Waste disposal systems in multi-residential buildings are under a great amount of pressure. Every day, residents pack their garbage down the interconnecting metal chutes which make up a building’s garbage disposal system, culminating in the garbage room. Cleanliness and garbage rooms may not instantly seem conducive, but the sanitary health of the waste disposal room is more important than you think. Here, we learn from the team at MJW Team the importance of ensuring garbage room maintenance is never overlooked:

1. Hygiene & Pests

“Food waste and household garbage is going down chutes unbagged. This is creating problems.” – Frank Spadafora, General Manager of MJW Team

• Health: Dirty trash chutes are a breeding ground for harmful bacteria and fungal pathogens which can significantly affect resident health. Ensuring a regular cleaning program will alleviate this risk.
• Pest Infestations: If garbage chutes aren’t cleaned regularly, the walls get thick with grease and organic matter. This creates a food source for pests like cockroaches. If waste collection bins and rooms are not thoroughly cleaned, rodents can become a problem. Cockroaches, mice and rats are some of the pests that can thrive in unsanitary garbage rooms, rapidly breeding. A building manager can reduce pest control costs by keeping waste management systems clean.

2. Odour Control

“Every time the garbage is picked up, the bin needs to be washed, and not just with water. We provide industrial degreaser to building staff—the same product that our teams use when onsite for scheduled cleanings.” – Albert Perri, Accounts and Business Development Manager of MJW Team

• Unpleasant Odours: Regular cleaning helps control unpleasant odours which come from the garbage room making living conditions more pleasant for residents and guests.
• Industrial-Grade Cleaning Products: In-between cleaning visits, MJW educates onsite staff on recommended cleaning products and odour control methods and provides helpful recommendations for day-to-day upkeep. When used properly, the industrial-grade cleaning products give your staff the upper hand with cleaning garbage areas. Coupled with eco-friendly odour control products from shopmjw.com, the dirtiest room in the building can be kept clean, safe and hygienic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Equipment Preservation & Fire Safety Systems

“Regular maintenance and cleaning of a building’s waste system allows for essential repairs to be identified and completed before they become an issue.” – Frank Spadafora, MJW Team

• Damage to Equipment: While the first noticeable sign of a problem is often the lingering smell from the chute, garbage bin, and the garbage room itself, there’s a bigger problem to contend with. Grease, oil and residue eat away at the waste equipment—that’s when things stop working correctly. In addition, the corrosive nature of garbage eats away at floors and waterproofing systems.
• Long-Term Savings: Establishing a regular cleaning regime preserves the life expectancy of waste disposal equipment and saves on emergency repair and replacement costs.
• Fire Safety: A building’s garbage disposal system consists of a network of garbage chutes which collect garbage from building floors and lead it to the garbage compactor. The area is protected from fire by a fire damper, a spring-loaded shield device at the bottom of the garbage chute which is an essential life safety system. “If there’s a fire within the compactor, a mechanism within the fire damper melts away releasing a spring-loaded door so that the fire is unable to travel up the chute,” Spadafora explains.

4. Maintenance Made Easy

“Regardless of whether you’ve got a 5-storey or a 60-storey building, the condition of the garbage chute remains dirty and needs to be maintained.” – Frank Spadafora, MJW Team

• Waste Equipment Maintenance Plan: For boards and managers, a specialized garbage room maintenance plan can ensure safer living conditions for residents, cut building maintenance costs, and save time. While the biggest complaint around garbage might be the smell and infestation concerns, the fire safety significance should not be overlooked. MJW offers a convenient waste equipment maintenance plan to make things easy for busy building managers.
• Predictable Monthly Fee: Using a predictable monthly fee, garbage chute maintenance and odour control can be easily built into the property’s annual budget with payments spread out during the year.
• Quality Control and Waste Equipment Inspection: Following a cleaning by MJW, a representative will return to the building to complete a Quality Control and waste equipment inspection. Going floor-by-floor checking chute doors, fire dampers, sorters, compactors and bins, MJW will provide a full report on the mechanical and sanitary health of the waste control equipment. Recommendations for any faulty or damaged parts are noted along with quotations for their repair or replacement.
• Cost Savings: Extending the scope of possibilities, over the course of a three-year commitment, MJW maintenance plan clients ensure priority booking, and are able to take advantage of 10% off any other service offered by MJW, services which include underground and parking lot sweeping, washing and waterproofing, drains and catch basin cleaning, and parking lot striping and painting.

Establishing a regular maintenance plan with MJW for waste disposal systems makes it easy for boards, building owners, and managers to focus on matters which really need their attention. The services offered by MJW play a crucial role in supporting clean, hygienic garbage rooms, positively impacting residents’ health and living conditions, and keeping budget costs down.

MJW Team offers services throughout the Greater Toronto Area, London, Ottawa and Montreal. To learn how the MJW team can help service your building, call 416-741-3999 or visit www.mjwcanada.ca.