Frozen Dumpster Fixes
No one at home wants to take the trash out when the wind is blowing and the snow is flying. This is true for businesses too. Employees skip putting on a coat, toss the trash, and hurry back inside. Winter weather can be problematic for your garbage service as well. Here’s a few things to look out for to ensure your trash and recycling gets picked up as usual.
Here’s some additional cold weather hints for your residential service too! Stay safe out there as you dart to and from your dumpster. And keep your head up, spring is on it’s way!
Container blocked by snow and cannot be dumped
Prevent Blocked or Icy Access
Remember to clear your gates and corral area. If the gates can’t open wide enough, the containers can’t be emptied. Also be sure to clear an access way to your dumpster. The dumpster area is often the last snow to be removed, but the weight of the truck compacts the snow into a sheet of ice that can result in a safety hazard for your driver and for you.
Coral pins can become frozen. Please use salt and make sure the doors can open fully.
Corral Gates Need to Open
If you have a dumpster corral with doors, the corral pins which hold the doors close can freeze. (The pins are the moveable poles that secure into the ground.) Those frozen poles are nearly impossible to break free, even for the toughest garbage man. Your employees can go around the gates to dump the trash, but your driver has to access them. To ensure your trash gets picked up, place salt around the corral pins to keep them loose. There are also often secondary pin holes that secure gates when they are swung open.
Lids left open, causing frozen contents to stick to the inside of the dumpster
The Trouble with Frozen or Wet Contents
Wet items and garbage bags will freeze to your dumpster in these cold winter conditions. Frozen items make it difficult for your driver to empty your dumpster. Sometimes frozen garbage can remain lodged inside. Close your lids and keep out the ice and snow.