Sensor technology triggers a compactor to crush the litter down once the bins are close to being full – sending a signal to the waste depot when the bins are close to capacity. The council has said that this technology allows the bins to take up to 100% more litter than standard bins.
To kick off the trial, the first 20 bins – which were supplied by PEL – will be installed over the coming weeks at several key locations across the city.
Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins, Liverpool city council’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.”
Smart bins form part of plans to tackle litter and fly tipping
Liverpool city council has adopted a new £2.5 million plan which aims to tackle litter and fly tipping and improve its satisfaction levels for cleansing from 39% closer to the national average of 61%.
The plan will include the appointment of a new environment and anti-social behaviour taskforce supported by a new external enforcement provider.
The council said that it will also seek to increase fixed penalty notices to the maximum level permitted under new legislation – for litter, fly tipping and other environmental offences i.e. graffiti and dog fouling. A new CCTV system will be used to identify and prosecute fly -tippers.
Councillor Robertson-Collins added: “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.”
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