BuildBinA Recycle Group initiative Start a pilot

Fabricator spec · Rev A · 19 October 2026

Build it to this.

The general arrangement, compartment schedule and component spec for one BuildBin station. Change the pod sizes below and every drawing, dimension and quantity updates. Print it or save it as a PDF to send with a quote request.

Design basis set by this design   Proposed our starting point, the fabricator can improve it   To confirm needs the fabricator, engineer or operator

1. Set the compartment sizes

Each side is ten 622 mm modules. A pod is one to six modules long. Use + and − to resize a pod, the arrows to move it along its side, and A/B to move it to the other side. Free modules show as gaps until you give them to a pod.

2. General arrangement

Drawn to scale from the layout above. All dimensions in millimetres. Not for construction until the fabricator's shop drawings are approved.

GA-01 Plan, roof off Hook end on the right
GA-02 Side A elevation As seen standing at side A
GA-03 Side B elevation As seen standing at side B
GA-04 Section through bays Looking toward the hook end
GA-05 Typical pod

3. Compartment schedule

Pod sizes follow from the module count. Indicative full load uses loose densities from BRANZ REBRI (see how it's sized). Where a full pod would pass its rated load, the schedule gives a painted fill line.

Pod external = modules × 622 − 70 (35 mm clearance each end) by 1,095 by body internal height − 120. Pod internal deducts a 20 mm wall and floor allowance. Gross bay = modules × 622 × 1,165 × internal height.

4. Specification

What each part has to do. Materials and sections are proposed starting points. The fabricator and a structural engineer set the final ones.

4.1 Status and scope

  • Design basisOne hook-lift station per new home, eight source-separated streams, delivered at slab and collected at handover or when full.
  • Design basisConcept design modelled in Blender. Dimensions here are design intent. The fabricator prepares shop drawings for approval before cutting steel.
  • To confirmPrototype quantity, then pilot run size.

4.2 Overall dimensions

    4.3 Body and chassis

    • Design basisSteel body 6,300 × 2,450 on two longitudinal chassis rails 220 high, with rear rollers and a hook A-frame at the front, as for a standard hook-lift bin.
    • To confirmHook height, A-frame geometry, rail centres and roller size to suit the operator's hook-lift trucks. The station must load and unload exactly like the fleet's existing bins.
    • ProposedFloor plate on cross-members, lower side walls and end walls in plate on a welded frame, and a full-height centre spine wall 40 thick splitting side A from side B. Plate thickness and sections by the engineer for the loads in 4.6.
    • ProposedNo internal fixed dividers. The pods form the compartments, so the body never changes when bay sizes change.
    • ProposedDrain holes at the low corners of the body floor so rain that gets past a flap runs out rather than ponding under the pods.

    4.4 Module grid and side frame

    • Design basisEach side is 6,220 internal, divided into ten 622 mm modules. Module lines are the same on both sides.
    • Design basisLower side wall is solid to a sill 1,000 above the underside of the body (1,220 above the ground). Above the sill the side is an open frame: a post at every module line, a sill rail and a top rail, so any module can sit behind any pod.
    • ProposedPosts in square hollow section, clear opening between posts about 570 wide. A drip hood or lip over each opening sheds rain past the flap.
    • ProposedNumber plates clip or bolt to the sill rail at any module, so they move when pods move.

    4.5 Lift-off roof

    • Design basisThe roof is one piece and lifts straight off at the facility so every pod can be lifted out vertically.
    • ProposedFour lifting eyes, inset about 350 from each end and 300 from each side, sized for a four-leg chain sling. Fold-down or low-profile eyes so they don't snag.
    • ProposedFour locating cones or pins so the roof drops back on in the right place, plus four over-centre latches to hold it down on the road and in wind. Compressible seal on the body top rail.
    • ProposedCopper top band and centre ridge strip (see 4.10). Roof falls to both sides with a drip edge past the side frame.
    • To confirmRoof weight, eye rating and proof test, and whether the roof should also carry a small solar panel for the locks, lights and alarm (see 4.8).

    4.6 Pods (removable compartments)

    • Design basisEach bay is a removable, open-top steel pod, one to six modules long. Pod sizes are listed in the schedule. Clearance to the body is 35 at each end, each side and the spine; 120 above the pod to the roof.
    • Design basisEach pod carries its own front flaps (4.7). A full pod lifts out with its flaps closed, so nothing spills on the way to the tip floor.
    • ProposedFour lifting lugs at the top corners for a four-leg sling, and two forklift pockets under the floor running front to back. The front wall is solid up to the sill line and open above it behind the flaps.
    • ProposedPod rated load as selected above for every pod size, so any pod can take any stream. The rated load and a fill line, where the schedule gives one, are painted inside the pod.
    • ProposedSealed floor with a screw-in drain plug, so plasterboard and cardboard stay dry and can be drained before tipping.
    • To confirmHow the facility tips pods: forklift with a rotating carriage, or crane with a tipping frame. This sets the lug and pocket details.

    4.7 Loading flaps

    • Design basisOne top-hinged flap per module, mounted on the pod's front wall and sitting just inside the body frame, so it swings out through the frame opening. Gravity closes it.
    • ProposedClear opening about 1,000 high from the sill. Flap leaf laps the opening by about 25 all round. Hold-open stay or gas strut that releases before the pod is lifted.
    • ProposedNo pinch point at the hinge or closing edge. Rubber closing strip on the leaf.
    • To confirmLeaf material and thickness, hinge type and how the leaf fits in the 35 clearance. The fabricator can propose a different flap if it keeps the two rules above: one per module, and it lifts out with the pod.

    4.8 Locking, lights and alarm

    • Design basisOne security system run from one phone app over Bluetooth: central locking, three motion-sensor lights and an alarm that arms itself on a schedule. No rods, bars or padlocks.
    • Design basisLocking. One electric latch per module on the body sill rail engages a keeper on the flap's bottom edge. One tap locks or unlocks every bay. Every lock and unlock is logged with time and user.
    • Design basisSensor lights. Three LED floodlights with built-in motion sensors: one centred on each long side and one on the rear end, mounted on the body's top band (not the roof, which lifts off). Any movement near the station after dark turns them on.
    • Design basisAlarm. A siren set to arm for chosen hours, for example 6 pm to 6 am on weekdays and all weekend. While armed, a flap opening, a forced latch or a tamper on the controller box sets it off, and all three lights flash. The supervisor can arm, disarm or change the hours from the app, and a scheduled unlock disarms it.
    • ProposedLights angled down at the station and its surrounds so they don't shine into neighbours' windows, with adjustable sensitivity, on-time and a light-level setting so they only work after dark.
    • ProposedSiren run time limited and the alarm resets itself after it stops, so it can't sound all night in a street of new homes.
    • ProposedOne sealed controller and battery in a lockable box at the hook end, wired through the body to the latches, lights, siren and flap sensors. Keyed manual override at the box for a flat phone or battery. Latches release when unlocked at the facility so pods lift straight out.
    • To confirmBluetooth only reaches a phone nearby. For alarm alerts to the supervisor's phone when nobody is on site, the controller needs a 4G module and a data plan.
    • To confirmLatch, light, siren and controller hardware and IP ratings. Battery size for lights and alarm between change-overs, charging (at the facility on each change-over, or a solar panel on the body), and whether latches fail locked or unlocked.
    • To confirmSiren volume and maximum run time against the state's noise rules for alarms in residential areas.

    4.9 Weather and site

    • Design basisClosed station keeps rain and wind off every stream. Polystyrene and wrap can't blow out.
    • ProposedSeals at the roof, drip hoods over the flaps, drain holes in the body floor, drain plugs in the pods.
    • ProposedThe sensor lights and alarm in 4.8 deter theft and after-hours dumping.
    • ProposedNo footholds on the outside. Signage on both ends: no climbing, no asbestos, chemicals or hazardous waste.

    4.10 Finish and marking

    • ProposedBody, roof, frame and flaps: charcoal, to match BuildBin steel #14181C as closely as the paint system allows.
    • ProposedTop band, roof ridge strip, lifting eyes and bay numbers: copper #C2804F.
    • ProposedBay number in copper and stream name in white on a plate at each pod's left-hand module. Stream name also painted inside each pod's front wall. "BUILDBIN" and "EVERY MATERIAL. SORTED ON SITE." on the rear end.
    • To confirmPaint system (prime and topcoat or powder coat) and corrosion protection for site and facility use.

    4.11 Safety and compliance

    • To confirmThe structure, hook-lift interface, roof lifting eyes and pod lifting lugs designed and certified by a qualified structural engineer to the relevant Australian Standards, with rated loads marked and proof-load testing as the engineer requires.
    • To confirmLoaded travel height on the operator's truck within the 4.3 m general access limit, and loaded mass within the truck's hook-lift rating.
    • ProposedNo sharp edges, guarded pinch points, and loading flap sill at a height trades can reach from the ground without a step.

    4.12 What we need back with the quote

    • Shop drawings or a marked-up GA, with materials and sections.
    • Tare weight of the body, the roof and each pod size.
    • Rated load per pod and per station, and the engineer's certification approach.
    • Locking, sensor light and alarm hardware proposal and price, including a 4G option.
    • Unit price for 1 prototype, 10 and 50 stations, plus spare pods by size.
    • Lead time for the prototype and for a pilot run.

    5. Main components per station

    Quantities follow the layout above.

    Concept design for quotation. BuildBin is a Recycle Group initiative. Questions about this spec: toby@recycle.au.