Wheelie Bins

Our local council is replacing all the wheelie bins with new ones as part of a new recycling initiative. They want to change the colours and redefine the contents to meet a new council directive. What a waste of money.

On the positive side this should free up a few wheelie bins which I find are very useful storage containers and will try and I’ll try and acquire some more. You should too.

Wheelie bins are waterproof, sturdy and very versatile. They are available in different sizes as well which is handy.

• They can be used to hold water, like a water butt
• They can store dry food like grain
• They can store electronic equipment, in EMP proof boxes or wrapping
• They can store clothes
• They can store tools
• You can use them as composters
• You can use them as toilets
• You can use them as fish tanks
• Use them as barriers, fill with concrete and block alleys, doors, entry points, take the wheels off when in position

Most of these uses only require a few siimple modifications and as they are on wheels they can be transported easily. A row of bins does not look suspicious either.

They also make good containers for burying your gear in and storing in caches. Dig a hole for the wheely bin and make sure the lid is at least a foot below the surface. Fill and pack the sides up to half way to ensure the wheely bin is stable and then fill as necessary. It ain’t EMP proof so if you need that put them in EMP shielding before putting in the bin. In addition put the metal stuff, tins, guns, ammo at the bottom to avoid metal detectors and put water, grain, plastic stuff in the top half of the wheely bin. Put in some filling to obsorb moisture. When full, close the lid and put a reasonable plastic sheet over the top, not really thin stuff, as a hood and make sure it goes down to at least half way. Fill with soil and then plant something on top. You could fill your garden with these for a massive cache. Just make sure you are not seen when you do this. Erect a cover whilst you do it and do it when the neighbours are not around. When you want the goods you did down to the lid, cut the sheet and open the top. No heavy lifting, no digging for hours when you need something urgently.

You can also use them as sentry points. It isn’t ideal and there are better solutions but you can put a couple together end to end, you can bury them and use them as pop up hidey holes. Use with a periscope or with a watcher. Climb in and pop up when suitable. You are a small target while they are full size. Alternatively, put on their side in bushes, or the side of hills, cover and disguise the lid. Fill with blankets and climb in feet first. You can watch from within with a small hole and you could even shoot from there if necessary. Obviously both of these need time to put in place but when in place can very quickly be utilised.

It is also possible to buy industrial bins which are large and can be metal. These may be more suited for storing items in a warehouse or where you are unlikely to be searched by scavengers but for most of us the normal plastic bins used for recycling are more than suitable and small enough to hide or bury.

Bear in mind there will be millions of them lying around after an event and the more uses you can think of the better. The burying part will be the hardest but if you can get those tasks done before the event then you have the benefit of power tools and hired labour. Just don’t tell them what it is for.