Council defends 'Dalek-style' bin installed in front of war memorial

A council has been accused of insensitivity after placing a 'dalek-like' bin next to a war memorial.

The solar-powered compactor bin is designed to take up to six times more waste than a regular bin as well as collect data about the rubbish discarded inside it, and was installed on The Causeway in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, by the South West Chilterns Community Board.

But its positioning has sparked anger among locals in the affluent town, whose residents include DJ Chris Evans, comedian Ricky Gervais and Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge. Michael New, of The Marlow Society, said the bin looked like a "dalek" and accused the council of "desecrating the view of the cenotaph".

"Total eyesore and in the wrong place," local resident Pam Grou wrote on a community Facebook page, while Martin Clare said: "Move it, that is totally the wrong place for it. Just think what the meaning is of the memorial it has been put next to? Whoever said yes to the placement of it should hang their heads in shame!"

However, the bin has been welcomed by local litter-picking group Marlow Wombles and Emma Hawkins, who volunteers with the group, spoke to Yahoo News UK.

She said: "Having this bin on The Causeway is a good idea. Whether there was a better location I can’t say but most bins in Marlow are badly placed if I am honest, as I volunteer my time litter picking. Sadly, often those who make these decisions about positioning don’t ask those who litter pick."

Neil McDougall agreed that the issue was the positioning, and not the bin itself. He said: "The negative comments about the site relate to its proximity to the war memorial and not whether it is best placed to collect the maximum amount of litter or not."

Buckinghamshire Council’s cabinet member for communities, Arif Hussain, told Yahoo News UK: “The solar powered compactor bin at The Causeway is part of a free trial that has been initiated by the Environment Action Group of the South West Chilterns Community Board. The bin is being trialled in a variety of places in the local area to see the impact on waste disposal.

"The location of The Causeway was chosen in partnership with local interest groups and is designed to see if it improves problems with excess waste littering the area, particularly on market days. The bin is expected to be at this current location for approximately three months. The results of the trial will be discussed at a future meeting of the Environment Action Group. The meetings are open and local residents are welcome to give their views.”

What is a smart bin and how does it work?

Smart bins are waste containers with an in-built system that provides insights into the amount of waste inside the bin and the types it receives. They track how much rubbish goes into a bin and maximise rubbish space.

According to the Wheelie Bins Solutions website, fill-level sensors integrated inside a smart bin recognise when an item is deposited. Image recognition and robotic technology are then used to identify and segregate different waste types.

Contaminated items are sent to the landfill bin, while recyclables are channelled to their corresponding bin. Sensors then report how full the bin is in real-time and the data is sent to a cloud-based monitoring and analytics platform to help waste management services "streamline their schedule to save fuel and time".