Texting bin might be rubbish option for Kilkee

RUBBISH bins that send text messages, are solar-powered and compact waste, would be suitable for use in Kilkee but are likely to prove too expensive.

 

Kilkee town manager, Anne Haugh, who is also a Clare County Council Director of Services, told Kilkee Town Council meeting this week the high-tech bins have come under the radar of the local authority.

“It’s not to be taken as any sort of a commitments but last week the area engineers came in to look at a demonstration of a new type of bin. I’m speaking of it particularly from the point of view of seaside resorts where they are very, very busy during the summer and then it’s quieter during the winter.

“They are a new form of bin. They are solar-powered and they compact waste. They take up to eight times more than a standard bin. They also text you when they’re three-quarters full,” the town manager explained.

Councillor Lily Marrinan Sullivan feared the bins would fill too quickly in Kilkee, during the height of the season for the compacting to prove effective.

“Would they have time to compact in Kilkee in the summer time? Summer time is our problem,” Councillor Marrinan Sullivan mused.

“They’re solar-powered so when the bin reaches a certain level, they compact,” Anne Haugh replied before outlining that the bins are in use in Britain.

“Some local authorities have started using them and they’re popular in the UK. They are very expensive, that is the problem. There is a lease option there. What I’m saying is we’re looking at what options are there. If you had the bank balance to go with it, they certainly would be a good asset. How to fund them is the problem,” Ms Haugh said.

She said that while the initial cost may be expensive, the bins could save money in the long term.

“They’re supposed to generate savings and that’s what we have to work out. They would actually realise a saving in relation to the amount of servicing you have to do on your bin. You still have to pay your staff but you could probably engage them on something more productive than going around emptying bins that maybe don’t need to be emptied. You only empty them then when you have to empty them, when they’re full,” the town manager pointed out.

“We haven’t purchased them for anywhere yet or made a decision on them. We’ve had a demonstration with our own staff on them. Certainly, they seem to tick all the boxes but it’s just the cost of them and where we can get the funding for them,” Anne Haugh stated.

Meanwhile, Councillor Elaine Haugh Hayes said bins in Kilkee are often full of recycling material and suggested the bins should have smaller holes.

“Would you not think that a bin with a smaller hole, with room for a can or bottle and another small one for sweet paper, would work?” she asked the meeting.