It doesn't have to be "1", "2" or "3" necessarily, it could be A, B or C or any other marker or some other icon.

This system could be adaptable as well. So suppose, you have only 2 bins, say bins: #1 and #2. The article to be thrown is marked as #3. So, in the absence of the relevant bin, throw the article to the closest matching bin, in this case: #2. The system would be composed of simple rules that people can remember in obvious fashion.

> You also open the system up to folklore about what the numbers mean and what should go in each bin. And that folklore is impossible to control and correct.

I don't know what "folklore" means here. This efficiency of the system comes from standardization. It seems no different than rules at a traffic light intersection. One could argue that color of traffic lights could open up the system to folklore then?