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Dumpster Rental For Restaurants: 3 Tips For Keeping The Dumpster Free Of Pests

13 June 2016

Clarence Gray

While you may be a wonderful chef, operating and managing a restaurant is far from just being able to cook up delicious meals. You also have to take care of other aspects of the business, like learning how to deal with food waste. While you'd ideally want everyone entering your restaurant to finish everything on their plate, the reality is that most people will leave behind some food waste. In fact, the average restaurant generates 150,000 pounds of waste each year. This waste generally gets tossed into a dumpster without a second thought; however, this causes the dumpster to begin to attract pests to the restaurant, which can become a health issue. Here are 3 tips you can implement to keep your dumpster free of pests, like flies, fleas and raccoons.

Keep the Dumpster Locked in a Relatively Cool and Shady Place

The smell of rotting food is what attracts the pests to your dumpster in the first place, so you want to make sure that the dumpster doesn't reek by the end of the day. Keep the rental dumpsters locked at all times to contain the odors of rotting food within the dumpster. Locking the dumpsters will also help prevent many pests from even being able to reach the food wastes contained inside.

In addition, you also want to keep the rental dumpsters in a relatively cool and shady place, as heat will cause the food to denature more quickly. As food becomes more spoiled, it will release more gases and odors that attracts pests. The rate of the chemical reactions associated with the breakdown of proteins and vitamins in food doubles with each 18 degrees Fahrenheit increase in temperature within 50 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit – the moderate temperature range where food is handled. If possible, keep the dumpster in an area with shade.

Freeze Smelly Food Scraps to Dump Later

With time, you'll notice that some dishes you cook up tend to be smellier than others. These types of food wastes will attract more pests than spoiled foods that are less smelly. With this in mind, you should highly consider dumping smellier food scraps in the rental dumpster on the night or day before the waste gets picked up. This is only possible if you have a spare freezer in the kitchen to keep some of the smellier food scraps in the meanwhile, so that they do not spoil as quickly.

You'll want to keep the food scraps in a sealed plastic bag for health reasons. Simply toss bags of frozen food scraps shortly before the dumpster gets picked up. This way, the scraps won't emit any odors, as they won't have enough time to thaw out. This will also give pests less time to reach the scraps.

Wash the Dumpster Bin Regularly After Each Pick-Up

If you notice that the empty dumpster reeks, take a look inside the dumpster. Even if you place all of the food scraps in plastic bags or wrap them in paper, chances are that some of the food scraps got out and are stuck to the inside walls or bottom of the rental dumpster. If you leave the dumpster unattended, these scraps or residues will only continue to spoil and become more stinky, so your best bet is to wash the dumpster bin regularly – usually after each pick-up.

Hose down the inside of the rental dumpster. Consider using mild detergent if the food scraps are simply stuck to the inner surface of the rental dumpster. You might have to put in some elbow grease.

Conclusion

By putting in some effort to make sure that your dumpster is not smelly and that food scraps tossed inside are not easily accessible, you'll be able to prevent pests from feasting on your food waste bins. These pests can become a huge problem to your restaurant. For more tips about keeping your dumpster clean, contact a company like Parks & Sons of Sun City, Inc.

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