Top Tips for Managing waste chutes

Ensure the hopper head on each floor is located within a fire rated/smoke sealed compartment, or ensure that the hopper head fits tight and snug and cannot easily leak smoke into escape routes

Ensure hopper head seals are in good condition and provide a smoke seal

Provide a system of regular (at least weekly) visual inspection to ensure the hopper head and damper are fully operational

Ensure a full planned preventative maintenance programme is in place

Include the hopper head and waste bin room within your housekeeping inspections If the waste chute isn’t working (eg frequently blocked), fix the problem or consider replacement or abandoning the chute altogether – don’t continue to use something which could spread fire or smoke.

As a minimum, a fire damper should be provided over the waste bin, to prevent fire spreading throughout the chute.

Regularly check that the damper and its operating mechanism (eg fusible link) is fully functional

Periodically arrange for the internal lining of the chute to be inspected and if necessary cleaned – is there a build up of waste material throughout the length of the chute?

Waste bins – bin room doors keep locked

Check the fire compartmentation within the waste bin room – is it fully fire stopped?

Consider a fire suppression over the waste bins, to automatically extinguish any fire.

We suggest that an automatic fire detector, and alarm is provided over the waste bin to alert caretakers etc to any waste bin fire so that it can be dealt with quickly