Forum: Bins are too deep for rubbish bags to be retrieved easily

PHOTO: LIM ING YEW

I am a resident of Pemimpin Place. I would like to thank waste removal company 800 Super Waste Management for providing daily waste removal services in the Pemimpin area, especially for the work it did during the pandemic.

Workers come every day to clear the garbage and ensure a clean environment. The company also provides each household in the area with two 120-litre bins, one for rubbish and one for recycling.

From my observations, each family in the area produces on average about two supermarket plastic bags full of trash every day. This fills only the bottom of the 120-litre bin, so workers have to bend down and reach deep into the bin to pick the bags up. Some bins are also smelly and unhygienic because they are not washed regularly.

Having to bend down to pick up bags in smelly bins many times a day is tiring and unpleasant, and may hurt workers’ backs in the long run.

As I was concerned about this, I bought a 40-litre rubbish bin online, and modified it so it could be inserted into the 120-litre bin (above), and have been using it for about six months. Now, workers no longer need to bend down to pick up the trash bags when they come to my house. If they see me during their rounds, they give me a thumbs-up.

When I wrote to 800 Super to suggest that it modify the 120-litre bins, it replied that the bin designs are regulated and need to conform to certain standards.

For the safety and health of workers, I urge the authorities to consider redesigning the 120-litre bins used in landed property estates.

Lim Ing Yew

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