Life inside a wheelie bin

[Daffy Duck]

Dear All,

For those of you with a trashcan fantasy and a fondness for encasement type scenarios, getting inside a wheelie bin could be a goal.

But there are some precautions.....

1. Obviously, avoid collection day with a close encounter with a garbage truck. It sounds obvious, but it is surprising what true life tragedies are all over the internet about people ending up inside the garbage truck (most of whom die, or suffer horrific injuries). So it is best to chose your own bin. This way you can also control what goes into the bin, so you can avoid broken glass and other nasty stuff.

2. Beware of neighbours who, without telling you, might dump their stuff inside your bin. One reader even told me, they got wheeled to the kerb by a neighbour being 'helpful'. So I recommend taking the wheelie bin indoors. That might sound not very risky, but once inside, it can seem pretty real, even if you are safely behind a locked front door. The risk comes from being discovered with your covert plan to spend time inside your bin. Beware of nosey neighbours and the increased use of CCTV. You will want to keep your activity off their radar.

3. Once you have a safe place, in which to enjoy, remember to upend your bin first. Unless you like sharing your enclosed space with spiders, maggots and the like.

4. If you use a bin liner, you will definitely need to keep the lid ajar. The liner acts as a perfect seal for the bin lid. It keeps smells in, and fresh air out.  The general rule of thumb is, if you feel drowsy, check your air supply. Ditto, if you start getting headaches. You could be in the process of passing out due to lack of oxygen.

5. If you have a standard 240 litre wheelie bin, getting in is only for acrobats, and getting out is a nightmare. So that I can close the lid, I find I have to lower myself in on my arms, with my legs bent behind me at the knees, such that my knees rest on the bottom of the bin. So it ain't easy. Getting out, usually involves rocking the bin until it falls over. This is both noisy enough to wake the dead, and mildly painful.

6. Better to have a 360 litre wheelie bin. Getting in, involves standing on a stool, and climbing inside. Getting out, involves raising a leg to it is over the lip of the bin, and climbing out. Again, not very easy, and requires a degree of movement in your body. But it is large enough to sit on the ridge inside the bin, where the wheels go. The main problem, I find, is that your toes get scrunched up against the front inside of the bin, so it is advisable to put a soft trash bag on your shins to alleviate the pressure. Even so, I find I get cramps. Maximum time I have spent inside is 5 hours. 

DON'T BE FOOLED into thinking the safety warnings only apply to others. They DO APPLY to you as well.  Play safe, and play again another day.

Daffy

[Jennifer52]

Some great advice there Daffy

[Daffy Duck]

Thank you Jennifer52.

I try my best to help.

Daffy

[shokolada]

If you want to play with a wheelie bin often, you can do as I did:

Buy your own 95 gallon / 360 litre wheelie bin. You can keep it as clean as you like, and control what goes in there if you like it dirty.

I not only drilled small air holes in two corners, I installed a small fan made from a computer fan and a battery pack. As long as holes are made in the inside liner, I have a constant supply of fresh air.

I used a scrap piece of wood shelving to make a small seat where the wheels cut into the bin. This is great for stepping in and out of the bin, and the seat makes it easier to avoid cramping during long scenes in there.

And for goodness sake yes, feel free to get odd looks from your neighbors because your playmate put the can at the curb days away from collection day... then eventually remembered something and brought it back in the house!

[Daffy Duck]

Thanks Shokolada for the helpful tips.

It sounds as if you have made a nice 'home' inside your 360 litre wheelie bin.

I have a black 360 litre wheelie bin for general waste (and me), a green 240 litre wheelie bin for recyclables, and a brown 240 litre wheelie bin for organic garden and kitchen waste.

My neighbour has erected a CCTV camera at her front door, and the camera faces my front door. It is as if she is spying on me. Perhaps she noticed the many times my black 360 litre wheelie bin spends the night inside my house........   Perhaps I am just self-conscious now !   

If you are hinting that your playmate puts the can at the curb on away from collection day - with you inside, WOW !  I have never been that brave.  I have seen other people open my bin lid and put their trash inside. The postman dumps stuff and some dog owners have a nasty habit of dumping bagged poop-scoop inside which is very smelly. They have no consideration that I spend time in there !!

Daffy

[shokolada]

My "home" is pretty comfortable. I am not as young and flexible as I once was, and cramping is not part of the fun for me!

As for people dumping things in my bin... I live in an apartment now, so we don't put my bin at the curb any more anyway. But when we did, I lived on a nice quite street, and was lucky enough that no one disturbed other people's bins - at least not the times we played!

Shok

[alsrx700]

The piece of wood for a seat is a great idea.  Might have to try that.  By the way, I use a 95 gallon can and right now what I do is make sure I have an extra couple bags and put those in the very bottom for kind of a cushion.

[Daffy Duck]

Hi Shok,

Who is as young and flexible as they used to be ?

Time marches on for us all.

Does the apartment have nice 'large' bins or a compactor.

In my heart, I would like to try both. But in my head I know it is unwise. Or is that head and heart. Not sure !

Daffy

[Daffy Duck]

Hi Alsrx700,

Trash bags make good cushions or pillows. Just don't forget if you put any broken glass in my mistake....

Daffy

[Trash girl]

I whold like to live in an apartment with a trach chute that lead to a dumpster in a basement and without a compactor concted on the chute and of course i whold enter it at the lowest floor

[Daffy Duck]

Hi Trash Girl,

Alas even a fall of a couple of metres can kill.

If the dumpster is fully enclosed, as some are that are connected to trash chutes, you may find the only way out is to try and climb back up.

People have been killed in trash chutes, and others have got stuck and have had to be cut out by the fire brigade.

It might look like fun, but it is probably not advisable.

Daffy