How To Stop Your Wheelie Bin From Blowing Over

On the Far North Coast of NSW in the Ballina Shire we generally have great weather, but when it rains it pours! And along with the rain can come some high winds. It wasn’t that long ago when a cyclone tore through Lennox Head leaving a trail of destruction.

Due to Ballina Council requirements (see my post on Codes of practice) our wheelie bins need to be at the kerbside ready for collection in plenty of time. If we miss that deadline it can be a real nuisance, leaving the bin overflowing for 2 weeks. If you do miss bin day, you can always give Coastal Bin Busters a call to have your bins emptied.

The council wants us to have the bins in place by 5am which means that you generally have to put them out the night before unless you’re an early riser, and in turn leaving them exposed to the elements for longer.

If you work all day and or are not home when they are emptied there’s a good chance that they will be left on the side of the road until you get home. I’ve seen them still on the kerb the next day. Here are few tips.

The Obvious Solution

There is no real easy answer but let’s look at the best and obvious ones.

1. Put them out at 5 am
2. Keep a look out for the council truck and put them out just before
3. Take the bins in as soon as they have been emptied

These are probably the riskiest as you will chance missing the collection and taking them in is just impossible if you’re not there.

Tell me what you do!

There isn’t much you can do stop them blowing over at those times but keeping your bin upright in it’s stored location is easier than you think.

Keeping Your Bin Safe

I still have to say that putting your wheelie bin out at 5 am is definitely the best way to minimise exposure to the wind and elements and then bringing them in as soon as you can.

These next 5 things will stop you Wheelie Bin from Blowing over when they are not being used.

1 – Make sure your bin is full but not overflowing so that the lid cannot be closed. The heavier the bin the more stable it is but need to keep in mind that Ballina Shire council has a weight limit of 60kgs. If the lid is raised up from overflowing rubbish it acts as a sail and blows open, often taking a load of rubbish with it.

Compact your rubbish to maximise weight.

2 – Store you bins next to a wall, fence or hedge. This will shelter it from any high winds

3 – If you bin is next to a solid structure such as a wall or fence, attach a hook to the wall and lock in you bins to the hook. This is something that Coastal Bin Busters will be selling in the future.

4 – Always store your bins on firm, level ground, preferably a concrete plinth is the best. An unstable wheelie bin is more prone to falling over.

5 – Tie your bins together, this works as it creates the effect of a large immoveable object and so will not blow over. How ever this is not very practical and doesn’t look that good.

Do not place rocks or other heavy object on the lid and this can cause injuries and create manual handling difficulties. The same can be said about putting something heavy in the wheelie bin, DON’T DO IT!

Coastal Bin Busters has some great ideas for the future and plan to offer a service where we will build a bin bay for you, watch this space.