The growing population forces communities to build high-rise residential and commercial buildings to conserve space and cater to an area’s increasing number of inhabitants. The problem with this setup is an inflexible and laborious garbage disposal. To address this concern, companies have started building garbage chutes that provide building residents convenience in disposing of their garbage regardless of their floor numbers.
What Are Garbage Chutes?
Garbage chutes are a disposal waste management method that allows high-rise buildings or multistory apartment occupants to dispose of their garbage accordingly without going down to the basement or the centralized dumpster.
The disposal process will enable individuals to throw their trash through an opening that leads to a chute or tube that directly takes the garbage to the centralized container, usually located in the basement.
Why Are Garbage Chutes Important?
Garbage Chutes have several benefits often overlooked by building owners, developers, and building contractors.
Money – Saving
Garbage chutes are expensive to install but have durable materials and advanced technology. Although the price depends on several factors such as the design, size, length, materials, and added features, a regular waste chute’s price ranges from at least a thousand dollars to a couple more.
However, trash chutes are suitable investments, meaning the benefits you get from installing them will outweigh their cost. Most chute materials are stainless steel, galvanized steel, aluminum, and fiberglass, which are unquestionably sturdy. Also, they are corrosion-resistant and easy to maintain, requiring fewer maintenance and repair visits, which allows you to save more. In addition, you don’t need to hire more people to take care of trash since the building occupants can simply grab and throw their trash into the garbage chutes.
Hygienic
Trash chutes require minimal maintenance, but you must regularly maintain them to prevent mold and bacteria build-up. It would help if you avoided this as it may pose a health hazard to the building occupants causing them to have allergies or respiratory problems. Thus, your maintenance team must thoroughly check the chutes for issues, such as improper ventilation, small openings, and poor moisture control. Regularly clean and disinfect the tubes and the dumpster to prevent any harmful chemicals and microorganisms from spreading and affecting the people inside the building.
Sanitization also plays a vital role in keeping the building’s environment clean. People in healthcare and waterworks primarily practice this treatment type. You may do the same to the ducts and the chute’s compactor. Sanitize them using UV light sanitation to kill harmful pathogens and keep the area hygienic and safe.
Space-Saving
Another factor that makes the trash chutes essential to an apartment complex or tall building is that it does not require a bigger space to install ducts or tubes. Garbage chutes only need a narrow opening for the trash, making it the most efficient and best space-saving waste management method you can practice. Additionally, since it is a centralized garbage collection, you will not need to put garbage bins on each floor, which will consume space and affect the building’s interior design and aesthetics.
Fire-Safety
Some trash chutes’ designs and materials can contain and handle fire. In some instances, building owners require their engineers and construction team to install a fire-rated garbage chute to prevent fire from spreading into other parts of the building during fire emergencies. Additionally, with the technology today, you can customize the trash chutes and incorporate ventilation systems, smoke controls, and fire alarms to warn you should there be any fire inside the waste chute.
It is also best to add a fire-rated garbage chute access panel to guarantee a three-hour fire containment allowing the people inside the building to evacuate while waiting for the rescue team safely.
Convenience
Another benefit the building owner and the occupant will take advantage of is convenience. On the building owner’s part, they only need help from the hospitality department to collect the trash from each room or check the trash bins on each floor if they need to empty the dumpster where all the building’s waste goes.
On the other hand, the occupants will hugely benefit from the system. They can save time by going up and down the building to throw their trash into the designated garbage area. This method is way better than waiting and remembering the trash collection day.
Garbage chutes have existed for years, but only a select few chose to install them. Most building owners overlooked the importance of trash chutes. If your building still needs garbage chutes, talk to your building engineer, architect, and interior designer about why your facility should have one. Consider installing it, transform your property, and let your building’s feature attract more renters, customers, and guests.
