 09:34

timmmay: I was out walking this windy morning, there was rubbish and recycling all over the place. Some people had a rock or brick on their bins like I've been doing, but the best idea I saw was bungee cords. Short ones hooked from the back of the bin, or long ones hooked from down by the wheels, up the back of the bin, over the top and onto the front lip. It should probably be attached so it doesn't come off accidentally.

It should be pretty easy for the collectors too - just take the hook off the front, empty, don't bother putting it back on.

Has anyone come across a better idea?

The best I have hear of is tying a short stretch of bungee cord between the two yellow handles, when it windy you just stretch the cord and hook the whole loop under the rim of the black "bin", ( the bungee cord remains tied to the yellow handles,) this means that the cords cannot come off, and its easy to open by just flicking the loop out from under the rim

sbiddle

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#930551 11-Nov-2013 09:39

The best solution is called a flexinet - they are a flexi cover for the green bins.

http://enviroflexinet.wordpress.com/

timmmay

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#930556 11-Nov-2013 09:50

Flexinet looks like a lot more work for the people emptying them. A weighted lid could help, but when wind tips the bins over (which it does regularly) it won't help at all. Bungee left and right would double the effort for the collectors too.

Still thinking a single bungee back to front sound most practical, and no more effort than removing a rock from the lid.

michaelmurfy

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#930561 11-Nov-2013 10:01

We get the bins regularly blow into our driveway in strong winds, I feel a 1kg weight won't help that.

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coffeebaron

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#930569 11-Nov-2013 10:22

How does the robotic arm that picks the bin up open the bungee'd down lid? The driver would need to hope out of the truck at every bin like this which would add huge amount of time to the trip.

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sbiddle

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#930571 11-Nov-2013 10:26

coffeebaron: How does the robotic arm that picks the bin up open the bungee'd down lid? The driver would need to hope out of the truck at every bin like this which would add huge amount of time to the trip.

The recycling bins aren't collected by robotic arm, just the wheelie bins.

wellygary

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#930572 11-Nov-2013 10:26

coffeebaron: How does the robotic arm that picks the bin up open the bungee'd down lid? The driver would need to hope out of the truck at every bin like this which would add huge amount of time to the trip.

Maybe out in the outer suburbs with wide street and plenty of driveways they use a robotic arm, but in the inner city suburbs with narrow streets and car parking on both sides they already have to get out and hook the bin on to the side of the truck...

timmmay

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#930586 11-Nov-2013 10:40

I don't think I've seen what they do here recently, but people put them in such random locations there's no way it can be done by a robotic arm. There has to be a person along with the driver doing that.

mattwnz

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#930592 11-Nov-2013 10:46

The bins are badly designed. They are best to have some form of clip built in to secure them closed. I am surprised there aren't more problems with bins being tipped over or rubbish blown out. Bungy cords are a solution, but someone will likely steal them, or they will end up going into the bin too.
There seems to be a lot of money in rubbish collection these days with all the private operators.

timmmay

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#930593 11-Nov-2013 10:49

I'll probably attach a bungee cord semi-permanently - glue gun, tied on, etc. I've left my shed open all night, I've left doors unlocked, hoses sprinklers and timers out for weeks, so far I've been lucky.

gehenna

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#930594 11-Nov-2013 10:57

The last time I used a bungee cord for more than a couple of collections the guy cut it off.

timmmay

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#930595 11-Nov-2013 11:00

Interesting. I've also considered some kind of little hook system but haven't looked into that at all yet. Even just a couple of lugs with a tie or rubber band may work.

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