Brighton bags iBins

Brighton & Hove City Council has launched a set of solar powered bins that can swallow up to eight times more waste than a normal bin

The ‘Bigbelly bins’ use the sun’s powerful rays to compact any litter placed inside, meaning they can stomach loads more rubbish.

The 100 hi-tech bins also use super-smart ‘cloud-based’ tracking systems to send text and email messages to the council’s street cleansing teams when they are full and need emptying.

At present staff need to check and empty the ordinary bins every day, some up to five times every 24 hours. However the Bigbellies’ compacting and message systems mean the new bins won’t need daily attention, which will allow the street cleansing teams to concentrate on other areas of the city. 

A Bigbelly unit takes up roughly the same footprint of an existing street bin but runs entirely on the sun's energy and in low light is powered by a 12 volt battery.

The Bigbellies are so effective they are now being used throughout the UK and major cities.The first set of bins will be in place from Thursday 1 September at Brighton Rail Station, Queens Road and West Street. The bins will also be located at other busy pedestrian areas.

The council will also carry out a ‘deep clean’ power wash of all the streets where the bins will be located, with the aim of removing chewing gum, dirt and grime.​

All sounds good.