During a recent visit to Oxford, I came across these “topless” bins and they cause me to ask: what is the logic behind them?
I ask this without sarcasm and genuinely want to know. I can understand that they’re easy to empty and clean. And I suppose they might make sense for security reasons. But doesn’t it seem like they can contribute to the litter problem as well? Animals can easily gain access (especially as gulls invade our cities and the corvids have mastered cause and effect). Weather can blow things about (indeed, a napkin I found on the ground and binned blew out immediately after taking this picture). And it just looks bad having rubbish on display.
I have been increasingly wondering what role poor “binfrastructure” plays in the litter problem; stay tuned for a future blog entry with some musings on the topic.