Published: Monday, 22nd March 2021
Sevenoaks District Council has secured £25,000 for a ‘Smart bin’ pilot to improve its litter clearing service.
The Council will use the funding to purchase fifty ‘Smart bins’ for rural locations. The new, larger, wood cladded bins will include sensors that alert the Council when they need clearing. This means a quicker, reactive service when the bins are full and fewer wasted journeys when bins are not at full capacity.
The ‘Smart bin’ pilot is part of a wider, emerging strategy from the Council to reduce litter across the District. Other proposals include more education and enforcement and other smarter ways of working.
Cabinet Member for Cleaner and Greener, Cllr Margot McArthur says, “We are really excited about piloting the new ‘Smart bins’. We currently spend £1.4m a year, roughly 10% of our annual budget on street cleaning but we are always looking for new and innovative ways to reduce littering and to clear it promptly. This new technology will allow us to work smarter and faster for our residents, businesses and visitors.
“The overall aim of the wider strategy is to make littering unacceptable behaviour. Reducing litter is one of the largest areas of concern for us and we will continue to find new ways to achieve this.”
The smart bin funding was secured from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on 15 March. The smart bins plan to be introduced between April and May 2021.
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