Recommendations for Pick-up Tools for Rubbish in Public Areas Like Beaches and Parks?

L[Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 01:29
Last edited 14/04/2021 - 07:21 by 1 other user

I'm searching for a tool like this for grabbing soft drink bottles, cans, paper, etc without bending over: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/233936357940.

I've seen several types and some of them (like that one above) look like they'd break in five minutes.

Because there's different sized bottles and cans all the way up to 2L, I think a circular claw type would be better than rubber suction cups like this one: https://www.bunnings.com.au/craftright-820mm-pick-up-and-rea….

I know Bunnings has one made by Oates: https://www.bunnings.com.au/oates-1m-nippers-reacher-pick-up…. I might pay $38 if I knew it would last. But I've had Oates brooms before and they all broke. So I'm wary of paying $38 only to have it break too.

Has anyone found a decent/robust one?

Sports & Outdoors

Comments

  • Simoneee on 14/04/2021 - 01:51

    Have a look at Kmart
    https://www.kmart.com.au/product/reacher/2895816

    • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 13:15

      Hm… Kmart near Aldi where I am. I'll have to go look at this and the one below. Thanks.

  • Melencir on 14/04/2021 - 05:44
    +2

    Aldi has one today - https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys/special-buys-wed-14-…

    No idea how robust it is though

    • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 13:14

      LOL, you're kidding. Thanks. I'll have to go check it out in person. I always expect Aldi stuff will break, so I always look carefully to try and work if I'll have any luck repairing it when it does.

  • brendanm on 14/04/2021 - 07:38
    +8

    If it breaks take it back to Bunnings and get a new one.

    • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 13:12

      Yeah I guess. I was thinking of making my own from the handle of an old carpet sweeper… just some stainless steel cable from Bunnings through the tube with a loop at each end that I pull tight around the object. But a claw would be easier than looping a cable around objects and constantly resetting the loop at the bottom.

  • dirtybigbjelke on 14/04/2021 - 09:29

    I got mine from a $2-00 shop for $2-00, looks like the ebay one but with decent jaws. Works fine but I'm not using it that much. Just don't get ones that folds in the middle like the Craftright one, that join is a weak point.

    • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 13:08

      Yeah that's what concerns me… so many products today are junk that looks good but quickly breaks if you use it for its intended purpose.

  • Naigrabzo on 14/04/2021 - 09:34

    Will you use it alot? If so, you may need a metal one. If you use it all day then the plastic will probably just break after a few uses….

    • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 13:04
      +1

      Definitely. I walk along the beach where people sit around fires at night and drink. Even fishermen push their empty beer cans partially into the sand to stop them rolling along the beach. They walk off and the next high tide carries them off, bunch of slobs lol. Nine out of ten are beer bottles and the rest cans. I haven't seen an all metal one yet.

      • Naigrabzo on 16/04/2021 - 10:32
        +1

        Hats off my man. Keep up your good work.

        We are collectively destroying this planet. Some more than others.

  • AndyC1 on 14/04/2021 - 11:23

    The craftright lasts a long time if you do not abuse it. Sounds like you need to go to Aldi or Bunnings and grab a cheap one.
    My son has been using it for 2 years for getting the cans and bottles from the wheelie bins for the NSW return and urn so he can make a bit of pocket money form his Magic cards in the apartment block we live in

    • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 12:54

      Thanks. Yeah I think the Craftright is the one in the Bunnings tool section with suction caps? I had one almost identical but depending on the bottle size the rubber caps would slip making it easier to just lean over to pick the bottles up lol.

      • bargain huntress on 14/04/2021 - 17:33

        You can usually take the suction cups off these types of things

        • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 17:59

          Smaller bottles and cans would be ok, but I think the way the metal bands work on this would push a 2L bottle out instead of grabbing it. :-(

      • AndyC1 on 14/04/2021 - 19:17

        If they slip pick them up via the bottle neck.

  • ChocStrawberries on 14/04/2021 - 13:34

    There might be something on one of these sites?

    https://littergrabber.com.au/store/

    https://www.cleaningshop.com.au/contents/en-us/d649.html

    • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 18:11

      Thanks. I had another look at the Bunnings Oates one on the way home. I might have to go with the other Oates one on that second site if my DIY attempts don't work. (The "Oates Duraclean Pik Stik Pro".) Its trigger arrangement looks more comfortable to use than their Bunnings version.

  • bargain huntress on 14/04/2021 - 17:33
    +1

    For max lifespan you would want a spike one not a claw one

    No moving parts

    • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 18:03

      Hm, maybe. I'll do a test using a nail. Thanks. :-)

    • Euphemistic on 14/04/2021 - 22:20

      Spike one would require you to pull the item off once picked up. Also can’t spike a glass bottle, or anything similarly tough.

      • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 22:27

        Ugh yeah… I keep forgetting about glass bottles.

      • bargain huntress on 15/04/2021 - 08:16

        You pull the item off with your bag or the frame of your bag holder

        You can put the spike down into the glass bottle or just bend over for those

  • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 18:02

    Just returned from looking at the Aldi and Kmart ones. Unfortunately I don't think either of them open wide enough to grab a 2L bottle.

    I found this on youtube earlier today. I might make one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKM9Wgf2Nb8

    • AndyC1 on 14/04/2021 - 19:18

      Nothing will grab a 2L bottle, you need to grab them by the bottle neck.

      • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 22:30

        After seeing the Oates one at Bunnings I assumed it would. Its claw is curved. Now you've said that I'll have to take a bottle in and check. I put the only 2L bottle I had into a Tomra bin tonight too!

  • Euphemistic on 14/04/2021 - 18:36

    I’ve used the Oates one, actually 3 different of the same item. They’ve all stood up to being knocked around on a ride on mower in between usage - except one, that had a pin in the trigger handle fall out. Replaced it with a nail and it’s kept keeping on.

    One thing, it gets a bit tiring on the arm if you need to lift it up a lot to place the litter in a bag/bucket due to its length. Great length for picking up though. Keep swapping arms as necessary, or try to get a receptacle that has a long handle so it’s closer to the ground.

    • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 22:05

      Thanks. Why 3 of them… did the first two break?

      • Euphemistic on 14/04/2021 - 22:18

        Nah, 3 different locations.

        • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 22:23

          Great, thank you.

  • breezy-boats on 14/04/2021 - 20:50
    +3

    Clean Up Australia are selling these, I haven’t tried one though.

    https://www.cleanupaustraliastore.org/products/rubbish-picke…

    • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2021 - 22:22
      +2

      Now that one looks like it might be made of metal. I can't see how much shipping will be without giving them all my info, so I've asked them that and whether the jaws fit around 2L bottles. Thanks.

    • sridhar on 12/08/2021 - 16:26

      Product cost: $19.99
      Shipping cost: $15.75

      Pass.

  • Naigrabzo on 16/04/2021 - 10:34

    The irony of the plastic rubbish picker becoming rubbish after a few uses!!

  • sridhar on 12/08/2021 - 16:21
    +1

    What did you end up buying?

    • [Deactivated] on 29/08/2021 - 04:00

      LOL. I didn't buy one. I made something temporary while I decided, but it was so good I haven't needed to buy one.

      If you've ever seen those portable carports made of white metal tubes (like tent poles) and white PVC… someone threw out the white hollow poles to one of those. I grabbed one about 80cm long, cut a length of lawn trimmer line, drilled a hole a couple of cm from one end of the tube, poked the trimmer line into that hole and out the end, then tied a knot so the line can't pull back out the hole. The other end of the line I fed back into and out the other end of the tube. This leaves a loop at the bottom. Most of the time I loop over the neck of bottles and pull the line at the top to tighten. If it's too awkward to get around a bottle neck, it just as easily slips over and tightens on the middle of bottles too. At first I was going to buy some stiff stainless steel wire from Bunnings so I could push the cable downwards to open the loop again. But the trimmer line turned out to be thick enough to do that. So it cost me $0.

      It grabs paper every time too (I wasn't sure the others would). I just make the loop a bit bigger than when grabbing a bottle. Then put the loop over any part of the paper/plastic, and tightening always gathers and grabs it. I've seen people with the manufactured ones drop things 2-3 times, lose grip on paper that then blows away, etc. Mine is two-hand operation but it rarely slips off making it faster overall.

      Oh and I tied the line at the top end of the tube through a roller wheel from one of those large plastic storage containers people throw away when they crack.

  • Jjj888 on 29/08/2021 - 05:46

    Are you that bored? Can you even leave home anyway?

  • Andy7 on 03/03/2023 - 01:44

    The best hands down. You can pick up a matchstick or a large size cola bottle. https://littergrabber.com.au/store/#!/Streetmaster-Pro/p/658…

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join