Talking bin scheme to trial in London and Liverpool

A talking bin trial which uses famous voices to congratulate users for binning their rubbish is set to launch in London and Liverpool next month.


As part of the scheme, 25 talking rubbish and recycling bins will be trialled across Westminster and Liverpool from October 13 for two months. The bins will then tour the UK before returning to London for the 2012 Olympic Games.

The project forms part of Keep Britain Tidy’s ‘Love Where You Live’ campaign and has been created in partnership with Liverpool City Centre BID and arts organisation Sing London.

Keep Britain Tidy’s chief executive, Phil Barton, said: “We’re thrilled so many celebrities have got behind this idea. Love Where You Live is about taking pride in your area; these bins encourage people to do the right thing by making it fun.”

According to Keep Britain tidy, the bins look just like ordinary bins, but users will be in for a surprise when they bin their litter as recorded messages from famous people such as Amanda Holden, who will say “Yes! Do that again”, and Phil Tuffnell, who calls out “Howzat” will play.

Bin users may be even more surprised as some of the bins are musical as the Liverpool bins feature Mike McCartney singing his version of the Scaffold hit ‘Thank You Very Much’, while some of the London bins will play songs including ‘I’m Singing in the Bin’ and ‘Rubbish Keeps Falling on my Head.’ Other bins emit a round of applause and even feature sporting element with a basketball hoop.

Commenting on the initiative, Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Sing London has come up with a really novel approach to reward people for keeping our great capital clean and tidy.

“Bin Thinking supports the latest burst of Capital Clean Up and will help bring a sense of the village back into our city to make sure London looks its sparkling best to welcome visitors in 2012.”

The talking bins are powered by solar technology developed by The Zeta Group, while sensors inside the bin emit a sound when they detect the movement of litter being thrown in the bin.

Carys Matthews

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