Posted July 11th, 2014 by Christy Serafini

Garbage in most smaller homes and businesses can easily be removed by hand. All it takes is for someone to take a few garbage bags outside to a dumpster or bin in a remote part of the property before it is time for it to be picked up. This is pretty much the only solution that can exist for single-story buildings, but what about hi-rise buildings that are several stories tall? It isn’t convenient for someone on the seventh floor or higher to carry a full trash bag all the way down to the proper receptacle at some remote corner of the building. For these buildings, having at least one centralized trash chute is a must.

What is a Trash Chute?

A trash chute is a large tube 24 to 36 inches in diameter that runs down the length of a building and takes garbage to a central location. Most chutes typically have an entrance for every floor of a building and are covered with a cabinet door for safety reasons. Tall apartment buildings, office buildings and hotels all have trash chutes, and as long as they are well-maintained and kept clean they can keep garbage out of sight for most people in a building.

Benefits of Having a Trash Chute

There are several clear benefits of having a trash chute in a hi-rise building. First of all, it makes garbage removal very convenient. A person living in an apartment on the upper floor of a building need only take their full garbage bags and walk to the chute entrance on their floor to get rid of their trash. They don’t have to worry about getting their garbage out at a specific time or day. It’s also very convenient for the building management as they don’t have to worry about collecting trash from throughout a very tall hi-rise.

Having an industrial chute ensures that all of the building’s garbage makes it to the appropriate location. The chute goes to a large dumpster or some other kind of receptacle where it can be taken away. Finally, having a trash chute in a hi-rise is much more sanitary than having people bring their garbage out by themselves. Nobody has to touch the trash once it goes down the chute, and since the chute itself goes down to an unoccupied area of the building nobody has to worry about foul smells, insects, rats and other problems associated with garbage being collected in one centralized location.

Integrating a Trash Chute into a Building’s Design

For obvious reasons, installing a trash chute in an existing building without it becoming a major remodeling job is next to impossible, but a trash chute can easily be integrated into the design of a new building. Construction and architectural companies such as Wade Architectural Systems can incorporate very durable and convenient trash chutes into just about any hi-rise. These chutes are very convenient for anybody living or working in a building, they help keep the building clean and they make garbage collection as easy as possible. A good trash chute is a must for any building taller than a few stories high, so building planners should make sure that there is at least one in every hi-rise that is built.