Waste Containers - Curbside Waste Containers

Curbside Waste Containers

Curbside waste containers usually consist of three types: trash cans (receptacles often made of tin, steel or plastic), dumpsters (large receptacles similar to skips) and wheelie bins (light, usually plastic bins that are mobile). All of these are emptied by collectors who will load the contents into a garbage truck and drive it to a landfill, incinerator or crusher facility for disposal. The standard-sized UK wheelie bin household collection is 240 litres or more.

In certain areas there is also a recycling service, often with one or more dedicated bins intended to receive items that can be recycled into new products. These bins are sometimes separated into different categories (usually represented by colours) which determine what materials can be inserted into the bin. The contents of the bins are taken to a recycling plant to be processed, and there are various systems for recycling-bin collection: single-bin-combined stream systems, multiple-bin systems, and cyclic collections with different materials collected on different days.

In some countries there are large (5 cubic meters and more) waste containers serving several buildings. Special garbage trucks have been developed for raising these heavy containers and emptying them. Another option is a truck that replaces the container with a clean one, and takes the whole container to the garbage depot.