Existing underground refuse units in the borough are set to be updated or replaced over the next six weeks, with its main housing association – Poplar Harca – choosing to refurbish 78 of their existing units across five estates.
The refurbishment comes after the firm was asked to perform refurbishments on a small number of the units two years ago. After this proved successful, Poplar Harca asked for a wider programme of refurbishments to help improve the ease of use for residents.
Tower Hamlets council uses a number of underground refuse containers as a means of reducing the amount of wheeled bins in the densely populated urban area.
The underground waste units – known as the Iceberg Optima – are formed from an above-ground bin, known as a column. The column features a ‘night-safe' style opening for residents to dispose of their waste.
The column sits on top of an underground container placed in a cast concrete shell, which come in a range of capacities from 3m3 to 4m3 to 5m3. On collection day, the units are lifted out of the ground by a specialist vehicle.
Dave Elliot, business development manager at SULO, said: “It has been quite a logistical challenge as the units normally come assembled in their cast concrete shell, but as we are replacing the internal workings and to keep our carbon footprint as low as possible we have shipped the units flat packed.”
Under the refurbishment process, SULO is removing old inner containers and the safety platform – which automatically rises up underneath containers when they are removed to prevent anyone falling into the hole they fill – to perform slight modifications to the concrete bases.
SULO said it has changed the size of its underground containers since they were first introduced and, in order to perform the refurbishment, it has had to manufacture replacements especially for the Tower Hamlets project.
Recycling
The bin manufacturer already has similar underground waste containers in place in Dundee, Blackpool, Berkshire and Peterborough. Mr Elliott added that they have also been approached by a consultant working on the Northstone eco-town project.
Mr Elliott claimed that a rise in the use of underground containers could be seen as a response to residents' complaints about wheeled bins. “Residents are kicking back at having four or five wheelie bins. They haven't got room for them and see it as unsightly”, he said.
Furthermore, Mr Elliott said that the underground containers could be used for recycling centres in housing estates, as they are currently only used for refuse disposal.
“We're finding quite a lot councils are putting on planning notices that, if it is multiple-occupancy, they are looking for a recycling centre, and we have suggested looking at underground,” he said.
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