GB2474874A - Wheelie bin insert - Google Patents

Abstract

A contoured plastics sheet, preferably of HDPE can be inserted into a wheelie bin to transform the inside into separate compartments for waste to be recycled. There may be four compartments, three of which have hinged and handled lids which can be locked using flexible locks (figure C) which locate on the bin lip. One lid may have handles on both sides, may move through a 180 degree arc and may have clips on both sides to lock it to the bin lip. The lids may fit inside the top of the associated wheelie bin. The edges and bottom of the insert may have foam strips which prevent cross-contamination of the compartments. The insert may be secured to the wheelie bin using screw clamps (figure B) tightened onto the bin lip.

Description

Bin insert This invention relates to a device that inserts into a standard wheelie bin and converts the wheelie bin into 4 separate compartments. This invention then allows the existing wheelie bin to be adapted for the purposes of collecting recycling materials (similar to the use of plastic boxes issued by local authorities to residents for the collection of recycling materials). This adaptation of the wheelie bin allows a drastic increase in the collection and storage capacity of recycling materials (over and above the current recycling capacity of the boxes). This invention allows this increase without any modification to the existing wheelie bin design. Furthermore recycling can be made more efficient because recycling materials can then be separated into the adapted wheelie bins compartments'. This separation of recycling materials allows the adapted wheelie bin to be collected and emptied quicker, (this is achieved by using the compartment lids on the device i.e. by closing the lid(s) sealing one or more compartments, then the whole wheelie bin can be lifted and only the unsealed compartment's contents can be divested, (for example by using the existing method of emptying wheelie bins by local authorities refuse trucks), The use of this invention will also overcome many of the problems associated with recycling boxes. Another advantage of the use of my invention could be that local authorities may NOT be forced to collect the recycling materials every week (because of the increased storage capacity of the adapted wheelie bin) thus saving on fuel and labour cost as well at the same time reducing carbon emissions from their lorries due to the reduced usage of the vehicles Optional features The bin insert divider is held firm to the middle of the bin by the attachments of flexible hooks and screws The edges of the bin insert have a strip of rubber foam to help it remain in position and also to help prevent cross contamination between compartments The lids of the bin insert have handles to make it easier to lift and close.

The lids can have small colour coded magnetic symbols on them denoting what recycling material goes into each compartment. For example you could have a red bottle symbol to denote that this particular compartment is for the collection of bottles and glasses.

The use of symbols would also allow the individual household owner to modify' the compartments usage. For example the resident could if needed, symbolise' two compartments for glass and bottle collection if that particular resident had a larger than normal collection of glass materials for collection.Local authority collections teams would be able to see quickly and clearly if two compartments contained the same material for recycling Background to problem that my invention aims to overcome Since 2000 EEC law requires all member states to meet increasing recycling targets which in most cases increase rapidly year by year right up to 2020. This includes the 474 councils of the UK. All council of the UK are required to provide collections for recycling a minimum of 2 different recyclable materials. (The EEC states the 4 main types of recycling material are, plastic, metal, glass and paper/cardboard -also included are household kitchen waste and garden waste.) On this basis all the councils of the UK issue their local residents with various coloured bins of either the standard two wheelie bin or plastic boxes. Most of the councils designate various colours for the wheelie bins and boxes to in order to simplify for their borough residents what type of recycling material goes into each coloured wheelie bin or container. For example the London borough of Barnet issues green wheelie bins for bio-degradable kitchen waste and garden matter, grey bins for non-recyclable non-bio degradable material, blue boxes for the recycling of plastic bottles, cardboard, food tins, drink cans, aerosols and foil. In addition black boxes are issued for paper, glass bottles and jars, magazines, newspapers, junk mail, directories, car and household batteries, clothes, shoes, mobile phones and engine oil.

The problems (which my invention aims to resolve) for this type of recycling are now listed below: The three most important disadvantages of the current system.

a) The box sizes are usually small, approximately 50 litres in capacity -this makes the boxes limited to volume of material that they can hold. The boxes cannot be any larger in capacity for the reason that it would make it difficult for the resident to carry larger capacity boxes due to size and weight.

b) As explained above each box is used to contain the recycling material of various items, these results in an almost Victorian method of collection and sorting manually recycling materials. When local borough teams come to collect the recycling (usually on a designated date of the week) box, all recycling items in the boxes have to be individually sorted picked and placed in a designated container on the diesel lorries which sit by the team of manual recycling workers; that is nearly the same rule for every single recycling box in every single street in nearly all of the 474 councils of the UK! That is approximately over 200,000 tonnes of recycling material sorted per week by hand in only England alone! In addition to this inefficient and slow method of recycling, another disadvantage is that each team has to have a diesel lorry idling next to them pumping out carbon monoxide, inadvertently contributing to carbon monoxide release into the air.

c) Some councils have now started issuing their residents with full size' wheelie bins (of the 24Olitre capacity size), however as reported in the media, one major problem of this method is cross-contamination' of recycling materials between each other (e.g. food and paper contamination). In a large number of cases cross-contamination leads to the whole contents been discarded as unfit for recycling.

Other disadvantages of the above system include: The boxes required to be hidden' inside the boundary of the local resident and then only bought out on the day of collection usually before 7.OOam. The wheelie bins are relatively easy to move by most people including elderly residents.

(c) but the boxes themselves are cumbersome to lift, hold and carry, they can also be very heavy, for example when filled with bottles, jars and telephone directories, this makes them virtually impossible to lift and carry with ease especially for the elderly, infirm and those with physically disadvantages, indeed they are not pleasant even for able-bodied persons to move easily.

(d) Another disadvantage of the boxes are that they are often left open (due to materials overloading and protruding from the top them), this leads to rainwater collection inside them on occasions and indeed sometimes when a person drops bottles and jars in the box there is often liquid material dripping from them and collecting at the bottom of the boxes, thus when a resident lifts a box very often this liquid material seeps out of the fixed holes in the box and usually leaks onto the clothes of the box handler! (e) Another disadvantage is that many local residents are not happy that any and all public especially neighbours can see what a particular household drinks and consumes; few households are pleased that the general public, especially neighbours, can see how much alcohol is consumed by their particular household.

(f) Another disadvantage is that boxes are seen as yet more local government enforced clutter' placed upon the property of residents with the use of so many different coloured boxes, bags and wheelie bin.

(g)Another disadvantage is that local authorities are forced (due to the volume of materials collected. in the small capacity recycling boxes) to provide a weekly collection service.

(h)Another disadvantage is that the boxes are often overflowing with materials that project beyond the top of the boxes making them unable to be closed by lids, this leads to recycling material falling' out off the boxes onto the streets (especially in wet and windy weather) contributing inadvertently to increased street litter.

(I) Finally another problem is that Many residents are also tired' carrying out so many different boxes and then having to carry them back onto their boundaries so very often various box's and bins are simply left on the public streets by residents. This leaves councils faced with the problem of cluttered unsightly and blocked Public Streets.

These problems listed are some of the reasons why there has been such a public backlash against forced recycling, pushing local authorities in some cases to prosecute those residents refusing to recycle and indeed sometimes threatening to fine residents who place their recycling boxes out too early before designated local council recycling days! (Because the clutter' of boxes often overflowing with materials looks unsightly also with materials falling out of the boxes onto the streets)... It has however been shown that dispute these issues 9 out of 10 persons have said that they would recycle more IF IT WAS MADE EASIER List of pictures: Picture 1-shows the bin insert (in a 3 dimensional view) with the three lids Picture 2-shows the bins insert without the lids in a three dimensional view Picture 3-shows the bin insert (with the lids) inside a standard wheelie bin (cut away section) Picture 4-shows a view from an above aspect of the bin insert with the lids in a closed position Picture 5-shows a view from an above aspect of the bin insert with the lids in a semi-open position The invention will now be described how it will overcome these problems To overcome the limitations and problems described earlier my invention proposes that the current wheelie bin to be fitted with the bin insert This bin insert allows the current wheelie bin to be divided into four compartments, thus allowing recycling to be made more efficient because recycling materials can then be dropped into separated compartments of the wheelie bin, rather then than all been mixed together in recycling boxes or recycling wheelie bins (as described on page 4 paragraph(b). The use of the adapted wheelie bin will also allow a drastic increase in recycling volumes from the approximate standard 50 litres limit capacity of the boxes up to approximately 300 litres capacity by the use of the adapted wheelie bin. That is almost 6 times more (using the 300 litres wheelie bins) recycling capacity than that the standard 50 litres boxes, overcoming the problem described on page 4 paragraph (a). The use of the adapted wheelie bin also overcomes the problem of carrying heavy boxes onto the street for collection as described on page 6 paragraph(c). The use of the adapted wheelie bin also help prevent the problem of unwanted seeping liquids as described on page 6 paragraph(d). The use of the adapted wheelie bin also overcomes the problem of privacy, as described on page 6 paragraphs (e), since the adapted wheelie bin will still have its main outer' lid that can be closed so the contents are concealed from general viewing. The use the adapted wheelie bin also overcomes the problem described on page 5 paragraph(f) that there are so many different recycling boxes and bins adding to the clutter' on peoples properties, the adapted wheelie bin will in effect occupy almost the same floor space as a standard recycling box. Another substantial advantage to the use of my invention would be a possible reduction in the problem listed on page 6 paragraph (g) Local authorities would then be able to collect recycling materials every other week or possibility only having to collect every 3 or 4 weeks thus producing substantial saving on fuel and labour cost whilst also cutting their carbon monoxide emissions to the atmosphere from the lorries non-weekly collections. Another advantage of the use of my invention would a reduction in the problem described in page 7 paragraphs (i). Local residents would only have to wheel' 1 or 2 wheelie bins back and forth from their property and the public street.

Detailed description of my invention and its construction and with references to the accompanying pictures and figures My invention is a thin shaped plastic sheet insert made of H.D.P.E. plastic with three lids attached by hinges (marked i -figure A)at the top of the insert -as shown in picture 1. The insert is shaped and sized to fit inside the middle centre of a standard wheelie bin. The top of the insert (with the lids) does not exceeding the top of the wheelie bin.Attached to the top of the insert are three lids mounted on hinges -(marked ii figure A). the lids are also made of HDPE plastic. Also attached to the lids are handles (marked iii figure A). To begin the process of applying the bin insert into the wheelie bin, the insert is pushed firmly into the middle of the wheelie bin then using the flexible locks (shown on figure (B) -but not shown on any pictures) the screws (marked 1 figure B) will be tightened into the underneath of the bin lip' (at the points marked 4 figure B).

This allows the insert to be locked into position avoiding any misalignment and movement within the wheelie bin as the bin is been moved or emptied. Once the insert is in place inside the wheelie bin the insert then converts the wheelie bin into four compartments (in this case into four compartments) . This allows recycling material to be separated by local residents prior to collection by local authorities. For example compartment one could contain bottles and jars, compartment two could contain plastics, compartment three could contain tins and aluminium and compartment four could contain papers, newspapers, junk mail.Once the lid(s) is closed on one (or more) compartments, then the lid(s) can be locked to that compartment side by the use of flexible plastic locks (as shown in figure c-i) -(but not shown on any pictures).

my invention also takes into account the fact that of all the most common recycling material collected by local authorities from domestic residents, glass and bottle are generally the heaviest domestic collected recycling material, and therefore using my invention, glass and bottles would always be placed in the open compartment that has no lid, and further this compartment would always be emptied first, due to weight.) An example of an operation of emptying a four compartment wheelie bin follows: By using my four compartment wheelie bin council operators would first empty the open compartment' (containing the bottles and jars), the other three compartments with lids remain closed (and locked) at this time. Once the first compartment (containing glass and bottles) has been cleared, then the bin is put down and the first lid (marked x -figure A) would be unlocked and the bin once again lifted and then that compartment's contents (for example aluminium and tins) are emptied. Again when the bin has been put down then the second lid (marked V figure A) would be unlocked and again the contents of this compartment can be emptied (for example this compartment containing plastics). Once again when the bin is put down then the third lid (marked z figure A) can be unlocked and the contents of that compartment (for example newspapers and papers) are then emptied. The type of waste truck to use could be a duel' container waste truck as used by local authorities to empty entire recycling wheelie bins-as found on larger property estates). Once the wheelie bin has been emptied of its recycling material it is left near the boundary of the resident and then simply wheeled back onto the resident property by the residents themselves.

Claims (4)

1. Claims 1 a contoured shaped sheet made of HDPE plastic that inserts into the middle of a standard wheelie bin transforming the inside of the wheelie bin into four separate compartments.
2. 2 The insert according to claim 1, is contoured to fit the shape and form the inside middle of a wheelie bin including the base of the bin.
3. 3 The insert according to claim 1, is secured to the wheelie bin by two hinge screws.
4. 4 The insert according to claim 2 has a strip of rubber foam along its edges and on the bottom of the insert, but not on the top of the insert.the insert according to claim 1, has at the top, hinges, which are attached to three lids that is also made of H.D.P.E plastic 6 The lids according to claim 5 are also contoured to fit inside the top of a wheelie bin.7 the first lid has a handle on both sides according to claim 5 to allow easy movement in 180 degree arc 8 the first lid according to claim 7 has two flexible lock clips located on both sides that act to lock the lid to either one or the other side of the wheelie bin lip.