Dumpster Tips Archives

What Things Should Never Go Into Your Dumpster?

Wondering whether that plastic bottle of cleaning spray can go into the dumpster? At your work place, employees and visitors are wondering similar questions all the time. Find out what items can’t be thrown away and post a list near dumpsters to prevent messy and dangerous situations!

Toxic Chemicals

Items that contain hazardous chemicals include batteries, electronics, and light bulbs. Many household cleaners and hygiene products also contain chemicals that should not be put into landfills.

Flammable Materials

Dumpster fires might start with a match or cigarette butt, but the fuel typically comes from flammable waste thrown into the dumpster. These include oil, lubricants, paint, and fuels including gasoline, butane, and propane.

In restaurants and commercial kitchens, tell staff to never discard oil-soaked rags or aprons. These should be soaked in water first or taken to a hazardous waste drop-off.

Items That Are Illegal to Throw Away

Many of the above items are prohibited by local laws and the rules of your waste removal service. Other illegal or banned items may include sharps, thermometers, smoke detectors, tires, and treated lumber.

Some cities have begun outlawing food waste in the trash, making compost bins mandatory. Stay ahead of the game so your business is prepared for any new environmental rules on the horizon!

Use a Dumpster Mover for Convenience

Dumpsters come with many rules, regulations, and safety concerns. Make things simple with a dumpster mover that just one employee can use.

Our WasteCaddy dumpster mover can tow 5,000 pounds, while the WasteCaddyLite can push a standard commercial dumpster weighing up to 2,000 pounds. Contact us if you’d like a free demo!

Dumpster Tips: What Should Never Be Put Into a Dumpster?

Dumpsters Weigh Tons and Can Cause Terrible Accidents if Not Handled Correctly.

Inventions like the dumpster are ideal for safely disposing of a surplus of potential safety hazards. Well-organized work environments are important for employees and businesses as a whole. Knowing what you can put in a dumpster is important to those running a business and those in the garbage disposal sector.

A dumpster mover makes dumpster transport and positioning a simple task. Our dumpster movers are problem solvers that facilitate safe environments.

Trash or Stash?

Dumpsters help in many ways but need guidelines to use. Specifically, there are 10 materials that don’t belong in a dumpster. To ensure safe and thorough disposal avoid putting these materials in the dumpster container:

– Appliances

– Batteries

– Electronics

– Gas and oil

– Light bulbs

– Paint/Flammable Solvents

– Pesticides

– Recyclable material

– Tires

– Yard waste (twigs, grass clippings, leaves)

The less contact your workers have with handling trash or potential hazards the better. It can be exhausting to repetitively go over all the precautions that are required when dealing with dumpsters or moving heavy loads.

Dedicated employees shouldn’t have to worry about their own safety when handling dumpsters. Solutions like the dumpster mover cater to their needs and yours. Injuries on the job can become a hindrance to your business and your employees’ livelihood. You can stop hazardous practices on site by using precision machinery.

DJ Products Dump the Danger

A battery-powered dumpster mover takes the human error factor out of the equation. It acts as a profit protector and automated extra pair of hands. Save your employees for the tasks they should be focusing on and you’ll save on long-term costs in the future. Back strain, muscle pain and other symptoms of handling heavy objects should be a thing of the past. DJ Products protects your interests and employees!

Tips for Keeping Your Dumpster Clean and Pest-Free

It’s Natural for Trash to Smell. We Have Some Tips to Protect Against the Pests it May Attract.

Garbage attracts roaches, rodents, and other pests. You can significantly reduce your risk of an infestation with proper dumpster management and by keeping dumpster areas clean.

You should keep dumpsters at least 50 feet away from your business, but most pest control professionals recommend placing dumpsters 100 feet or more away from the nearest entry door. Many businesses don’t do this because manually moving trash containers is strenuous work and takes a lot of time.

Dumpster moving equipment

Proper trash management requires frequent removal of trash from buildings. WasteCaddy trash container movers use a 36 Volt 3 battery system to move dumpsters weighing up to 2,000 lbs. A WasteCaddy is like having another employee without the associated costs.

Additionally, waste container movers reduce the likelihood of workplace injuries. Manually moving trash containers causes back strains, shoulder injuries, and falls. Powered tugs maneuver in tight spaces, work on inclines, and on snow or ice.

Lids keep pests out

Be sure your dumpsters have lids that function and seal correctly. If lids become damaged, have them repaired or replaced promptly. Small pests can easily fit under bent lids. Larger pests maneuver lids open when the mechanisms designed to keep them closed are broken.

Clean trash bins regularly

Powered dumpster moving equipment saves money and time. Your staff will have more time to eliminate smells by cleaning dumpsters. Also, you could hire a professional dumpster cleaning service.

Dumpster moving equipment can save money on pest control services, workers comp claims, and eliminate much of the stress associated with garbage management. Contact DJ Products to speak with one of our friendly and knowledgeable sales engineers.

Communities Focus on Reducing Solid Waste – Can You Help?

How quickly does your dumpster get filled up? Many communities are working to save the environment by focusing on reduction of solid waste. Here are some ways you can join the fight.

Tips to Reduce Solid Waste

1. Throw Fewer Things Away

Common sense dictates that the fewer things you throw away, the less garbage you’ll have. Get into the habit of thinking twice before automatically disposing of an item. Has it really outlived its usefulness? Maybe you can repurpose the item or pass it along to someone else who can put it to use.

2. Be Mindful of Packaging

Earthworks Group, a consulting firm that specializes in sustainability projects, says that packaging comprises approximately one-third of the contents of our country’s landfills.

Even if your business doesn’t actually package products, it uses items that come in packages. Look for suppliers that use minimal packaging made from recycled materials.

3. Promote Recycling

Recycling pays double dividends. It keeps items out of landfills and reduces the need for natural resources.

Some of the more common recycling programs include:

• Curbside recycling containers for widely-used items such as newspapers, glass bottles and aluminum containers

• Community recycling centers or recycling zones

• Composing programs that gather organic waste for mulch or landfill cover

Improve Operations with an Electric Dumpster Pusher

No matter how heavy your dumpster gets, a single employee can move it safely and efficiently using a dumpster pusher from DJ Products. Call 800.686.2651 to learn more about products like our best-selling WasteCaddyLite, which can move loads of up to 2,000 pounds.

What Isn’t Safe to Throw Away in Your Dumpster?

Some things shouldn’t be thrown away because recycling them is so easy—like aluminum cans. Other things truly cannot be thrown away because of laws, regulations, or a company’s environmental ethics. If your organization has not established what items are unacceptable for the dumpster, then it’s time to make a list.

At DJ Products, we’re often stressing the importance of safety for employees who use and maneuver dumpsters with our WasteCaddy dumpster mover. It’s also important to be safe about what items go into the dumpster, in terms of both worker injury and eco-friendly practices.

Common Items That You Can’t Throw Away in a Dumpster

Prohibited items can vary depending on state and local laws or the rules of your trash collection service. Whether prohibited or not, you should think twice about these kinds of items:

• Items with environmental hazards: computers, electronics, rechargeable batteries, appliances that contain refrigerant such as mini fridges and window air conditioners, CFL light bulbs and other items containing mercury.

• Flammable items: gasoline, butane, and other fuels, oil and lubricants, and liquids such as paint, varnish, and wood stain.

• Other dangerous materials: medical supplies such as syringes, sharps, and scalpels. For dangerous items like broken glass and ceramics, use heavy paper bags to prevent injury.

• Check with your city or collection company: construction and demolition waste including dirt, rock, concrete, drywall, roofing shingles, etc.

More About Dumpster Safety

Many of our clients purchase a WasteCaddy dumpster mover after discovering that an alarming percentage of worker compensation claims are related to dumpster duty. Contact us at DJ Products or read more about our WasteCaddy dumpster mover and bin pullers.

What Steps Can You Take to Deter Dumpster Diving at Your Facility

Although one man’s trash might be another man’s treasure, your business probably does not want its dumpsters to be treated as a free-for-all. Dumpster divers leave behind an ugly mess that can be dangerous. You may also have sensitive, proprietary information that you don’t want to fall into the wrong hands.

We recommend using the WasteCaddy so any employee can safely transport dumpsters to locked areas when not in use. Your organization can also learn some tricks from the self-storage industry.

Tales of Dumpster Diving

Storage facilities are ripe targets for dumpster diving because quality items are often discarded by people who don’t have any other options. The Storage Facilitator blog recounts tales of dumpster divers visiting every night, and unfortunately, failing to pick up after themselves.

One man rented storage units at various facilities just to gain (technically legal) access to the dumpsters. The token amount of business was far outweighed by the constant mess.

Tips to Discourage Dumpster Diving

Some of the best ways to deter people from digging through trash include:

• Always lock dumpsters so only maintenance staff has access.

• Locate dumpsters in a locked parking lot after hours.

• Use a powered dumpster mover like the WasteCaddy for an easier time moving and relocating dumpsters.

• Provide smaller trash cans for customers and employees and empty them regularly.

• Routinely send scrap metal and other desirable debris to recycling facilities.

Moving dumpsters behind locked gates is an easy solution, but manually pushing dumpsters carries a huge injury risk. Talk to us at DJ Products about how the WasteCaddy or WasteCaddyLite can help keep your facility clean and secure.

Prevent Dumpster Hazards With Our Tips

Dumpster Safety Tips Include Using a Dumpster Mover.

The expression “dumpster fire” often gets thrown around as a humorous metaphor, but a real dumpster fire is no joke. Lives can be lost and buildings burnt to rubble when a dumpster catches fire and acts like an enormous torch.

Besides fire hazards, dumpsters can also lead to muscle injuries for workers, slip-and-fall accidents, and general health hazards from fumes or chemicals.

Here are 5 tips to eliminate most sources of dumpster hazards:

Post signs and educate workers about hazardous waste. Learn what substances that are present on site may be combustible, toxic, or corrosive. Let employees and tenants know what items cannot be placed in the dumpster, and post dumpster warning signs.
Never transport dumpsters manually. Dumpsters can easily tip over when being moved, lifted, or tilted. The weight may not be distributed evenly inside the dumpster. Use motorized dumpster tugs to push the container smoothly, especially on rough or inclined ground.
Keep dumpsters locked or inaccessible when possible. Trespassers or unauthorized people may deposit hazardous waste intentionally or otherwise. Dumpster divers may leave broken glass, sharp metal, or other hazards on the ground.
Prohibit smoking near dumpsters. Cigarette butts, lighter fluid, and other combustible substances are often the cause of dumpster fires.
Empty dumpsters regularly. Overfilled dumpsters create spill and tripping hazards. The extra weight also makes it more dangerous to maneuver. Use automated equipment like dumpster tugs and self-emptying systems, and stick to a frequent removal schedule.

Do you have team members who need to tow a dumpster manually? Take care of this big injury concern with battery-powered dumpster tugs that are easy to control!

Tag: Dumpster Tips