Is it possible to buy a more expensive waste bin?
Is it possible to buy a more expensive waste bin?
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55palfers

Original Poster:

6,374 posts

194 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
A platoon of these chaps have arrived in my local park.

The internet suggests they are around £4,000 each plus installation and ongoing maintenance costs.

Seems they compact the rubbish thus reducing the frequency of bin emptying thus potentially saving costs for the council.

Does anyone have these in their vicinity or any real world cost saving data please?


StuTheGrouch

5,918 posts

192 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
They will also transmit how full they are to the council, so they will only be emptied when full. This saves a lot of cost in having council workers visiting each bin to check how full they are, or needlessly emptying a bin which isn't even nearly full. So, significant savings in staff costs plus vehicle costs. I don't have the total savings to hand, but they generally do save money over a reasonable period of time.

Hopefully the council will have negotiated a bit of a bulk buy discount too, so each bin will have cost less than you quoted.

StuTheGrouch

5,918 posts

192 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
Found one example- https://www.brixhamtowncouncil.gov.uk/data/uploads...

That's for the Big Belly bins, which also compact the waste and communicate with the collection authority. Bins are leased too.

p4cks

7,502 posts

229 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
StuTheGrouch said:
Hopefully the council will have negotiated a bit of a bulk buy discount too, so each bin will have cost less than you quoted.
I wish I had the same confidence about my local council as you do about yours laugh

55palfers

Original Poster:

6,374 posts

194 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
StuTheGrouch said:
Found one example- https://www.brixhamtowncouncil.gov.uk/data/uploads...

That's for the Big Belly bins, which also compact the waste and communicate with the collection authority. Bins are leased too.
Thanks for that - some interesting assumptions.

I see they have reduced head count to 1 man. Then ask said man to empty a bin containing around 4.5 times as much mass?

I'd still like to see some actual accounts


softtop

3,172 posts

277 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
The reduction in collections is about eight times that of a conventional bin. Costs are based on your local labour. If you then factor in visiting them only if they need emptying then you make savings on route planning and vehicle costs

Gameface

16,565 posts

107 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
As soon as the local scrotes hear how much they cost they will be set on fire.

Does £4k get you fireproofing?

p4cks

7,502 posts

229 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
softtop said:
The reduction in collections is about eight times that of a conventional bin. Costs are based on your local labour. If you then factor in visiting them only if they need emptying then you make savings on route planning and vehicle costs
And you'd need to factor in the 'value adding' of the aforementioned labour as they'll now be prioritised on more important issues within the borough therefore delivering an increased return on the labour cost

Equilibrium25

689 posts

164 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
Give people out of work genuine jobs to do, rather than paying them to stay out of work.

Or pay for technology to reduce jobs.

Even if money is genuinely saved, this is not great for society.


StuTheGrouch

5,918 posts

192 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
p4cks said:
StuTheGrouch said:
Hopefully the council will have negotiated a bit of a bulk buy discount too, so each bin will have cost less than you quoted.
I wish I had the same confidence about my local council as you do about yours laugh
Oh, I used to work for my local council. There is next to no chance they would negotiate such a discount!

Zoon

7,304 posts

151 months

Monday 5th August 2019
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[redacted]

Puggit

49,804 posts

278 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
Compacted dog poo yuck

bristolbaron

5,376 posts

242 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
StuTheGrouch said:
Oh, I used to work for my local council. There is next to no chance they would negotiate such a discount!
More likely to negotiate a higher price and kick back for the guy negotiating! laugh

StevieBee

15,335 posts

285 months

Monday 5th August 2019
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[redacted]

Alex_225

7,789 posts

231 months

Monday 5th August 2019
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We have similar looking bins local to us, foot pedal for opening, I think they have a solar panel on the top but can't recall.

No idea they indicated when full though, clever stuff although seriously expensive. I suspect over a long period they work out to be more efficient in terms of the overall process!

Some Gump

13,018 posts

216 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
No pleasing some poeple!

Option 1 - Don't innovate, spend taxpayers money inefficiently emptying bins and therefore neglect potholes or a park - "council are wkers."
Option 2 - Bring the innovation, save money and redirect budget to something that adds value - "they took our jeeerbs! Council are wkers."

Personally, I'm glad that they're trying to economise on pure cost things that add no value, in the hope that they can redirect it to areas that bring benefit.

outnumbered

4,877 posts

264 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
StevieBee said:
Smart Bins! They're becoming more and more popular. Aside from waste compaction, they sense fill levels and measure temperatures to alert to the risk of fire. The data is fed into a platform that not only advises the council on the bins that need emptying but the optimal routing for the collection vehicles. We're working with a Spanish company that's developed one that identifies what items are being placed in the bin and separating them out into different compartments within the bin. They are very cost-effective.
Until the "platform" gets hacked, or the company running it goes bust or stops maintaining it, at which point you've got a £4K stupid bin. Maybe it saves enough money before that happens. See also Smart Meters...



steveo3002

11,208 posts

204 months

Monday 5th August 2019
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whats the bet on will it still be working in 12 months , kids will set fire to it

Nexus Icon

669 posts

91 months

Monday 5th August 2019
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Who is going to hack a bin?

StevieBee

15,335 posts

285 months

Monday 5th August 2019
quotequote all
outnumbered said:
StevieBee said:
Smart Bins! They're becoming more and more popular. Aside from waste compaction, they sense fill levels and measure temperatures to alert to the risk of fire. The data is fed into a platform that not only advises the council on the bins that need emptying but the optimal routing for the collection vehicles. We're working with a Spanish company that's developed one that identifies what items are being placed in the bin and separating them out into different compartments within the bin. They are very cost-effective.
Until the "platform" gets hacked, or the company running it goes bust or stops maintaining it, at which point you've got a £4K stupid bin. Maybe it saves enough money before that happens. See also Smart Meters...
In which case I suggest you write to the public sector advising that they return to typewriters and typing pools. Loads of workers and no risk of hacking other than what the typists can smuggle out as copies.

While we're at it, let's return to corded telephones and a four-channel TV system as I'd hate to be mid series when Netflix gets hacked or goes bust.