Skip to content

Have you ever thought about the bins in your facility? Literally, really sat down and thought about what’s potentially one of the most overlooked items in your armoury?  With increasing landfill costs and demand for zero waste, the importance of waste management and recycling grows. 

In this blog, we’ll put the humble bin under the microscope.  we’ll run through why you may be spending too much on wasteToo much of your;

  1. Time
  2. Money
  3. Resource
  4. Capacity
  5. Energy

1. Time

Imagine that you use just 1 standard 120L black bin bag a day in your business.  In 2018, there are 261 working days, so your business uses 261 bin bags a year.   We’ve carried out extensive research and our findings show it takes 102 seconds to change a bag – empty, re-line and collect new bin liner.  Sounds insignificant but it equates to over 7 hours a year – for one bin.   How many bins do you have in your facility?

2. Moneypointless plastic

Have you ever asked yourself why your waste collection costs so are high? When you empty that one bin, how full is it?  OK, an average bin bag costs 8p but would you be surprised if we told you that, on average, a bin is only 30-40% full when emptied.   That’s such a waste (pun intended – sorry) and certainly not an advert for corporate sustainability!  A waste of time, money and valuable resource (plastic).  How many bins do you have in your facility?

3. Resource

So, time is money.  So, lets now look at your staff, the guys on the coal face emptying these more than half empty bins.   Based on current UK minimum wage (£7.83 per hour for workers aged over 25), those 7 hours in #1 start to make real sense.  That pesky bin is costing you £54.81 a year to empty.  How many bins do you have in your facility?

4. Capacity

Space is at a premium and always in short supply.  All those half empty bags clogging up your 1100L wheelie bins are costing you money.  If it’s general waste for the landfill, it’s costing you up to £140 per tonne.  DSC_1984

5. Energy

Back to the 261 bin bags, all made from plastic.  It takes 26kg of plastic and 1kg of cardboard (packaging), generating 77KG of CO2 emissions each year.    Now, how many bins do you have in your facility?   

You could reduce your CO2 waste bag footprint by up to 70% if you switch to the Longopac bin liner systemTrusted by 100’s a major UK brands, including Greggs, TK Maxx and Jaguar Land Rover to support their Corporate Sustainability and Zero Waste goals.


In conclusion, you can stay in the present or be part of the future with innovation in waste management that can save you time, money, resource, capacity and reduce your carbon footprint by up to 70%.

Keen to learn more? 

Recycling laws in Wales have changed. Is your business compliant?

X