Storage Bin

A Storage Bin is a basic storage building used to hold resources and make them accessible to duplicants. It is most useful early on, when the colony still lacks dedicated transport systems and needs a simple way to keep building materials, fuel, and sweepable items close to where they are needed. Storage bins can also be assigned priorities, letting the colony sort resources by importance and move specific materials into preferred locations.

One of its main functions is supporting sweep errands. Duplicants will not complete sweep orders unless there is an allowed storage building available to receive the swept material, so a Storage Bin can act as the destination for cleanup tasks. Once placed, it also helps keep construction materials near work sites and consumables near their users, such as storing Coal beside a Coal Generator. This reduces travel time and makes common tasks more efficient.

Several practical details make Storage Bins especially useful:

• Their contents can be organized through priority settings. If one bin is set to a higher priority than another, duplicants will move matching items into the higher-priority bin first.
• They can be used to separate key resources such as Coal, seeds, and other volatile or high-use materials.
• Duplicants also move items between Storage Bins according to priority, so bins can be used to redistribute already stored supplies without manual hauling.
• Because they enable sweeping and centralize materials, they can reduce colony clutter and help lower lag from loose items on the floor.

Placement matters as well. Storage Bins give off poor decor, even when built from better materials such as sandstone or granite, so they are best kept out of high-traffic living spaces. Placing them on the sides of the base is often effective, since they remain convenient without hurting the aesthetics of core rooms too much. In addition, only the bottom tile of a Storage Bin needs to be submerged to prevent stored resources from off-gassing, which can be important when storing materials that release gas.

When a Storage Bin is destroyed, everything inside it drops onto the ground. This means it can be used temporarily for reorganization, but colonies should avoid demolishing filled bins unless the contents are meant to be moved immediately. For large sweeping projects, assigning strong duplicants is useful because they can carry more per trip, making cleanup and delivery faster.