Refuse Bin

The present application relates to a refuse bin. In particular, the present application relates to a refuse bin for reusing carrier bags having handles that are received from a supermarket.

Carrier bags at supermarkets are generally given away with purchases in order that a customer can conveniently and easily carry their shopping home. It is common, however, for such carrier bags to be disposed of and subsequently add to the growing volumes of landfill. As carrier bags are generally plastic and non-biodegradable, the vast number of carrier bags wasted adds a significant volume of waste. Aspects of the present invention aim to provide a further use for waste carrier bags in order that they are not simply thrown away once they have served their purpose of carrying a user's shopping from the shop to the home.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is a refuse bin comprising spaced apart retaining zones, each retaining zone including one or more retaining projections extending outwardly from the outer wall of the bin, the retaining projections at each retaining zone defining a retaining span having an extension about the periphery of the outer wall.

The span extends greater than approximately two centimetres about the periphery of the outer wall. Even more preferably, the span extends greater than approximately five centimetres around the periphery of the outer wall. Even more beneficially, the span extends around approximately one fifth of the periphery of the outer wall.

This provides a span for retaining a supermarket carrier bag enabling ease of manipulation of the handles over the projections, whilst additionally ensuring that any part of the bag does not fall into the bin.

The bin preferably further comprises a lid arranged to cover the opening of the bin. The lid is beneficially arranged to engage with the outer wall of the bin and is further arranged to communicate with the retaining portion of the bin. In any event, the lid is arranged to

conceal the rim of the bag that is folded over the rim of the bin and retained on the retaining projections.

The retaining projections are preferably optionally releasably connectable to the bin.

The bin preferably further comprises a compartment having an aperture therein for receiving carrier bags. The compartment is particularly useful for storing excess carrier bags ready for use in the bin. The compartment for receiving carrier bags is beneficially in fluid-tight separation from the compartment for receiving a bag arranged to receive refuse, thereby preventing leakage from the bag in use to the stored bags.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is a refuse bin comprising a compartment for receiving refuse, and a second compartment in fluid-tight separation from the first compartment, the second compartment for storing carrier bags and having an aperture therein for receiving carrier bags.

The first compartment is beneficially configured vertically above the second compartment.

The bin preferably further comprises a door for the aperture for receiving carrier bags. The door may be slideably engaged with the bin, or alternatively the door may be hinged.

The first compartment is preferably sealed to prevent liquid escaping therefrom.

The first and second aspects of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a bin according to an exemplary embodiment of the first and second aspects of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a second perspective view of a bin according to an exemplary embodiment of the first and second aspects of the present invention.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 there is a refuse bin 3 comprising generally downwardly protruding lips 2 which are shaped and configured such that a user can carry the bin 3 via the lips 2. For this purpose, the lips must extend sufficiently from the bin such that a person can put their fingers behind the lip in order to lift the bin. Finger receiving formations may be provided to assist a person in this regard to lift the bin. A carrier bag 1 is pushed into the interior compartment 12 of the bin 3 and the top of the bag is extended over the rim 10 of the bin 3. Lips 2 extending around a portion of the circumference of the bin 3 are arranged to receive the handles 9 of the carrier bag 1 in order to ensure that the rim of the carrier bag 1 extends over the rim of the bin 3. The lips 2 are of sufficient length such that the handles of the carrier bag are extended such that the carrier bag is prevented from being pulled into the bin 1 when a load is placed inside the carrier bag 1. In particular, the point of the carrier bag 1 indicated by numeral 11 is prevented from dropping inside the bin even when a load is applied to the inside of the carrier bag 1. The lips 2 may optionally be adjustable in length and/or height, the adjustable length being particularly beneficial as this enables bags having different size handles to be supported. Furthermore, the lips 2 are located at a sufficient height on the outer surface of the bin 3 such that the volume of refuse that may be held in the bin is optimised, without the rim of the bag falling into the bin 3.

It will be appreciated that any chosen shape of bin may be utilised such as circular or square, and additionally may be made of a variety of materials such as metals, plastics or composites.

A storage compartment 5 is located at the base of the bin 3. Fluid communication between the storage compartment 5 and internal aperture of the bin 12 is prevented such that any leakages of the full carrier bag will not result in a soiling of the carrier bags which are stored in the storage compartment 5. An aperture 6 is provided in the storage compartment 5 in the longitudinal length of the bin 3 enabling carrier bags 1 to be inserted into and removed from the storage compartment 5 as necessary. In an alternative embodiment, a roll of bin liners with handles can be inserted into the aperture 6 whereby the pulling of a roll of bin liners may cause the roll to unravel itself by pulling by the user.

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The aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of protection afforded by the independent claims. In particular, it will be appreciated that both aspects of the present invention may be combined to form the embodiment as disclosed with respect to Figures 1 and 2. Further modifications that may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims would be, for example, utilising two retaining projections having a span therebetween over which the handles of the bag are mounted.