Is It Best to Push or Pull a Heavy Dumpster?

DJ Products' Dumpster Caddy Reduces Workplace Injuries
DJ Products’ Dumpster Caddy Reduces Workplace Injuries

Deciding whether to push or pull a loaded dumpster can have a significant impact on your health, and the health of your employees. Moving several hundred pounds of trash and metal unassisted is never easy and can be close to impossible if the surface isn’t completely flat and smooth.

Pushing or Pulling – Which is Better?

In most cases, pushing a dumpster will result in less strain on your back and is generally safer since it cannot end up rolling over you if you fall down. Even so, a fully loaded dumpster can weigh half a ton or more, making it extremely difficult to move even with two people on the job.

How to Alleviate the Problem

Dumpster tugs are designed to work around the problem of forcibly moving a dumpster by giving you a way to use a powered device to help move it along. Our tugs are designed to be operated by only one person, making it less likely that you will need multiple employees to handle trash collecting activities. In a hotel or apartment complex environment, this frees up maintenance workers to focus on more pressing matters surrounding the comfort of your guests and residents.

DJ Products has developed dumpster tugs that make moving trash around extremely simple. To find out more about how our products can benefit your business, give us a call at 1-800-686-2651

What Makes Dumpsters so Dangerous?

DJ Products' Dumpster Caddy Reduces Workplace Injuries
DJ Products’ Dumpster Caddy Reduces Workplace Injuries

It’s easy to think of dumpsters as safe, since they are basically large inanimate objects. However, these massive metal structures tend the be the starting point for many workplace injuries. Loading, cleaning, and relocating a dumpster can be very hazardous to both employees and tenants.

Manage the injury risk at your workplace by taking a fresh look at the dangers surrounding dumpsters and waste containers. This rental dumpster blog sums up what everybody should know:

  • The ground around a dumpster must be kept clean to prevent slips and falls.
  • Clean dumpsters with disinfectant on a routine basis to stop the spread of illness and deter pests.
  • Dumpsters should be carefully placed in safe locations. Moving them requires machinery like a dumpster caddy because manual pushing and pulling carries major injury risk.
  • Workers should use proper lifting technique when loading a dumpster. Use side openings for large, heavy objects.
  • Use motion sensor lights to keep the area safe for nighttime workers.
  • Clearly label the dumpster with safety warnings — no one should climb in, hazardous materials should not be deposited, and workers should not move the container without a dumpster caddy and proper safety equipment.

Prevention is the best policy when it comes to worker injuries while using a dumpster. Safety gloves are a must; goggles and air filter masks are recommended. Make sure your employees know safe techniques for lifting heavy objects and trash bags.

If workers need to move a dumpster, be wary of manually pushing the dumpster, even if it’s on wheels. The dumpster caddy from DJ Products automates this process and virtually eliminates the risk of muscle injuries and runaway carts.

For Condo Property Managers Dumpster Cleanliness is Job One

Keep Your Renters Happy
Keep Your Renters Happy

Bells and whistles are nice, but property management has to start with getting the basics right. For residents, this begins with clean and efficient trash service.

Keeping the dumpster areas clean helps in three important ways: maintaining a great atmosphere for residents, preventing pest infestations, and preventing worker injuries.

Here’s what safety experts recommend for dumpster cleanliness:

  • Avoid overstuffing. Even if it fits, the next person will be tempted to leave trash on the ground or let the dumpster. You may need an extra dumpster or more frequent disposal if this is a frequent problem.
  • No loose items. Everything other than bulk items should go in heavy-duty trash bags. Kitchen trash bags should be combined into larger, stronger trash bags. Most importantly, all food waste should be bagged.
  • Keep the surroundings clear. Trash on the ground brings pests and lets filth build up. It’s also a tripping hazard.
  • Place signs with instructions. Prohibited items, recycling guidelines, and safety practices should be posted for both condo employees and residents.
  • Move dumpsters safely between collection sites and pick-up sites. Efficient trash systems tend to be cleaner. With a motorized dumpster tugger it’s easy to place dumpsters where people can easily use them, then have staff members move them to garages or pick-up spots for disposal.

A dumpster tugger helps you keep trash areas safe and clean. Need to move the dumpster because of construction or special events? Want to move dumpsters from a garage to the street? One employee can easily maneuver it across the property.

Learn more at DJProducts.com about using a dumpster tugger or bin mover to improve condo management.