Liverpool City Council is preparing to run a trial of the use of solar powered smart bins in its major parks and high footfall areas.
The first 20 bins will be installed over the next few weeks at a number of locations across the city, including Lime Street piazza, outside Anfield Stadium and Sefton park.
The council said the bins are fitted with sensors that, when it is close to being full, trigger a compactor to crush down the litter. This makes it possible for each bin to take up to double the amount of waste than a standard bin before it needs emptying.
The technology is being trialled as part of a £2.5 million plan to reduce litter and fly tipping around the city.
It follows a programme begun two years ago to install a number of subterranean super bins in areas where there were no alley ways to store wheelie bins. The council said this has led to an 80% reduction in bin bag related little and 50% reduction in reports of vermin sightings.
Time saving
Cllr Laura Robertson-Collins, Liverpool’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: “These new solar powered bins are a great idea and I’m delighted we’re looking at using new technologies to help us improve how we collect litter.
“The fact that the bins know when to compact down the waste inside and then when to send a signal that their almost full is going to have a huge impact on the time we spend emptying bins.
“This is just a trial to begin with so we’ll need to analyse the results to assess their true impact on these key locations and whether we roll them out to even more locations across the city.
“As well as investing in new technologies we also need to the public to play their part by binning their waste. To keep Liverpool tidy requires a big effort from us all and the public will see that from the council over the coming months as we set up the waste taskforce.”
