Many Glasdon litter bins are available with a choice of zinc-coated steel or moulded plastic liners. Which one is right for you?
Steel liners are required where our Firexpire™ Fire Safety Device is fitted, and strongly recommended for bins with smoking control features like stubber plates or integral ashtrays.
One area where moulded plastic liners have a distinct advantage is noise - emptying a bin that has a plastic liner is noticeably quieter.
Plastic liners are significantly lighter than steel equivalents - the metal versions can weigh up to 75% more. This can make a big difference to operators, particularly street cleansing teams who may empty hundreds of bins a day.
Our steel liners are treated with a zinc coating to extend their service life, and we would always recommend the use of a sack to speed the emptying process. No coating lasts forever, though, and there's one culprit in particular that speeds the destruction of steel: soft drinks.
Most of us remember the pH scale from school: substances are scored on a 0-14 scale, where 0 is extremely acidic, 14 extremely alkali, and 7 is neutral. Most soft drinks rate 2-3, similar to lemon or orange juice. Drinks cans are usually thrown away before they're completely empty, and those remaining dregs slosh around in the bin until it's emptied.
Acidic liquids will, over time, eat away at many metals and accelerate the corrosion process - though it's not quite as spectacular as the "tooth in a can of cola" type of urban legend may lead you to believe! For areas where a large amount of the litter generated is drinks-related, we would always recommend a plastic liner where possible for this reason.
Marine environments can also compromise steel's longevity. Salt water exposure will speed the rusting process, and we would always recommend a corrosion-free litter bin (such as those made from Durapol™ or Enviropol™ Material) with a moulded plastic liner for these areas.
