A Big Belly of rubbish

Three new Big Belly bins have been installed at Queensbridge Square in a new push by the City Of Melbourne to improve waste management.

At $6000 a pop, the eco-friendly bins can hold up to 560 litres of rubbish, seven times more than a standard bin.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the bins were the first of their kind in Victoria and would make collection more efficient.

“This is the first time these high-tech bins have been installed in Victoria,” he said.

“The bins include sensor technology that is solar powered, but the great thing about them is that they also compact rubbish as it’s collected, allowing them to fit more in.”

“A contractor is then alerted when the bin is 70 per cent full and needs emptying within the hour.”

In busy city areas, such as Flinders Street Station, bins are collected up to six to eight times a day.

Chair of the City of Melbourne’s environmental portfolio, Cr Arron Wood, said smaller bins across the city would be slowly phased out.

“We’ve also designed larger 240 litre steel bins to replace our standard 80 litre bins,” he said.