The United Kingdom is looking into replacing the wheelie bins in apartment complexes with an underground bin system. Authorities plan to discuss the feasibility of the solution with planning officers for future developments. Once the system is implemented, residents will be able to dump the trash down steen bin chutes in pavements outside.
The underground waste system will eliminate the need for wheelie bins, and once the garbage space fills up, built-in sensors will send out notifications to the authorities. A specialized truck will clean out the trash chambers and carry all the waste away.
The major advantage of the system is the elimination of ugly wheelie bins and the waste trucks that take up unnecessary space on the roads even when they are not needed. A new estate in Cambridge just launched a trial of the new system and replaced about 9,000 bins with the underground system.
An 800-hectare residential development in North West Cambridge will become the first to have the system where 1500 homes for the University of Cambridge staff reside. This will get rid of the 9,000 wheelie bins that the entire residential area requires otherwise. About 450 recycling and general waste bins will form underground banks at 155 different locations. The residents will no longer need to worry about putting the bins outside, and the waste stink will drastically go down.
Each of the waste chambers is five cubic meters and the household waste, mixed recyclables, and paper waste have been assigned separate bins. Pamphlets and bin labels will make it easier for the newer residents to adjust to the system.
Similar waste management systems have been in use in Europe, but the UK is looking at it for the first time. It will help bring down the carbon foot print and the construction director for the North West Cambridge Development, Gavin Heaphy said, “Building a sustainable development is imperative, and the University has looked for innovative ways to deliver on this strategy. Communal underground bins across the site will encourage recycling without detracting from the streetscape.”
A system that has doors open to a ditch underneath is bound to attract some accidents. The authorities will use large warning signs to keep people from dropping in.
The UK produces an estimated 330 million tonnes of waste a year and about a quarter of it comes from homes and businesses. The new system will encourage people to recycle their waste, and the authorities may impose a penalty on the people that fail to recycle.
Source: Waste Management