as a coastal city barcelona is often very windy. this wind frequently blows empty rubbish bags out of their bins and light garbage is littered in the vicinity.

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lecturer

design process

Mercè Graell

barcelona rubbish bins out of control

the rubbish bins are permeable to air from the top, bottom and sides in order to prevent accumulating water, decomposition, and stench. this uncontrolled air flow presses empty and lightly loaded rubbish bags easily out of the bin. key factors of the problem identification:

aesthetics – it does not look very nice.
littering – light garbage occurs on the ground around the rubbish bin, and is dragged further away by the wind.
loss of function – the bin loses its function, because people cannot through waste inside of it anymore.
cigarette stub disposal – currently the rubbish bins do not have a cigarette disposal. Therefore a lot of cigarette stubs can be found in the streets.

problem definition

objectives

for solving this issue two different objectives occur, because client and user perceive the matter from different point of views – the client is ajuntament de barcelona; users are people being in public places.

bad design, because incomplete design

designing a cost-efficient solution for preventing trash bags from being blown out of public rubbish bins, which could be installed on the existing bins, frames or stands. the design shall include an independent cigarette stub disposal and be safe to theft.

designing a waste and cigarette stub disposal solution for public rubbish bins preventing trash bags from being blown out of the bins, without changing the established user habits of tossing rubbish in public places.

retain open, airy concept to prevent accumulating water, decomposition, and stench.
the new solution shall be fixed on existing structure of bins and frames.
make the new system safe and uninteresting to theft.
add a cigarette disposal system.
the new system shall provide a simple and easy emptying procedure.
the existing bins keep their function.

requirements

understanding the airflow inside of the bin: As the bin is open and permeable, air is floating completely uncontrolled in and outside through all sides of the bin. a funnel shape controls this flow by letting air go only into one specific direction. Creating a lid having this shape serves two main functions at the same time:

it channels the air flow to the top.
it holds down the rubbish bag.

implementing this lid on existing system: a mount ring having the same dimensions like the bin can be permanently fixed on top. this ring is connected via a hinge-joint to the funnel lid. the hinge-joint allows the rubbish collectors to open the bin and to take the bag out.

cigarette stubs disposal: as cigarette stubs are hot and can inflame the rest of the rubbish it is important to keep them separately. shaping the funnel lid in a profile allows waste to be thrown in via the centre, by keeping the cigarette stubs around its edges. when rubbish collectors lift the lid (hinge-joint mechanism) the cigarette stubs accumulate and fall out on one side only, which makes the collection efficient and easy.

design process

conclusions

this new system does:

improve the function of existing rubbish bins in barcelona.
reduce littering in the city.
beautify the appearance of a smart city.