5 Ways to Keep Trash From Freezing
5 Ways to Keep Trash From Freezing In Your Cart This Winter Season
Winter is upon us and that means ice. Unfortunately for us, ice tends to freeze inside of waste receptacles and trap trash in along with it. If trash freezes inside your cart, dumpster, or personal trashcan there really isn’t much we can do. We can bang the container around and try to loosen it up, but that usually ends in a mess. The best way to keep trash from getting frozen inside your container is to prevent ice in the first place. Here are 5 ways to help avoid the trash freezing phenomenon.
1. Keep Carts Indoors (or Under Cover)
One of the best ways to keep water from getting in your container is, of course, to keep it where water can get it. Even if it’s not a warm place, just keeping it inside or under a carport will reduce the chance of ice tremendously. Keeping it warm in a garage or heated shed is even better, but again, just being out of the elements until the night before pick-up day is a big help. This obviously isn’t an option for our dumpsters, but we have some other solutions for them!
2. Keep the Lids Closed and on Tight
If you have one of our dumpsters or carts the best way to keep water from getting in your container and freezing everything up is to keep the lids shut at all times. Lids on carts do pretty well at sealing out the water. Dumpster lids do a decent job, but aren’t 100% effective. They’re better at keeping trash in on a windy day than they are at keeping water out, but they definitely help.
3. Make Sure Your Can Doesn’t Have Cracks or Holes
Cracks and holes in a container can let water in even if you have a lid. Many think that having cracks and holes in a can is great because it lets the water drain out…and they’re right…in any other season but Winter. In the Winter the water freezes as it drains from the can. It also sticks to the sides (yes, water is actually sticky. Fun Fact!) and to the bag and ends up creating a thin layer of ice that can hold loose trash to the inside of the can. Making sure you don’t have cracks or holes along with keeping a lid on your container helps seal out the water.
If you’re using one of our carts or dumpsters and it has cracks or holes please notify us immediately. We can replace it with a container that does not have cracks or holes.
4. Don’t Put Fluid in the Container
This one may seem obvious, but its worth mentioning. Dumping fluid into your can is not a great idea. Even if its in some kind of a container like a bottle or jug. Bottles and jugs can leak, or the fluid inside could start to freeze and break the bottle or jug and the remaining unfrozen fluid could leak out. If putting fluid in your container is hard to avoid the best way to keep it from freezing your trash in is to use trash bags. For more reasons why bagging your trash is important click HERE. If the fluid is contained inside a closed trash bag it can’t freeze the bag and other trash to the can. TA-DA!
5. Spray Your Cart With Non-Stick Spray
If you’ve ever shoveled snow you know how snow builds up on your shovel and makes shoveling difficult. If you spray non-stick spray onto the shovel the snow won’t build up and shoveling is a lot easier. Same concept. The non-stick spray is oil based, so it repels the water and keeps it from adhering to the side of the container as it freezes. This is a last resort, and isn’t 100% effective, but it may help if you’re having serious trash freezing issues.