The Wheelie Bin has been increasingly used in the UK for Household Waste and Commercial and Industrial Waste since the late 1980s, replacing metal cylindrical bins at the household and metal wheeled cylindrical bins at businesses (otherwise known as a Paladin). The wheels allow for the ease of movement to and from the waste collection lorry and around the premises where the bin is based.

1100 Litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)
1100 Litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)


Background

The Wheelie Bin has been increasingly used in the UK for Household Waste and Commercial and Industrial Waste since the late 1980s, replacing metal cylindrical bins at the household and metal wheeled cylindrical bins at businesses (otherwise known as a Paladin). The wheels allow for the ease of movement to and from the waste collection lorry and around the premises where the bin is based.

The bins are generally lifted on the rear of a waste collection vehicle (known as a Refuse Collection Vehicle or RCV) for emptying into the compaction unit of the lorry - and the focus for the waste being collected is therefore waste that is generally light and compressible. The compressible nature of the waste therefore allows the truck to gain efficiencies through volume to weight conversion, maximising the weight able to be transported on the waste collection vehicle.

Wheelie Bin Types and Sizes

The most common sizes and types of Wheelie Bin are listed below, with the smaller 120, 180 and 240 litre bins being the most common applications for Household Waste. The pictures and measurements below come from WheelieBinWarehouse and may vary slightly from supplier to supplier. Weights and sack numbers are indicative and from WikiWaste consolidated information from a variety of sources. The European Standard is captured by BSI as BS EN 840 and this sets out the standardisation that, at its core, ensures the same lifting device on the rear of the Refuse Collection Vehicle lorry (known as a comb) to be compatible with all bins complying to the standard. The standard also sets out, amongst other things, minimum measurements and health and safety requirements.

Size (litres) Max. Capacity (kg) No. of Black Bags/Bin General Waste Weight Max. (kg) DMR Max. (kg) Image Dimensions (cm)
120 Litre 48 1 to 3 - -
 
120 litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)
 
120 litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)
180 Litre 72 2 to 4 - -
 
180 litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)
 
180 litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)
240 Litre 96 3 to 5 20 15
 
240 Litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)
 
240 Litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)
360 Litre 144 6 to 7 25 20
 
360 Litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)
 
360 Litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)
660 Litre 270 10 to 12 45 30
 
660 Litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)
 
660 Litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)
1100 Litre 440 12 to 15 70 35
 
1100 Litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)
 
1100 Litre Wheelie Bin image from WheelieBin Warehouse (all rights reserved)

Configurations

Materials

Most Wheelie Bin construction is based upon molded HDPE (2), with the larger 1100 litre and 660 litre bins also available in metal.

Colours

The colour range is extensive, and whilst is broadly intended to link to the type of waste in the bin, this is by no means consistent across the UK. For Commercial and Industrial Waste collection services the bins are often coloured matched to the branding of the business collecting the waste/providing the service. However, in broad terms the following applies:

Applications

The applications can be extensive, some examples include:

  • The use of smaller bins for heavy food and glass waste that does not compress, and is collected in a vehicle without compaction.
  • The use of bins as the 'transporting unit' and not using a Refuse Collection Vehicle or RCV i.e. Clinical Waste transported in the bins in a lorry/truck to the treatment centre where they are emptied, cleaned and returned
  • Use of bins to collect material around a large site, enabling that material to then be bought to a central point for compaction/compression for subsequent transport in the bin that the waste has been compacted into