It’s a problem just about every city in the world has to deal with – how to persuade people to put their litter in a trash can instead of simply dumping it on the street. In what might sound like an act of desperation to some, one London borough is turning to talking trash cans for help. Yes, you heard it right – trash cans that talk.
A Sky News report says that from next month central London will see the introduction of 25 trash cans that talk, and even sing, in response to someone dropping their trash inside.
You may get a polite “thank you” from the trash can, whereas other times it will simply burp. A round of applause is also a possibility, as is some opera music or an Abba song.
The campaign is being set up by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, together with arts organization Sing London.
Commenting on the initiative, Sing London’s Colette Hiller told Sky News: “Its ambition is to actually make people care about the place where they live and we want to do that by using fun as a way to bring the best out in people.”
Other UK cities will get talking trash cans as part of the anti-litter campaign, with the response being tailored to suit the location. Liverpool, for example, will be getting a trash can that’ll respond with Beatles songs.
“Yes it’s a bit of a gimmick, of course it is,” the person responsible for waste management in central London, Ed Argar, said of the scheme. “But it’s good fun and it’s a gimmick with a serious message behind it, which is getting across that people really should do the right thing and get rid of their litter properly.”
It’s estimated that more than 30 million tons of rubbish are dropped on the streets of Britain every year, so if this experiment proves successful, expect to hear trash cans burping across Britain in ever greater numbers in the coming years.
[Image courtesy of Oxlock / Shutterstock]
