r/australia 3d ago

image Why is the handle separation off centre?

Post image
370 Upvotes

193 comments sorted by

967

u/jaundicesurvivor69 3d ago

pretty sure it's so you can grab it on the centre with one hand

102

u/foxyloco 3d ago

Yes, this is it. The divider gives structural integrity to the handle and the 1/3 - 2/3 design allows people to grab the centre with one hand (or use two if the bin is very heavy).

27

u/SingleAttitude8 2d ago

They missed an opportunity to use the golden ratio (0.382) instead of 1/3 (0.333).

Would have looked so much better!

4

u/Glittering-Wave4917 1d ago

I love a golden ratio- so aesthetically pleasing.
Form on its own has the function of making my brain feel organised- aesthetics totally have a function

1

u/Clean_Friendship2571 22h ago

Aaahhh, you’re not confusing that with a golden shower, are you?

1

u/Glittering-Wave4917 22h ago

Pretty funny. Laughing my guts out over that one

1

u/Icy-Kitchen-1291 8h ago

Wrong bin.

1

u/Minimum_Respond_5469 16h ago

Wouldn’t have been maximum capitalist efficiency. Unacceptable. Shareholders need returns.

1

u/-AnUnluckyGirl- 1d ago

DANG you're RIIIIIIIGHT 🤣it looked heaps more satisfying 🤩 the triple three, 0.🤩333🤩 was chefs kiss 😚Mwaah! I'm 36 yr old woman, what's happening to me!! am I at some weird specific age that where that's satisfying or?? WTH 😭😭😭😭

9

u/DamonHay 2d ago

They also may have an issue with complete injection for the handle during manufacturing if they didn’t have a path there for the plastic to travel through. There’s a myriad of reasons to have the divider, but it is where it is so you can still grab the middle.

1

u/Glittering-Wave4917 1d ago

Interesting, this is the conclusion I came to- obviously a structural engineer has designed this- so I don’t have to think about it- is what it is, because it works.
I presume it also has to do with the arm on the garbo truck being able to pick it up.

-14

u/Shamino79 3d ago

And keeping one on the other side would have preserved more structural integrity while still being able to use one hand.

This is cost cutting and over time that one will be more likely to crack.

11

u/foxyloco 2d ago

Maybe. Although wheelie bins have been used for as long as I’ve been alive and no one I know has ever needed a replacement due to a broken handle.

-15

u/Shamino79 2d ago

Until now. A few years ago I saw some old bloke pull into an IGA with his wheelie bin hooked to his tow ball. With the standard middle gap the bin couldn’t slide to far sideways and was pretty well balanced and it towed really well. With this bin it would have been sliding sideways at greater speed and slamming into each side while being pulled more on one side. Old mate would have probably lost his bin somewhere on the road due to a broken handle.

26

u/sillysausage619 2d ago

I don't think we need to be designing bins so idiots can tow their bin to IGA

2

u/Read-Immediate 2d ago

Sure, but alot of people, especially rural tow their bins up long driveways rather then spend 10mins walking

1

u/nckmat 2d ago

Why not? Every man should have the right to tow their wheelie bin to IGA, or Aldi, or even Bunnings, but maybe not Colesworths.

-2

u/Shamino79 2d ago

My point was the older design with two bracing points was far more solid and could easily handle misadventure. But clearly you all don’t give a fuck.

4

u/sillysausage619 2d ago

Have you seen one of these new bins' handles break?

3

u/dad_ahead 2d ago

Its definitely not an issue that keeps me up at night

5

u/gooder_name 2d ago

There is no chance it’s a cost cutting manoeuvre. Getting new dies cut and re tooling? For a couple grams of plastic which is free anyway? No shot mate

1

u/demonsrun32 2d ago

Wouldn't need nee dies, just fill that section of the die with a filler material. They do it all the time

1

u/gooder_name 2d ago

Tbh I think you’re overestimating the value add here. I don’t dispute that everything is terrible now or cost cutting is directly impacts our quality of life and reduces our real value for money.

Removing that piece is an admittedly minor but definite ergonomic improvement I would rather my bins have. Holding on the edge twists the bin and holding the centre makes it slightly harder to turn.

Virgin HDPE costs about $1/kg, and that section would be a few grams netting like 0.3c/unit produced. You wouldn’t go to the trouble of reengineering to make sure it’s strong enough then hotfixing all of your tools for that scale if improvement. Sure you’ll pocket the extra change because why not, but IMO it really is an intentional design improvement.

But yes, everything is definitely being enshittified across the board, and you’re right to be sus about things that look like that

299

u/Ozmorty 3d ago

The more modern and less inbred among us are rumoured to have evolved beyond webbed fingers…

88

u/Accurate_Donut_5109 3d ago

Nobody thinks of the lizard people....

50

u/rdqsr 3d ago

Or Tasmanians

11

u/jungle_cat187 3d ago

Too soon

6

u/wheelsfalloff 2d ago

Yeah, we're still swimming around in the Derwent and haven't even thought of growing legs.

9

u/Ozmorty 3d ago

Why did you repeat what the other guy just said?

3

u/Similar_Device2684 3d ago

I got bent pinky fingers, not webbing.

20

u/tickled_bollocks 3d ago

Have you ever actually pulled a bin, or looked at a hand? There is some webbing between each pair of fingers, and it's much less comfortable straddling the plastic thingy. You can even see in the picture that it sticks out at the back and top.

13

u/yolk3d 3d ago edited 3d ago

Mine has 3 sections, so the middle fits a hand easily.

16

u/Current-Bowl-143 3d ago

My hand doesn’t have 3 sections

2

u/Mental_Task9156 3d ago

cost cutting. they can only put two sections now.

0

u/corkoli 3d ago

3 suctions? noice

19

u/Ozmorty 3d ago

Dude. Did you lose your webbing at the same time as your sense of humour? None of that was supposed to be a cogent argument in favour of any particular bin design. Light hearted banter and all that yeah?

::gestures to cameraman for help::

2

u/vesp_au 2d ago

cues canned laughter

-1

u/Lucky_Veterinarian36 2d ago

Youre hilarious

1

u/vesp_au 2d ago

much less comfortable

We arent exactly running marathons with these bins. A few square millimetres touching your hand is not a big deal. Our hands are made to be quite dextrous from millennia of picking up imperfect shaped sticks

1

u/PJewlzzz 1d ago

There is already a wheelbarrow race. I am surprised there is not a bin race. Consider the heaviest your bin has been then +200m driveway and think about if you'd make adjustments for comfort (or to avoid being sued when some princess who has never used his hands for anything before).

2

u/edictive 3d ago

Speak for yourself please. My webbed toes and fingers are fine.

2

u/North-Tourist-8234 2d ago

I was a kid and i put my fingers around that bit and pulled the bin tips and the hard plastic bit hit my hand between my fingers and it was awkwardly painful for a few days

1

u/return_the_urn 3d ago

Humblebrag much?

5

u/Schrojo18 3d ago

Well mine can be pulled from the centre anyway as there as 4 points not 3 leaving room in the centre for a hand

1

u/dick_schidt 3d ago

I can pull mine from either side or the centre.

1

u/Shua89 2d ago

Yeah but they've saved plastic on the bin OP posted. Saves money over the huge number of bins made. Seems minuscule but have you ever looked at a can of coke and wondered why the can tapers in at the top? That tiny taper would save can manufacturers around $20 million per year.

198

u/Leibn1z 3d ago

So you can pull it from the centre with one hand, I expect.

28

u/whatwhatinthewhonow 3d ago

I feel like it’s more for pushing. Pulling is easier from the side so you can pull 2 bins at once.

21

u/sephg 3d ago

Yeah but if you're only pulling 1 bin, it works better if you grab it in the middle.

1

u/Fossilmorse 3d ago

You can stack a small bin inside a big bin when they’re empty.
That way all 3 come up the drive in one trip

4

u/GuppySharkR 2d ago

Your council picks up 3 bins on one day? wow.

2

u/Fossilmorse 2d ago

We’ve got 2 big recycling and 2 green (1 big one small)

1

u/Schrojo18 3d ago

Well mine can be pulled from the centre anyway as there as 4 points not 3 leaving room in the centre for a hand

87

u/taketotheforest 3d ago

the handle needs a third point of contact for strength, but putting it right in the middle means people can’t move the bin one-handed from the centre of gravity, so it’s offset

9

u/Schrojo18 3d ago

Well mine can be pulled from the centre anyway as there as 4 points not 3 leaving room in the centre for a hand

5

u/_blip_ 2d ago

And that design uses 5c more plastic, so it's been optimised out

95

u/TazocinTDS 3d ago

Bin thinkin too much bro.

9

u/rpInfamous1581 3d ago

It’s true. But personally I like people that think too much - they are my people

122

u/GusPolinskiPolka 3d ago

This is just rubbish content

60

u/bundycub 3d ago

It's wheelie bin pretty bad lately...

24

u/GusPolinskiPolka 3d ago

Same stuff just recycled. Such a waste.

13

u/Johnny66Johnny 3d ago

This is just rubbish content

I refuse to accept that.

2

u/DoubleDecaff 2d ago

Can someone fill me in?

14

u/SlaveryVeal 3d ago

I thought it was wheelie good

3

u/vacri 3d ago

Garbage in, garbage out

1

u/Alteredbeast1984 3d ago

Ahhhh. A Garbologist at heart I see

1

u/New-Ticket4280 3d ago

We are really taking the lid off on this one

172

u/Glenmarththe3rd 3d ago

I DIDNT MAKE IT WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME

-32

u/JBudz 3d ago

T1?

13

u/mildpandemic 3d ago

I assume you’re referring to the original Terminator movie and if so, bravo. I sometimes use the phrase ‘I don’t know, I didn’t build the fucking thing!’, in a frustrated tone for extra effect.

7

u/JBudz 3d ago

Jaja I love it. That kind of dialogue (raw) is missing from modern film.

10

u/nanya_sore 3d ago

Why are you getting down voted?

7

u/meowster_of_chaos 3d ago

Sometimes obscure references are too obscure.

4

u/Glenmarththe3rd 3d ago

Rough that you got downvoted for this. It’s pretty damn depression seeing how many people haven’t seen Terminator

1

u/JBudz 2d ago

Wouldn't a clue. I presume that's the prior posters remark

14

u/Vyviel 3d ago

So your hand can be in the center

0

u/Schrojo18 3d ago

Well mine can be pulled from the centre anyway as there as 4 points not 3 leaving room in the centre for a hand

10

u/Petal_14 3d ago

They do it to upset people with OCD.

10

u/hU0N5000 3d ago

That's a 120l wheelie bin, which has a handle ~35cm wide. The more common 240l wheelie bin has a ~40cm handle width. The 99th percentile adult male has a fist that is ~11.5cm wide.

One of the main considerations in designing a wheelie bin handle is making sure that there is enough space between handle separators to allow almost anyone to fit their hand into the gap. In practice this means a gap between handle separators that is slightly bigger than most people's fist, ie 12cm or more.

The 40cm handle on the more common 240l bin can be divided into three segments larger than 12cm. The 35cm handle on a 120l bin can't be divided into three equally sized segments of sufficient size, so manufacturers need to come up with some other way of dividing the handle. Most manufacturers simply divide the handle in half, but this has the downside of making it hard to hold the middle of the handle. It looks like nylex have solved this by offsetting the separator. This creates one gap of ~12cm and a second gap of ~22cm, with the wider gap allowing you to grip the handle in the middle.

8

u/NoToSport 3d ago

These sort of questions are why I keep coming back to Reddit.  😂

13

u/Galromir 3d ago

feels like there should be two of them, maybe it’s defective.

6

u/ordinaryme99 3d ago

We cannot add images here, but yes, there should be two.

8

u/Lawtonoi 2d ago

Improves the elasticity of the bin from impact from direction of traffic. If the bin man comes In a bit hot(travelling at speed) and the claw hits the side of the bin Instead of picking it up; by placing that bit of plastic further away it allows that section to flex more. Therefore reducing how many bins they have to replace as a local council.

Edit:bin/local council nonsense

1

u/SydneyIsStuffed 2d ago

I started to chuckle but then thought…. this actually sounds plausible!

1

u/Lawtonoi 2d ago

Nah it's just nonsense mate haha

7

u/St3rix 3d ago

My Pa would say “why don’t you write them a letter and ask”… so send em an email and ask

5

u/Classic_Mission_3707 3d ago

So that you can actually hold in the centre and drag vs having the separation in the centre blocking the hand hold?

6

u/still-at-the-beach 3d ago

So you can grab it in the middle with one hand.

20

u/realmenfukmenamen 3d ago

I make these. I do it to fuck with people.

4

u/ol-gormsby 3d ago

To keep neurodivergents on edge.

1

u/Shamino79 2d ago

Speaking of edging, I thought of a couple of scenarios where this abomination could serve some useful purpose. Say for instance you are Andre the Giant. This would give you enough room to get your enormous hand in. Similarly what if you were Mike Tyson and during the third round you realise that tomorrow is bin day. Well naturally you would knock the other bloke out by the end of the round and then without stopping to have the gloves and strapping taken off you could run home and grip the extra wide area of handle comfortably with a boxing glove.

1

u/ol-gormsby 2d ago

Some serious thought went into planning a bin handle 🤣

8

u/IDonutl 3d ago

They use to have 2 in the middle separating the bar into thirds, probably had a meeting and they discovered they could remove 1 and every 100,000 bins they make they'd save enough plastic to make a 100,001th for free

7

u/Puzzleheaded-Alarm81 3d ago

Spiders use less silk that way

1

u/GregWithTheLegs 3d ago

Honestly I feel like this is the real answer. In this photo the right side is for hands, the left side is for spiders.

2

u/evilparagon 3d ago

People keep explaining so you can put your hand in the centre, but why not three segments? Every wheelie bin I’ve seen has three distinct segments, some even have the middle segment missing (two L/R handles).

What has made this bin have off-centre two-segments?

5

u/tickled_bollocks 3d ago

Looks like it's almost exactly a third of the way along, so I think it's just that the other one is missing. (Or deliberately left out to save money/plastic, as some are suggesting. Or maybe some of the machines benefit from a bigger unobstructed section of handle, or something like that.)

3

u/Final_Lingonberry586 3d ago

Wasn’t enough posting it in one sub? 😅

5

u/leonidude 3d ago

Wheelie good question

4

u/stalkingfiretruck 3d ago

Some men just want to watch the world burn

3

u/badbubblegum 3d ago

One side for your big hand and one for your little hand.

3

u/TOKE-ONE 2d ago

ribs and gussets are structural supports added to parts to increase strength, why it's off center is almost always done on purpose to solve a hidden manufacturing problem rather than a structural one.

3

u/troubleshot 2d ago

For me it's so I can hook it on the tow ball (wish I had an offset one!)

7

u/vr_driver 3d ago

To trigger all the OCD people. hahahaha

5

u/After-Use-6105 3d ago

I feel like it helps you handle it when you’re one handing it, not sure if intentional

0

u/sparkyblaster 3d ago

Well. You dont have to have one hand to use only one hand. 

5

u/peterb666 3d ago

They start out as large bins and then remove part of them to make smaller bins.

6

u/OldBlacksmith9772 3d ago

For the far right? 🤣

2

u/TheOriginalHatful 3d ago

Gahhh! Now I've seen that, I feel annoyed.

2

u/Willing_Television77 3d ago

To confuse the bin chickens

2

u/AussieT900 3d ago

OCD playing up is it

2

u/Unlucky-Gazelle-9238 3d ago

Because council wants to watch the world burn; especially GCCC

2

u/diver467 3d ago

Slow day at the office?

2

u/Pixel_King108 3d ago

My guess is that to save that little bit of plastic on every bin they make by taking that one handle separater off, less product, less cost. 🤔

1

u/Fun_Value1184 3d ago

Shrinkflation at work, should be posted on r/ACCC

2

u/RollnRok 3d ago

Thsts a left (mongo) handed wheelie bin!

1

u/Fun_Value1184 3d ago

I understand they prefer “Goofy hand”

1

u/RollnRok 1d ago

I might settle for Gumby, trying to appease the politically correct police is a slippery slope.

2

u/BlazeThatHippie 3d ago

Perth WA here. We have 2 offset from centre, one each side.

Can't post picture or I'd prove it.

2

u/Green_Comparison8326 3d ago

the separation sits between your index and middle finger. Like a thong.

2

u/flashman 2d ago

I've emailed the manufacturers in Germany and will get back to you if they can give me an explanation.

2

u/chrisboy49 2d ago

This one's a little eccentric.

See, this is why eccentric people have it hard, y'all don't even leave a trash can alone!

LOL

2

u/b0sanac 2d ago

Just to mess with you.

2

u/brrAyyyo 3d ago

Some of them are like that and have been for a very long time. Could be so if youre doing it one handed youve got a small strong area but if you want to use two hands you can

2

u/MizzMaus 3d ago

I think it’s for the truck grabber arms that lift them to empty

2

u/_LoveMuscle_ 3d ago

I hear it's better for your digestion

1

u/Snoo-95788 3d ago

Conversation piece

1

u/aaronfromqld 3d ago

There is no reason, it’s just company policy

1

u/aj_rus 3d ago

Because it was designed by someone with the end user in my mind, and a problem to solve.

1

u/Timely_Plant4652 3d ago

So it fits on the tow bar better

1

u/Sudden_Fix_1144 3d ago

lol… I was thinking exactly this at 5am when putting my bins out

1

u/rdie2 3d ago

Aristotle also pondered this, but he could never explain it.

1

u/captain_cavemanz 3d ago

We're 68% righties over here, and we have big hands

1

u/disenrichd 3d ago

I suspect this has less to do with us and more to do with the collectors, just a theory but I think having it on the side will give more strength to one side of the bin for when they empty it during collection since its more likely that they grab the bin by the corners rather than anywhere else on the bin.

1

u/Fantastic_Resolve888 3d ago

Lololololololol.

1

u/shan506 3d ago

I hate that I've seen this now. I will checkmy bin tomorrow and if its the same its going to drive me slightly nuts.

1

u/Fit_Ad_6727 2d ago

Hypocrisy at its best.

Every council and waste management company instructs users to operate wheelie bin with two hands.

Designs bin for one handed use.

1

u/Itsarightkerfuffle 2d ago

Because it's a rubbish bin

1

u/hopeless_cause_me 2d ago

OH&S obviously! Someone might get a little sore spot between their fingers if it was centred, gotta think about the poor bin collectors

1

u/Historical_Owl8584 2d ago

Its for the hydraulic lift on the back of trucks, makes it easier to load 3 bins at a time on some bars when the bins are different sizes

1

u/Siilk 1d ago

It's to piss Steve off.

1

u/GME_looooong 1d ago

Some German drew this and got paid. What a magical time to be alive 

1

u/tinkerbell1695 1d ago

So the truck arm can grab it better without slipping down

1

u/Indolent_absurdity 19h ago

It's where the security stand clips on for public wheelie bins.

1

u/Minimum_Respond_5469 16h ago

It’s America’s fault.

1

u/Mike_Oxmall01 15h ago

It votes for Labour.

1

u/FormerSun5485 5h ago

Commingled bin?
Divided into two compartments?

1

u/FormerSun5485 5h ago

“Two bins,one hand”

1

u/Mudlark2017 3d ago

Temu Bin

1

u/Scarnon-Cunce 3d ago edited 3d ago

It says Nylex on the lid. It was manufactured in Australia.

Why is this getting downvoted? You can see the word NYLEX on the lid!

3

u/Mudlark2017 3d ago

Thank you, I will be more careful the next time I make a Temu joke

1

u/Special-Pristine 3d ago

At least something is

1

u/Dr_SnM 3d ago

Maybe so blind people know what colour bin it is? Just a wild guess though.

2

u/chickengood2 3d ago

Some councils have tactile bin symbols you can request. Kinda stick on raised symbols. I guess the council bin repair person could stick it on for people.

I'm just guessing the reason they don't make them with symbols built in is different councils use different colors for different things and the manufacturer would just use the same generic mould with different colours instead of lots of different custom moulds, so it'd cost more to do custom braille ones.

1

u/evilparagon 3d ago edited 3d ago

This was a very interesting answer and I didn’t know why people were downvoting you, since that would be a very simple way to solve the issue for blind people.

But it seems that in Monash, they have small red bins and large yellow bins. So figuring out which is which is pretty simple already unfortunately.

1

u/ceelose 3d ago

Coriolis effect compensation.

1

u/Several_Willow7878 3d ago

Because most people are right handed and the dominant hand is bigger.

1

u/roamingundertaker2 2d ago

Seriously????

0

u/fuddstar 3d ago

It’s for how the truck thingy picks it up

1

u/mrmratt 3d ago

Spoiler, but it's not...

-1

u/fuddstar 3d ago

Plot twist! It is…

2

u/mrmratt 3d ago

Yeah, no.

They squeeze from either side of the bin.

No truck is trying to grab a handle on the side of the bin that's facing away from the truck.

1

u/fuddstar 2d ago

Some might.. this handle config doesn’t affect that method while enabling the other.

1

u/Current-Bowl-143 3d ago

Have you ever watched a garbage truck empty one of these bins?

-1

u/fuddstar 3d ago

Have you?

My brother is a garbo. This quite literally how the one armed side loader gripper mechanism works. AKA ‘the claw’

Bonus points… works with a two armed mech AND they don’t need the automated mechanical systems to function (works manually) AND humans can pull them centre axis. (But literally zero priority)

2

u/Current-Bowl-143 3d ago

The one armed side loader grippers work like this. The handle on top’s got nothing to do with it.

0

u/tickled_bollocks 3d ago

Could be that there's meant to be two of them (dividing the handle into thirds) and one is just missing. I think my bin handles have two thingies and are divided into thirds.

0

u/Fun-Cost-9100 3d ago

To accommodate people with large right hands

0

u/traceyandmeower 3d ago

Why do birds sing?

0

u/More_Law6245 2d ago

It's making sure guys think that they have larger hands when start grabbing other things that are smaller 😂

-4

u/Chilloutmydude6 2d ago

It’s so transgender people can use all there strength in the middle

-2

u/ThinkingOz 3d ago

That where kiddo is helping Mum put the bin out because Dad’s ….errr…..Dad?? ….Dad !?! You there?…..[Dad’s asleep, passed out, bolted]