Sunderland Smart Bins

Sunderland City Council may roll out solar-powered bins as part of a £60m upgrade to its broadband infrastructure.

19:01 24 April 2021

A partnership between CityFibre and Sunderland City Council may see the rollout of solar-powered smart bins across the city. 

 

The smart bins will be powered by devices to allow them to send signals when they are full. This will allow the council to effectively and efficiently monitor them. 

 

Liz St Louis, assistant director of smart cities, said existing bins could be upgraded with the new technology.

 

"Sensors are very small devices and can absolutely be retrofitted into a whole range of equipment," she explained.

 

"We're seeing some good examples up and down the country, whether that's a public bin, or whether it's a commercial bin.

 

"Or whether in fact it's used for something like gritting, where sensors can be put in grit bins so we understand the levels of grit in a bin and only have to go out and fill those up when we know they're low."