New litter bins put the squeeze on waste with smart technology

Smart litter bins have been installed around Lake Forbes as part of an energy efficient waste reduction strategy by Forbes Shire Council.

They all operate on solar power and have smart sensors inside which sense the fill level inside the bin. Once the fill level is over certain level, then the compactor mechanism compacts the waste inside and makes more room for more waste. This can happen until the bin is filled with compacted waste. Due to the compaction mechanism, one 240 litre bin can act as five 240 litre bins because of its holding capacity increases by 5 times.

“This technology is so amazing and will improve waste control in our popular Lake side locations,” says Forbes Shire Mayor, Phyllis Miller OAM. “During our peak times the popular areas around our Lake, the bins fill up very quickly and these new bins will see an efficient way of compacting large amounts of waste. It’s great!

“Once the bin is filled up to 70%, then the bin gets an alert and we can send the garbage truck to go and service the bin,” continues Mayor Miller.

The bins have been installed at three locations around Lake Forbes;

• Apex Park

• Lions Park and

• Forbes Aquatic Centre

The funding (approx. $26 K) for this project is provided by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (now the NSW EPA), through the Waste Less Recycle More initiative.

“Waste management and recycling are a very important part of Forbes Shire Council’s sustainability and waste management plan,” continues Mayor Miller. “The aim is to recycle as much material as we can and send as little to landfill as possible, which in-turn reduces the impact on our environment. Forbes is the first Council in the Central West to install solar smart bins such as these.”

The bin contains 55w solar panels which charges a battery and can operate up to four weeks regardless of weather. The 5G technology notifies Council of the status of the bins and if they require emptying.