How do you turn a humdrum rubbish bin, into a bin which people will actually enjoy using?
To inject some fun into bins and the nation's behaviour around littering, Keep Britain Tidy's new campaign, 'Love Where you Live' transforms 100's of industrial rubbish bins across the country – turning them into talking bins which people will want to use.
It's all part of Bin Thinking – a project which rethinks rubbish bins. "These bins beckon you and make people really want to use them" says Phil Barton Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy.
The project has been produced in partnership with Sing London, the public-spirited arts organisation which put pianos and ping pong in the streets of London.
Sing London approached The Zeta Group in search of a forward thinking company to help them realise their ideas. Zeta, the group also responsible for illuminating Boris Bikes, designed a system to be powered by solar technology.
Technology in the bins
Sensors inside the bin aperture emit a sound as they detect the movement of litter being thrown into the bin. A clever microprocessor controller allows flexibility over both volume and sound clip selection. Each bin can hold thousands of sounds. The solar technology also allows the bins to be illuminated at night.
About Talking Rubbish Bins
Talking Rubbish bins look just like ordinary bins but they have a surprise in store: they talk back. Put your rubbish inside and you may hear Amanda Holden saying "Yes! Do that again!", Phil Tuffnell calling out "Howzat" or a message from Peter Dickson, voice of the X Factor. You may even get a burst of the Hallelujah Chorus or a big round of applause.
Vocal messages have been contributed by Adrian Chiles, Amanda Holden, Peter Dickson, comedian Gina Yashere, Phil Tuffnell, rugby player Kenny Logan and ENO soprano Janis Kelly.
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London says:
"Sing London has come up with a really novel approach Bin Thinking brings a sense fun to the city"
For more information, please visit www.thezetagroup.com or call Nick Bateman on 01869 322 500
