Sparkling Bins – A Fresh, Scientific Look At Odor Control

By Author: John Conway
Total Articles: 12
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When most people think of dumpsters or trash cans, it brings forward an almost visceral reaction, recalling the horrible smells that trash containers like these often give off. Here, at Sparkling Bins, we continue to make strides to offer the best solutions in the trash and dumpster cleaning industry, and odor control is no exception. We have partnered up with the providers of leading odor-control and cleaning-product manufacturers in the country. Each and every day, we work to ensure our client’s trash bins and dumpsters sparkle, but we are also in the business of ensuring they are disinfected and smell fresh and clean.

One of the key partners we work with in this effort is NCM, based out of Broadheadsville, PA. NCM provides odor control products to the top waste haulers in the US to help manage and control the nasty stenches that result from landfills and transfer stations throughout the country.

As any product our experts at Sparkling Bins would recommend, all of NCMs active ingredients are GRAS & FDA approved, and used as directed, do not pose any biological or ecological threat. NCM has achieved great ...
... success, in part, due to their scientists who have developed a threefold approach to odor control. Their multi-dimensional method involves the following elements:

• neutralization
• absorption
• alteration

There is more to odor than meets the eye, or in this case, the nose. Odors can be acidic or alkaline. Depending on the pH of the specific odor involved, NCM products serve to neutralize the odor through a “redox” (oxidation/reduction reaction) with the basic or acidic molecule. Oxidation and reduction occur simultaneously and in equal amounts during the process, rendering the malodor to a neutral state. These chemicals work wonderfully with the trash and recycle bin cleaning systems that we manufacture, right here, at Sparkling Bins. We also recommend complementary products, just like these, to the entrepreneurs who come to us to help them open their own trash bin cleaning businesses. But, let’s continue with the science behind making trash bin and dumpsters smell fresh and clean.

The scientists at NCM did not stop at neutralization alone. It turns out that a human’s ability to perceive odor is also partly dependent on the solubility of the odor molecule in the mucous membranes along the nasal passages. NCM products act to solubilize, or resorb, into the solution, rendering less available odor particles available for passage along the airways to be picked up by the receptors within our bodies. Odor molecules are, in essence, “trapped” in the solution and therefore not accessible for transmission to the mucous membranes. If they can’t get out, we can’t smell them!

Finally, NCM products are also designed to react synergistically with odor molecules. A balance must be achieved with stoichiometric concentrations of the offending odor and the counteractant, yielding pairs that are antagonistic and cancel each other out. When that equilibrium point is reached, the perception of the offensive odor is altered and the result is that your ability to detect the odor is neutral. Concurrently, Van der Waals forces yield an unrecognizable molecule and the receptor site does not transmit a signal.

Did you ever realize there was this much science behind the effort to control and neutralize the odor and germs in your trash bin or dumpster? Here’s the thing – you don’t have to know, because we, at Sparkling Bins, do the research AND find the best partners for all of the entrepreneurs who choose Sparkling Bins to manufacture their trash bin and recycling cleaning equipment. We find partners like NCM, that have the broad depth of technologic support to solve the regulatory dilemmas of today and tomorrow. We make sure that the products we use, and those that we recommend to our Sparkling Bins’ clients are safe for the workers, safe for the facilities and safe for the environment. We can help you provide the best solutions to ensure the greatest degree of satisfaction to your clients. Tell us – can you “smell” the success?