New bins in Hamburg
What a load of rubbish…
These bins have been making the headlines recently:
They cost an astounding €5000 EACH. They are pretty big and you can see on the screen how much of the bin has been filled – but what a waste of money!
There are many people in Germany who make money from collecting plastic and glass bottles from bins. These can be dropped off at most supermarkets for small amounts of money called a Pfand. This money often helps people to gather enough money for a meal. These new bins make it impossible to search through the bins – meaning these people will now have less money and less to eat. It’s also terrible for the environment, as more bottles will inevitably end up in landfill sites.
What do you think?
2 Comments
Gen
Can I ask a question? What are the purpose of these really expensive trash cans? I can see how they would be very frustrating for some since you have stated that you can’t sort through them. But was there some sort of “purpose” behind why they reinvented them? Are they supposed to remind people to throw things away?
Just curious.
Vanessa Abel
In the articles I read, the bins were put there to clean up the image of Hamburg, as lots of people would root through the bins in order to find bottles which can then be exchanged for small amounts of money. If they collect lots of bottles, they have enough money to buy a meal/ accommodation for the night etc. This happens all over Germany, but Hamburg didn’t want its visitors to see people rooting through the bins, so instead they put in these expensive bins which completely stop people from seeing what is inside. Once the rubbish has been placed inside, you cannot get it back. Controversial decision it seems…