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Trash Cans 101 – How to Buy the Right One for Your Office
Trash cans are a
certified must-have in offices of all types and sizes. Sadly, these are usually
taken for granted and are not given as much thought as they deserve.
However, just so you
know, having several trash cans in your office and whether they are communal or
individual will be able to help reduce the amount of waste in and around your
office.
Read on the guide
below to help you determine the number of trash cans required in your office as
well as how you can best use them.
How Much Waste Do Office Workers Make?
Based on studies, an
average office worker can generate up to 2 pounds of paper waste per day, with
paper making up 90% of all wastes in an office. This number doesn’t include yet
those additional wastes coming from food as well as other stuff.
Should You Go for Communal or Individual Trash Cans in
Your Office?
It doesn’t matter if
you have communal or individual trash cans in the office since it not just
decreases the amount of waste that is created as this also increases the
frequency that your workers interact with each other.
But, just so you
know, removing individual trash cans and going for communal garbage stations
with landfill, compost, and recycling sections may help drop the amount of
waste produced. At the same time, it will also increase the recycling and
compost rates. On top of that, having communal trash cans will also have the
obvious benefits for the environment as a whole.
How Many Garbage Cans are Required in an Office?
Prior to going
shopping for new trash cans, make sure you take an inventory of the number of
trash cans that you have at the moment together with their respective sizes.
In case you noticed
that your general trash cans have been kept empty for a long period of time,
with the recycling bins constantly filled to the brim, it might be time for you
to consider getting more recycling bins rather than trash cans.
Below are some other
questions you might want to ask yourself:
- Do you want all employees to have their individual trash cans?
- Would you like to have communal garbage cans instead?
- How many employees are working in each department or area?
- Are your employees working in the office daily?
Based on your
specific needs, you will need different sizes and numbers of trash cans in your
office.
Outlined below is a
list of the different sizes of trash cans and the number of people that they
often serve. Remember that the figures are only averages and these may vary
based on the specific type of workplace and facility where they are used.
- Desk-side
Plastic Trash Cans with 3.5 Gallons
The 3.5 gallon trash cans made from plastic are meant for
personal use. These are great for each employer to have at their respective
desks. But, if your office has an open space floor plan, one of these trash
cans can be shared among several employees.
- Dome
Steel Trash Can with 15 Gallons
A 15-gallon trash can is meant to be used by a maximum of 60
people before it is full.
- Stainless
Steel Trash Can with 33 Gallons
Up to 132 people can use these trash cans before these are
full.
With the help of Courtesy Building Services, Inc, you can be
sure that your trash cans are cleaned and emptied on a regular basis to save
you from any trash problems.