Wheelie Bin Compactors anyone?

[Andrew Mawson]

Fortnightly collections and small wheelie bins have always caused a bit of an issue, but now Rother council have decided that bottles have to go in the re-cycling rather than a separate bin thus further reducing bin volume. So I've been looking into 'wheelie bin squashers'

Does anyone have a good design or commercial source? Accepting the fact that at my age I'm not going to climb inside the bin and use size 13 boots one of the type that hook on the hinge / handle bit and give mechanical advantage of about 2:1 look sensible, but commercial ones are working out at about £45 and come from Germany anyway !

I invite comments from those with personal experience :)

Andrew

[Jethro_uk]

I'd be concerned about breaking the bin - they're not that sturdy.

Also will the wagon be able to physically lift the more dense bin ? The ones I've seen appear to rely on a jerk rather than a smooth progression (which will add to the strain on the lifting handle).

Returning to the question, something like a brick on a stick might do it ? Or a metal patio umbrella base on a pole. In either case open lid, and repeated "thwack" until flat.

[Andrew Mawson]

Something like this I had in mind:

Andrew

[Chris Hogg]

My garden waste recycling bin is often brim full and compacted by two-foot-power, and gets very heavy, but the lorry seems to cope OK. Having said that, the bin has split down one side, I suspect due to my overly enthusiastic compaction methods, and I've 'stitched' it to hold it together, so the OP needs to be careful he doesn't over-do the compaction.

AKA sledge hammer used as a tamper. Or this

or this

[spuorgelgoog]

I can't see on their website, but will they let you have an additional recycling bin?

Otherwise they do say you can leave flattened cardboard or other recycling next to the bin in carriers or clear bags.

I don't think any of the domestic 'squashers' will do much with glass bottles, you'd need an industrial crusher to make a difference in volume.

Owain

Owain

[Andrew]

Plastic bottles are easy to flatten. When you boil a kettle, pour a beaker full of the excess not used for tea into the milk/coke bottle or whatever, put the cap on, give it quick swirl and poor out the contents.

While it still almost too hot to touch, flatten it with a bit of cardboard for few seconds. Voila a flat bottle.

Glass bottles, just smash them up. Not much comes in glass these days anyway unless you are wino.

[Andrew]

Just snip the woody stuff up into easily compressible fragments.

[Andrew Mawson]

Green waste is no problem, everything is composted (we are on a small farm). Before Rother changed their sub-contractor they would take extra bags of recycling and flattened card board left next to the bin, but the new lot have refused and just left it all with a snotty note :(

I'd like to incinerate cardboard but the clinging smell of smouldering cardboard is not nice for our guests in the holiday cottages .

Hence looking for a squisher !

Andrew

[Andrew]

You can mulch up cardboard with other green waste and simply compost it along with whatever vegetarian animal poo you have access to.

[Chris Hogg]

Most of my plastic bottles are milk bottles. I just tread on them to flatten them - no need for hot water. Fizzy drink or squash bottles are not so easy. I'll try hot water with them..

I do like my glass of wine (hic!), but the recycle people here don't like handling broken glass and ask that it be well wrapped in newspaper or whatever. Whole bottles are OK.

[Lee Nowell]

For the plastic bottles, you can always remove the cap, squash it and then put the cap back on. Since air can't get in it will stay in its flattened state. Can also crush drinks cans before they go in.

[Andy Burns]

Our council has said they don't like stuff to be folded, flattened and squashed in the recycling bin, as it frustrates the automatic sorting equipment ..

[Andy Burns]

Ours will let (even a single occupier household) upgrade from 120l to a

240l recycling bin for free, I think for larger households they have a 360l option.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Andy Burns has brought this to us :

Our council ays the don't mind boxes flattened and torn up to get more in the bin. We don't usually generate much waste anyway, about 1/3 to

1/2 full usually when each (small size) is emptied every alternate week..

[tabbypurr]

You can also shred it & use as cat litter. Little domestic shredders typically want it cutting into strips narrower than A4, look for the slowest feed rate to get the greatest torque.

NT

[Steve Walker]

Except that many councils reject recycling bins with the lids in, because they are made of a different type of plastic.

I hav often thought that some sort of shredder would make sense for plastic bottles.

SteveW

[Steve Walker]

We have 240l recycling bins, but they are only collected once a month and we are a household of 5, so both our black bin (platic bottles, glass, tins, tin-foil) and our blue bin (paper can card) can get quite full.

SteveW

[John Rumm]

A few weeks back we had a sudden windfall of pears, and ultimately there was not much could be done with them but use a snow shovel to load them into the green bin. Pretty much filled it! It must of been well over

50kg of them and it was a bastard to wheel out. The the lorry seemed to empty it with ease.

[John Rumm]

You could try something like:

[Brian Gaff]

Our council ban their use on their bins as it makes tipping them out almost impossible, stuff sticks in them. However we do have bins as tall as I am and really being a single person I'd like smaller ones but apparently the newer vehicles can only handle this size of bins these days. Its about time these waste collecting outfits put their heads together and got a standard sorted out. Brian