Shopping Trolleys & Bins

An end to the abandoned trolley

Here’s a way to control those pesky, unsightly, costly abandoned trolley’s.  Put an electronic lock on a wheel of the trolley and then they cant go past the perimeter of the carpark or pavement boundary as the wheel automatically locks.

Big Belly 

“The smart grid for waste and recycling” Bigbelly has developed waste receptacles that hold 5 times as much as a convention bin due to the built-in-solar powered compactors inside them; data on remaining capacity is transmitted wirelessly to eliminate unnecessary pickups. I was told "It started in Philadelphia and spread to Chicago and Boston" (or was it?).  I discovered it in the States but I noticed it is named after the big-belly seahorse from Australia and New Zealand.  Further investigation shows its Australian beginnings.  Due to the reduction in rubbish pickups the three cities in the States have said they have saved a great deal of money

Houston's - One Bin for All

On the topic of Bins and Waste, Houston City were one of 4 runner's up in the Bloomberg Mayor's Challenge and will receive $1m to bring their 'Total Reuse - One Bin for All' idea to implementation.  Their aim is to 'eliminate source separation at the household level and achieve high waste diversion and recovery through game-changing technologies and new process systems". By developing this total material resource recovery facility, the idea is to divert municipal solid waste, improve air quality, save money, change the way citizens think about materials, reduce extraction of raw materials and divert up to 75% of the waste stream.

One bin in the household for all materials, recyclables, food waste, yard trimmings, and e-waste - Interesting!