Tips For Getting People To Use Your Recycling Containers

It’s frustrating to deploy a bunch of recycling containers and then find people are still throwing plastic bottles and such in the trash. Over our years in the industry we’ve come across a few tips that can make your recycle bins busier than ever.

Make Sure People Can Find Them

Don’t make the mistake of shoving recycling containers into some forgotten corner. Yes they are waste receptacles so you don’t want to put them up on pedestals in the middle of the room under a spotlight, but you don’t want to make them a secret either. A recycle bin should stand out from the surroundings so people notice it and use it.

Then again you don’t want to be pushy about it. The bins should catch people’s eye but shouldn’t be intrusive or tacky. They shouldn’t be the focus of the room or detract from the furnishings. Our bins come in a range of colors and designs to allow you to find that sweet spot that balances visibility with aesthetics.

Customize Your Bin

Not all recycling containers have to look like the bins you get from your city program. Government bins are colored to be clearly visible to city sanitation crews, and designed to accommodate the truck’s retrieval equipment than to be attractive. When you are placing bins in your facility, whether it’s a warehouse or an office or a ballroom, opt for bins that compliment your decor rather than being eyesores.

We offer bins in over twenty colors and a range of pleasing designs to fit any design scheme. Find the right size to accommodate the space. You wouldn’t put the same kind of a bin in a dressing room that you’d put in a warehouse. For multiple streams you can buy multiple containers, or you can buy a single receptacle with multiple openings.

And, yes, we also sell those big and ugly, er, less-than-beautiful bins that city governments love so much.

Location, Location, Location

Recycling containers stuffed in a distant corner are going to accumulate fewer recyclables than bins put next to building entrances. It’s human nature that we are more likely to use something close at hand than something across the room. Position your containers near paths of high traffic for the convenience of your visitors and you’ll see a significant rise in collections.

Few facilities can manage the goal of 100% recycling so you will need to consider trash disposal as well. Always put trash and recycling containers next to each other. If you separate them then you increase the amount of contamination in each waste stream as people toss recyclables into nearby trash rather than recycle bins a few steps away. Many of our multi-opening receptacles include a trash aperture so that it can be easily included with other waste streams.

Plan your recycling containers for visibility and accessibility to motivate an enormous increase in recycling participation.