Big Belly Bins

josip · 12-05-2016 9:34am #1

A colleague at work said today that the Big Belly bins cost €5000 each but that in many of them either the compactor function is not being used and/or the bin-full alert to the council staff is not working.

He's correct about the cost:

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/dun-laoghaire-bins-worth-2-3m-attract-illegal-dumpers-1.2079121

but I find it hard to believe that some of them are being used as normal bins. Does anyone know how they're working out?
Have operating costs fallen by 75%?

seamus · 12-05-2016 9:39am

I don't find it hard to believe that people are using them as normal bins tbh. Some people would rather drag their black sack to a compactor and empty it item-by-item into a public bin than pay bin charges.

Cheapness knows no bounds, there are plenty of people out there who'll happily go out of their way and spend an hour out of their day if they can save themselves a few cent (literally) here and there.

intheclouds · 12-05-2016 9:42am

seamus wrote: »

I don't find it hard to believe that people are using them as normal bins tbh. Some people would rather drag their black sack to a compactor and empty it item-by-item into a public bin than pay bin charges.

+1

I often see people using the bin outside my local LIDL for their own rubbish. Its often overflowing as a result.

Ive seen the Big Belly Solars in Marlay Park alright, I was wondering if they compacted the rubbish - cant say Ive ever heard any noise from them suggesting they were - perhaps it only happens at certain times.

Tabnabs · 12-05-2016 9:43am

Many have been refitted with smaller openings to stop the abuse of domestic waste disposal. This of course adds to that €5,000 cost...

ted1 · 12-05-2016 10:32am

It's s crazy price, they compactor doesn't reduce them that much. In most locations they could have used a larger bin for a fraction of the cost.

I've seen them bring emptied and it's a scheduled service as oppose to text alerts so the main saving us gone.
In many developed countries they dig a lash hole in the ground which has s standard bin on top. Then a truck comes and empties it. Makes much more sense for many locations.

http://www.wastesolutions.ie/recycling-products/specialist-bins/underground-bins

Tabnabs · 12-05-2016 10:37am

ted1 wrote: »

It's s crazy price, they compactor doesn't reduce them that much. In most locations they could have used a larger bin for a fraction of the cost.

I've seen them bring emptied and it's a scheduled service as oppose to text alerts so the main saving us gone.
In many developed countries they dig a lash hole in the ground which has s standard bin on top. Then a truck comes and empties it. Makes much more sense for many locations.

http://www.wastesolutions.ie/recycling-products/specialist-bins/underground-bins

Emptying by crane: labour-saving & cost-effective

That sounds like quite an operation for your average Irish footpath location.

ted1 · 12-05-2016 10:39am

Tabnabs wrote: »

That sounds like quite an operation for your average Irish footpath location.

They only need emptying on rare occasions , no where near the level of other bins.
http://www.molokna.com/images/Page_Technology/emptying 02_edit.png

Many are located in parks , bus stops etc where there is ample space to dig a hole

Gareth Keenan · 12-05-2016 2:57pm

If we had those underground bins in DL (or any other public areas in Ireland tbf) they would be filled up by the anti-bin charge warriors in 5 minutes, with an old couch left beside them for good measure.

Back on topic, I could well believe that the compactors/text messaging wizardry promised in the new bins aren't working as planned. Last week I noticed that the bins in Dalkey, particularly the one outside Borza's, were rammed solid with litter. It's the first time I've seen that though.

ted1 · 12-05-2016 3:00pm

Gareth Keenan wrote: »

If we had those underground bins in DL (or any other public areas in Ireland tbf) they would be filled up by the anti-bin charge warriors in 5 minutes, with an old couch left beside them for good measure.

No different than the 5k buns that have a much smaller capacity and have to be emptied more frequently

Alf Veedersane · 12-05-2016 3:11pm

ted1 wrote: »

It's s crazy price, they compactor doesn't reduce them that much. In most locations they could have used a larger bin for a fraction of the cost.

I've seen them bring emptied and it's a scheduled service as oppose to text alerts so the main saving us gone.
In many developed countries they dig a lash hole in the ground which has s standard bin on top. Then a truck comes and empties it. Makes much more sense for many locations.

http://www.wastesolutions.ie/recycling-products/specialist-bins/underground-bins

I like those and I have recommended them but the council would be looking at the capital cost of installing them and if they'd have the equipment to empty them when required.

Not insurmountable obstacles at all but there's no appetite to get into anything that's seen as costly to install.

Gareth Keenan · 30-05-2016 10:06am

ted1 wrote: »

No different than the 5k buns that have a much smaller capacity and have to be emptied more frequently

underground bins mooted for Dublin by a councillor...

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/almost-1-000-dublin-streets-to-get-wheelie-bin-reprieve-1.2665307

Tabnabs · 30-05-2016 10:29am

I came across what appeared to be three underground bins at the SDCC recycling facility in Sean Walsh Park, at the start of the Dublin Mountain Way. All three were overflowing and had bags left around them. We noticed that the other, regular bins, still had plenty of space. It seems the specialised nature of these underground bins may be a step too far for our under-resourced CoCo workers...

Srobify · 23-09-2016 7:59pm

The BigBelly is only collected when it is required to be.
They hold 5 to 6 times more litter than a standard litter bin.
Sadly many people are treating them as a household bin and driving out of their way to fill them up. All in all, they are working excellent.

Srobify · 23-09-2016 8:02pm

The noise is very quite. You may hear a hum when it compacts. The bin only compacts when it has to (saving energy).

ted1 · 23-09-2016 8:28pm

Srobify wrote: »

The noise is very quite. You may hear a hum when it compacts. The bin only compacts when it has to (saving energy).

It's Solar, energy is free. I imagine it would use less power compacting on a regular basis than if it's needs to be high powered compacting lots of rubbish.

Srobify · 11-08-2017 8:33pm

ted1 wrote: »

It's Solar, energy is free. I imagine it would use less power compacting on a regular basis than if it's needs to be high powered compacting lots of rubbish.

Why compact if the bin is empty?!?!
Compact the trash when it needs to be.
Save the energy in the battery for compactions needed at night.

Srobify · 11-08-2017 8:41pm

ted1 wrote: »

It's s crazy price, they compactor doesn't reduce them that much. In most locations they could have used a larger bin for a fraction of the cost.

I've seen them bring emptied and it's a scheduled service as oppose to text alerts so the main saving us gone.
In many developed countries they dig a lash hole in the ground which has s standard bin on top. Then a truck comes and empties it. Makes much more sense for many locations.

http://www.wastesolutions.ie/recycling-products/specialist-bins/underground-bins

Not a scheduled service.
The solar bins hold 5-8 times a standard bin. Got talking to a GO that empties the bins in Stillorgan one day.

ted1 · 11-08-2017 9:58pm

It's more than twice the size and about 100 times the cost, in many locations a larger bin will do

Big Belly Bins

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