Bins & Ashtrays

Common Good: Public Space

Urban spaces belong to all of us, which is why we should care about keeping the available spaces and squares clean. Carelessly thrown rubbish can unfortunately soon turn an attractive environment into an unpleasant place – along with various other accompanying problems. And yet the strategy to prevent this littering problem is both easy and obvious: Setting up bins and ashtray bollards can permanently counteract squalor!   According to a Europe-wide study, the following make up most of the litter in public spaces (source: Vienna University of Economics and Business - Vogel, Gerhard, Ableidinger, Martina. 2003.):

• At approx. 58%, cigarette butts are the most frequently discarded objects
• 11.6% of rubbish is made of plastic
• Organic waste makes up 9.8% of rubbish
• Paper and cardboard are responsible for 8,8% of litter
• Packaging makes up 5.8% of rubbish
• At 3.9%, metal can almost go unattended.

Another study found that, with a quota of around 52%, disposable packaging is responsible for much of the rubbish piling up in public spaces. Also of interest is the finding that it is primarily objects up to 200 mm in size which are disposed of carelessly in our surroundings.  

Anti-littering measures

It is very easy and cheap for cities, communities and municipalities to combat these eyesores. Bins or even ashtrays set up smartly in highly frequented locations offer alternatives to expensive measures like extra inspectors, tight checks or excessive cleaning. The following requirements are generally placed on bins and ashtray bollards in public spaces:

• Solid construction and high resistance to vandalism and the elements
• An attractive appearance, blending in with any other street furniture
• Impressive value for money

The ABES bin and ashtray products are designed with these three requirements in mind.  

Public bins

The ABES bins have capacities ranging from 30 litres to 75 litres. Base models are made of steel which (like all products in this category) can be either hot-dip galvanised or powder-coated. Each bin can also be freely tailored to customer requirements – e.g. powder-coated with a customised laser-cut pattern all around or in specific colours (RAL).     Bins with rain covers are available for locations exposed to the rain. ABES offers a number of models here – free-standing or wall-mounted – and these can come in either steel or non-rusting stainless steel (1.4301). Sophisticated solutions, such as removable bins, separate internal bins or sticks for rubbish bags, and optional accessories like integrated ashtrays, round off ABES’ range of flexible bins. Octagonal bins are attractive and also extremely practical. Made completely out of sheet steel (thickness 2.5 – 4 mm), they boast impressive stability thanks to additional reinforcement, and large capacities. A lid in-built as a standard protects contents from getting wet, while narrow slots reliably prevent the bin from being filled with larger, bulky waste. Bins with integrated ashtrays are ideal for smoking areas. The free-standing bins have a rounded rectangular opening, as well as a sunk-in polished aluminium ashtray at the top with three indents on the edge.  

Public ashtrays

The “broken window” theory states that destroyed or dirty spaces attract more destruction and dirt. Although the number of smokers has continued to drop in recent years, cigarette butts on the ground are unfortunately still a prevalent sight in public streetscapes. Sensibly positioned ashtrays are a cheap, easy and effective way of reducing this pollution. Unlike smoking bans, setting up ashtrays is likely to be widely accepted by the smoking population – because they’re not being told what to do, they’re simply being asked to reflect on their sense of cleanliness.     The ABES range of public ashtrays is split into three product groups:

• Classic upright ashtrays
• Ashtray bollards
• Wall ashtrays

The free-standing upright ashtrays are ideal for both mobile and stationary use in smoking areas, outside buildings or in rear courtyards. Their solid construction out of sheet steel or polished stainless steel makes them long-lasting, and enables maximum resistance to weathering. A polished, sunk-in ashtray is a clean way of collecting cigarette butts, and is impressively easy to clean.   Ashtray bollards are upright ashtrays which can simultaneously be used to block driveways or other restricted-access areas. Their robust construction makes these ABES ashtray bollards (which are optionally removable using 3p Technology) attractive, functional public objects. They are firmly anchored into the base using a connector piece with cast-in pre-determined breaking point and a clamping cone with triangular (or hexagonal) screw, and can also be used effectively as bollards.   Wall ashtrays are a subtle, space-saving way of collecting cigarette butts. They can be easily and permanently screw-mounted into all external walls. Wall ashtrays similarly offer maximum flexibility for customisation. Our staff will be glad to assist by telephone, email or at a personal consultation if you have any questions about ABES’ range of ashtrays and bins. We look forward to hearing from you.   Ashtray bollards are upright ashtrays which can simultaneously be used to block driveways or other restricted-access areas. Their robust construction makes these ABES ashtray bollards (which can also be removed using 3p technology as an option) attractive, functional public objects. They are firmly anchored into the base using a connector piece with cast-in pre-determined breaking point and a clamping cone with triangular (or hexagonal) screw, and can also be used effectively as bollards.