Cheap Bin Stickers? Here's What They Really Cost.
Why choosing the right commercial bin stickers can save money, reduce replacements and help cut unnecessary waste.
When you're ordering hundreds or thousands of bin stickers, choosing the cheapest option can seem like the obvious way to save money. And I can understand why. If you've got two quotations in front of you that appear to be offering the same thing, why would you pay more?
The problem is that they might not be offering the same thing at all.
On day one, most bin stickers look pretty similar. They're bright, the printing looks good and they're stuck firmly to the bins. It's what happens after they've spent a few months outdoors, exposed to sunlight, rain, cleaning and everyday handling, that tells a rather different story.
We've been supplying commercial bin stickers, recycling labels and outdoor graphics to waste management companies and local authorities for over 20 years, and we've seen what happens when the wrong materials are used. Stickers start peeling, the printing fades, corners curl and eventually the information becomes difficult to read or disappears altogether.
And when you're responsible for hundreds or thousands of bins, replacing those stickers isn't simply a case of ordering another batch. Someone has to organise the replacements, remove what's left of the originals, prepare the containers and apply the new ones.
Suddenly, that initial saving doesn't look quite so attractive.
Why do bin stickers peel and fade?
The hardest part of my job, is getting across that not all stickers are designed for the same thing.
Commercial waste bins and containers come in all sorts of materials, from HDPE and polypropylene plastics to painted, powder-coated and galvanised steel. Add sunlight, rain, cleaning products and everyday handling into the mix, and you've got a pretty demanding environment for a sticker.
Different surfaces need different adhesives, and the printed material and protective laminate matter too. A sticker that works perfectly well on smooth painted metal might start lifting from an HDPE bin within weeks. That's why we always want to understand where and how a sticker will be used before recommending a specification.
Preparation and application matter too.
One thing we see far too often is a new sticker applied directly over an old one... please don't! If the original sticker is already peeling, you're asking the new one to stick to something that's failing underneath it. Surfaces need to be properly cleaned, old adhesive removed and suitable application conditions considered... we've made an application video to explain.
Even the best materials won't perform properly if they're badly applied. We've written more about why stickers don't stick to plastic if you'd like to understand the technical side.
So, what does a cheap bin sticker really cost?
We see faded, peeling bin stickers being replaced all the time. Sometimes the lower price comes down to the printing process, the material, the adhesive or the absence of a protective laminate. None of these choices is necessarily wrong, but a sticker produced for a short-term application isn't always suitable for years on a working bin.
And when those stickers fail, the cost isn't just another batch of labels. There's removal, cleaning and reapplication to consider too.
Here's how that can add up over four years, using 250 A3 bin stickers as an example. We've also allowed for the additional labour involved in removing old stickers, cleaning off adhesive residue and applying the replacements.
The cheapest sticker to buy isn't necessarily the cheapest sticker to use.
Durable is sustainable. And we mean something quite specific by that.
We talk a lot about sustainability at MOBAD, but we don't believe choosing a product with the greenest-sounding description is necessarily the answer. A sticker that needs replacing every few months means more materials, manufacturing, transport and waste.
Choosing the right specification for the job, so that a sticker lasts as long as it's needed, can help reduce unnecessary replacements. It doesn't mean any sticker is completely without environmental impact, but it does mean thinking about the whole working life of the product rather than just what it's made from.
That's what we mean by Durable is sustainable.
We've seen what happens when stickers don't last.
Back in 2014, a London-area council approached MOBAD after experiencing problems with bin stickers supplied elsewhere. The original stickers were supposed to last for years, but hadn't even made it to three months.
We supplied a more durable alternative, and that council has continued coming back to us.
It's a good example of why taking the time to understand the application is worthwhile. The initial conversation might take a little longer, but finding something that works properly can save an awful lot of time and frustration later.
And it's an approach that's helped us build some very long-standing customer relationships....
SUEZ - durable stickers for demanding environments
We've supplied SUEZ with bins stickers for many years. That means understanding how the products are used, choosing the right material materials and retaining the information needed to keep repeat orders consistent.
Cox Skips - making repeat orders easier
For Cox Skips, we developed colour-coded waste-stream stickers, supplied samples for testing and introduced individual design codes to make reordering straightforward. It's a good example of why managing ongoing supply matters just as much as getting the first order right.
Olleco - when ordinary stickers aren't good enough
Olleco needed identification labels for HDPE waste oil drums that would withstand oil contamination and repeated industrial washing. It's a good example of why testing is more useful than guessing.
What should you ask before ordering bin stickers?
Whether you're ordering stickers for commercial waste bins, recycling containers, skips or industrial equipment, there are a few things worth establishing before choosing a specification.
What are the stickers being applied to? HDPE, polypropylene, painted metal or another surface?
What sizes and quantities do you need? A small identification label has different requirements from a large A3 bin sticker.
How long do they need to last? A temporary campaign and a long-term container identification scheme shouldn't automatically use the same material.
Where will they be used? Indoors, outdoors, in direct sunlight or in a particularly demanding environment?
How are the bins cleaned? Will the stickers encounter detergents, pressure washing, chemicals or regular abrasion?
Who's applying them? Will they be fitted to new containers or used to replace existing stickers?
Will you need regular repeat orders? Are there multiple designs, different waste streams or several locations requiring deliveries?
You don't need to have all the answers before contacting us. Part of our job is helping you work through them and find a specification that's suitable for what you're trying to achieve.
Sometimes a specialist high-tack material is the answer. Sometimes a different adhesive or protective finish is more appropriate. And sometimes a straightforward short-term sticker is absolutely fine.
The important thing is matching the product to the job rather than assuming one sticker will work everywhere.
Stop buying the same bin stickers twice.
We know we're not always going to be the cheapest supplier on the initial quotation. Good materials cost money, and so does taking the time to get the specification right. But we'd much rather help you choose something suitable from the beginning than supply a product that needs replacing long before it should.
We've spent more than 20 years helping waste management companies, recycling businesses and local authorities with their stickers and graphics. That experience means we're familiar with the difficult surfaces, demanding environments and practical problems that come with the industry.
Whether you need a small quantity of replacement labels, several thousand commercial bin stickers or regular deliveries to sites across the UK, we can help with material selection, artwork, production and ongoing supply.
And if you're already dealing with stickers that peel, fade or simply refuse to stay stuck, we'd particularly like to hear from you.
Because your bins have enough rubbish to deal with already. Your stickers shouldn't be adding to it.
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