Ambientalia^® CoverUp^®, a patented system for eliminating foul odours from universal solid urban waste containers.

Unpleasant odours have always been a problem hard to solve for people who live or work close to businesses activities, whether industrial or in the service sectors, which emit oppressive smells or fumes (from waste treatments, composting, water purification, fish markets etc.) or next to bins or groups of bins for urban waste. No public administration is unaware of the negative effects and poor image deriving from underestimation of this aspect which lowers the quality of life.

Regardless of the highly important effort to collect and recycle waste by means of differentiated disposal, organic substances, especially in hot weather, always give off unpleasant smells. While some plant engineering intervention may be envisaged in industrial areas responsible for bad smells, the problem of garbage bins remains unresolved. Attempts have been made to reduce the effects by masking the odours or by inserting gaskets in the lids, but the result has been a momentary covering-up of the odours or, at times, even a worsening of the situation.

CoverUp is a naturally ventilated lid which, thanks to a special chimney-effect opening, allows the odorigenous gases that accumulate inside the bin while the lid is closed to be adsorbed by the special AdsorbEco carbon filter in such a way that unpleasant odours do not escape during periodic openings for depositing waste.

Tests carried out on normal rubbish bins where neither CoverUp nor the AdsorbEco filter were in use showed the following disadvantages, of considerable importance from a practical viewpoint.

a) On the internal surface of the lid, the molecules of odorigenous gases form at a rate consistent with the presence of a series of thin films of gas that adhere to the surface itself, consequently the overall speed with which they flow to the outside is not particularly high.

b) Disadvantage a), during its slow flow, generates a high concentration of odorigenous gases in the space between the internal surface of the lid and the layer of waste contained in the bin. This space varies from a maximum of a few hundred litres (a half-empty bin) to a minimum of a few dozen litres (a full or almost full bin). These values change in function of bin capacity but the proportions remain the same. Maximum concentration corresponds to maximum filling, when the odorigenous gases are produced in greater quantity.

c) During periodic openings of the lid, circumstance b) means that the whole volume of air in the empty space, with its high concentration of odorigenous gases ready to flow out, escapes almost instantly into the surrounding atmosphere with an unpleasant smell that causes discomfort to the user. In addition, even with the bin closed, the inevitable leaking of unpleasant odours to the exterior causes a generalised environmental discomfort due to unpleasant smells that attract insects, parasites and a variety of animals.

d) Above all, during the summer months, the abovementioned inconveniences are accompanied by an increase in the temperature inside the bins, which are made of materials that neither reflect nor insulate from heat. The high temperatures speed up the rate of decay of organic waste, with consequent worsening of the problem.


CoverUp is the best that the market offers today.
The new design of the bin or container lid has been developed to ensure constant natural ventilation inside each bin. It is also fitted with a removable frame containing the filter mantle.
With this system, as soon as the gases are formed they flow, on contact with the filter, in a thin fluid layer, causing them to be completely adsorbed. They then immediately pass to the outside, almost entirely purified of their odorigenous components.
The concentration of odorigenous gases in the empty space of the container is in this way greatly reduced, both in the transitory phase (immediately after a partial filling of waste) and in the stationary phase (during possible long periods of time between one filling and the next).
The fundamental feature of CoverUp and the AdsorbEco filter consists in the fact that when the lid is opened to deposit waste, the immediate release of the air contained within the empty space takes with it a minimum of odorigenous gases of such a low concentration that they do not create unpleasantness for the user.

CoverUp offers considerable economic advantages.
The most important advantage is the reduction in the cost of collection of organic waste by a minimum of 50% and maximum of 70%. Currently the emptying of organic rubbish bins occurs on average once a week during colder weather and twice or even thrice a week in summer. Moreover, in town centres, seaside resorts and tourist areas this may take place more often.
The CoverUp system means that containers may be emptied once every ten days in colder weather and once a week in summer. In areas where container capacity is insufficient, it is economically advantageous to increase the number provided.

> CoverUp technical features