These developments may have retail and/or office space on the ground floor and several stories of residences above, with frontage on a commercial street and parking behind (or, sometimes, in an underground garage). Businesses’ needs for garbage and recycling space depend on the types of activities they are engaged in. Note that garbage compactors can hinder recycling by preventing the monitoring of discarded materials, and by providing too much capacity for what should be the lowest volume discard stream.
If a compactor is already in use, consider using it for recyclables instead!
In mixed-use building design, it is important to allow sufficient space to keep residents’ discards and those from businesses separate, to simplify monitoring for contamination.