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Yard & Field

Buying guides

Choosing a bin store or bike store

Short answer: Measure your own bins and bikes before anything else, as sizes vary. A bin store needs room for each bin with its lid closed, a way to open the bin lids and a clear route to the kerb on collection day. A bike store needs room for a bike about 1.8 metres long, a solid base it can be bolted to and, for valuable bikes, a Sold Secure rated anchor or lock. In England, a store in front of the house may need planning permission, so check with your council first.

By the Yard & Field team

Updated

A good store hides the bins and keeps bikes dry and locked away, and still lets you wheel everything out on bin day.

Bin stores

Measure your bins

Councils hand out wheelie bins in several sizes, most often 140, 180, 240 and 360 litres. Treat the typical sizes below as a starting point. Published sizes for a 240 litre bin differ by up to a centimetre, and one council lists its 360 litre bins at 1,098mm high, 610mm wide and 880mm deep. Measure each bin at its widest and deepest point, handles included, with the lid shut.

BinHeightWidthDepth
140 litre1,060mm480mm550mm
180 litre1,060mm480mm730mm
240 litre1,060 to 1,070mm575 to 580mm730 to 740mm
360 litre1,080 to 1,098mm580 to 610mm875 to 880mm

A 360 litre bin is noticeably deeper than the rest. Some stores are made for bins no more than 740mm deep, so check a store's inside depth before you count on it taking one.

Single, double or triple?

Count the bins you have now and leave room for more. In England, councils must collect recycling separately from other rubbish and collect food waste at least once a week, so expect several containers. How many, and what kind, depends on your council: some use wheelie bins for everything, others use boxes, bags and a food caddy. Stores come in single, double and triple widths, and some add shelves for recycling boxes beside the wheelie bins.

Lids and doors

Where to put it

Councils usually want bins at the edge of your property, nearest the road, by 7am on collection day, and their crews won't normally walk far into a drive or garden to fetch them. Bins that are overflowing, have bags beside them or are stuck behind a locked gate may not be emptied. Store your bins on your own land, not on the pavement, and keep a clear, level route from the store to the kerb. The rules vary, so check your council's.

Planters on top

Some stores have a planted roof: a shallow tray over a waterproof layer, with drainage to carry off rain. They suit low, tough plants such as sedum, alpines, grasses, herbs and wildflowers. Stand it on a level, solid surface, and fix it to a wall or the ground so it can't tip if children climb on it.

Bike stores

Size

An ordinary adult bike is about 1.8 metres long and 0.65 metres wide, according to the government's cycle design guidance. So a store needs more than 1.8 metres of length inside to wheel a whole bike in without taking a wheel off. Bikes with 29-inch wheels, electric bikes and cargo bikes need more room, and some makers build longer stores for them. Measure your longest bike, handlebars and pedals included, and check the store's inside measurements, not the outside ones.

Security

Steel stores can usually be bolted down to a concrete base, and a ground anchor inside gives each bike something solid to be locked to. Some insurers look for both.

Sold Secure tests and grades locks, ground anchors and bike storage. It rates products by how long they hold out against a thief's tools:

For an electric bike, Sold Secure points you to its separate powered cycle ratings. Before you buy, check your home or bike insurance, as many policies name the Sold Secure grade they need.

Keeping bikes dry

Metal stores can gather condensation, so look for one with vents built in. Keep the store away from hedges, shrubs and walls so air can move round it. Clean off a wet, muddy bike before you put it away if you can, and wipe up any water inside so it doesn't keep condensing.

Timber, metal or plastic?

MaterialGood forUpkeep
Pressure-treated timberBlending into a garden, and planted roofsFades to silver-grey over months, which is normal. Stain or a microporous paint keeps the colour. Seal any cut you make with a preserver.
Galvanised steelSecurity, and bike stores in particularVery little: no wood to rot or re-treat. Treat any hole you drill with a rust inhibitor.
PlasticLight, low-maintenance stores for bins and garden kitLittle more than a wash. Look for plastic sold as fade-free or UV-protected, with vents to stop condensation.

What goes underneath

A store needs a firm, level base. If it isn't level, the doors can stop lining up and let water in.

Heavy metal bike stores ask for more. One maker of galvanised steel stores wants a level base of tarmac, concrete or slabs, at least 50mm thick, with fixings supplied to bolt the store's own metal floor down to concrete. A ground anchor needs solid concrete at least 100mm deep. Check for pipes underneath before you drill.

Do I need planning permission?

In a back garden, a bin or bike store usually falls within the rules that let you put up a small outbuilding without permission. The front garden is different, and the advice on how different varies.

If you want a store in front of the house, and especially one bolted to a base, ask your council before you buy.

See also: do I need planning permission?, shed bases and choosing a log store.

Please note: this guide is general advice to help you choose, not professional or legal advice. Bin sizes and collection rules vary by council, so measure your own bins and check your council's rules. Always follow the maker's instructions, check with your insurer which security grade it needs, and ask your council if you're unsure whether you need planning permission.

Sources for this guide

The pages we checked this guide's facts against, so you can read them for yourself. A link here isn't a recommendation.