With regard to biweekly collection of recyclables in a bin, there are two
questions, the first dealing with the capacity of the participants to
remember which week is which. The other is whether a bin will hold two
week's worth of containers.
Based upon the following assumptions concerning the composition of the
container stream which occupies the bin:
Waste
Composition Density
(lbs./cu.yd.)
Plastic 1.7% 39
Aluminum 0.7 74
Steel 1.6 150
Glass 6.3 550
It can be calculated for a typical 12 gallon bin (232 cu.in./gallon) that
the bin will be filled (on average) in 1.5 weeks. That is to say, the bin
would not be large enough. In general, an 18 gallon bin would be required
on average. But, due to the fact that there is signficant variation, there
will be a number of weeks that a participant's bin would overflow. In
those cases, there will be overflow around the bin, slowing down the driver
and leaving litter, or grocery bags etc. might be used ad hoc to
encapsulate the overflow, or participation or capture rates would
deteriorate.
A solution to that problem is to use plastic bags. Bags rated as 30
gallons (but which when closed are actually 24 gallons) will generally be
able to have reasonable overflow capacity. And, in those rare cases where
it does not, the participant can simply deploy a second bag, putting the
full bag in the garage.
Peter
____________________________________
Peter Anderson
RecycleWorlds Consulting
4513 Vernon Blvd. Ste. 15
Madison, WI 53705-4964
Phone:(608) 231-1100/Fax: (608) 233-0011
E-mail:recycle@msn.fullfeed.com