Method for recycling household waste

• US 5,871,114 A
• Filed: 11/15/1994
• Issued: 02/16/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: National Polymers, LLC
• Original Assignee: National Polymers, Inc.
• Inventors: Anderson, Brett A., Anderson, Dennis C., Hjermstad, Harold T. II
• Primary Examiner(s): Pollard, Steven M.
• Application Number:
  US08/339,558
• Time in Patent Office: 1,554 Days
• Field of Search: 220/404, 220/555, 220/909
• US Class Current: 220/495.11
• CPC Class Codes: B65F 1/0053 Combination of several receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: B65F 1/06 with flexible inserts, e.g. bags or sacks B65F1/0073 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65F 1/1468 Means for facilitating the transport of the receptacle, e.g. wheels, rolls hand-operated refuse vehicles B65F3/005
• CPC Class Codes: B65F 2220/12 nestable
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 30/60 Glass recycling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 220/909 Segregated

Abstract

The invention provides a new method of recycling recyclable waste products suited for household use wherein the container is a plastic injection-molded container having a monolithic body formed from plastic resin and includes a pair of integral compartments. Fibrous waste is placed in one compartment and nonfibrous waste comprising rigid and semirigid container, e.g., glass jars, metal beverage and food cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles are placed in the other compartment so as to presort the recyclable articles. The container is then taken to a collection point where the presorted products can be picked up by a recycling collection contractor and maintained separate from one another during transport to a recycling center.

Claims

1. A method suited for household use for recycling and presorting recyclable waste materials comprising,

molding a recycling container as a monolithic plastic resin container body including a pair of integral side-by-side upwardly opening stackable compartments each having side and bottom walls and an upwardly opening wide mouth and being of a size adapted to fit in an undersink compartment within a kitchen of a home or for use in a commercial location,

providing said container with a hollow downwardly opening upright partition between the compartments,

forming the partition from a pair of adjacent side walls that converge toward one another proceeding upwardly and terminate proximate to an upper end of each compartment,

forming a handle in an upper portion of the partition and providing a hand opening in the partition beneath the handle,

placing a plurality of said containers inside one another in a stacked condition to facilitate shipment and storage of the containers while nested together,

placing the handle of each such nested container proximate to the hand opening of each similar container thereabove,

transporting the containers for use or sale in a stacked condition,

placing one of the containers at a location where recyclable waste originates,

placing a first category of recyclable waste materials in one of said compartments at the location where the recyclable waste originates,

placing a second category of recyclable waste materials in the other of said compartments at the location where said waste material originates,

grasping the handle manually and using the handle for carrying the recycling container to a pickup point,

whereby a waste recycling collector receives presorted waste materials and is able to maintain the first and second categories of presorted waste materials separate from one another during further handling and transport to a recycling center.

2. The method of claim 1 including,

placing a removable liner in at least one of said compartments before the recyclable waste materials are placed therein.

3. The method of claim 2 including,

providing a retaining slot in an upper rim of the container and

placing a top portion of the liner into the retaining slot before the container is used to receive recyclable waste materials.

4. The method of claim 1 including,

placing a paper bag in the compartment used for receiving said first category which comprises fibrous recyclable waste materials and

placing a flexible plastic bag in the other of said compartments for receiving the second category which comprises recyclable rigid and semi-rigid containers comprising glass jars, metal beverage and food cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles.

5. A method suited for household use for recycling and presorting recyclable waste materials comprising,

molding a recycling container as a monolithic body of plastic resin including a pair of integral side-by-side upwardly opening compartments each having side and bottom walls and an upwardly opening wide mouth and being adapted to receive and store said materials,

forming a partition as a part of the container during the molding of the container with the partition located between the compartments with side walls of the compartments defining the partition and the compartments having side walls that converge toward one another proceeding downwardly toward a bottom portion of the compartments,

said partition terminating in an upper portion located proximate to an upper end of each compartment,

forming a handle in said upper portion of the partition and providing a hand opening in the partition beneath the handle,

placing a plurality of said containers inside one another in a stacked condition to facilitate shipment and storage of the containers while nested together,

placing the handle of each such nested container proximate to the hand opening of each similar container thereabove,

transporting the containers for use or sale in a stacked condition,

placing one of the containers at a location where recyclable waste originates,

placing removable liner bags in the compartments of the container,

placing a first category of recyclable waste materials in one of said compartments proximate to the location where the recyclable waste originates,

placing a second category of recyclable waste materials in the other of said compartments proximate to the location where said waste material originates,

grasping the handle manually and using the handle for carrying the recycling container to a pickup point,

whereby a waste recycling collector receives presorted waste materials and is able to maintain the first and second categories of presorted waste materials separate from one another during further handling and transport to a recycling center.

6. The method of claim 5 including,

providing a retaining slot along an upper edge thereof and

placing a top portion of the liner bag into the retaining slot before the container is used to recycle waste material.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the liner bag is a paper bag,

placing the paper bag in one of the compartments for receiving a first category of waste material comprising fibrous recyclable material and

placing a flexible plastic liner bag in the other of said compartments for receiving a second category of waste which comprises recyclable rigid and semi-rigid containers including any of the following:

glass jars, metal beverage and food cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles.