Ashley explained what you must never do if you want to avoid waste collectors swerving your bin
A bin man has warned people not to jump into their wheelie bins – and revealed what happens when they become too heavy. Refuse collector Ashley regularly shares his top tips and insider secrets on social media.
In a recent clip, the self-described “bin-fluencer” answered a question about whether there is a weight limit for general waste bins. Ashley warned viewers against climbing into bins to squash rubbish down.
He said: “I see many people, including myself, jumping in. Don’t jump in the bin, cos if you compact it too much, it’s not gonna come out to fit more in.”
The bin man explained that overloaded bins can easily break due to the strain placed on them. Ashley said: “Normally, what happens is, if we can’t move the bin, right, they are only plastic.
“So, it’s not gonna handle much weight if you’re going up and down kerbs. If you go down the kerb and it busts the wheel. You’re gonna have a broken bin, and next time they won’t be taken cos they won’t be able to pull it.”
Instead, Ashley encouraged people to recycle more and spread rubbish across different bins rather than overloading general waste.
He added: “Just take it to the tip, maybe probably recycle more. Use the other bins instead of just your general waste bin, it helps everybody. And your other bins will get as not as full and they won’t be as heavy for the bin man.”
Ashley also warned about the physical toll heavy bins can have on refuse workers. He said: “Please do not overfill your bins and make them really heavy because, you know, it’s just not fun, trying to move a heavy bin, putting your back out.
“Normally if you go and grab a bin and your arm stays where it is and the rest of your body goes, you’re like, oh, that normally means it’s too much. If you can’t move it, how do you expect us to move it?”