Danish cities have made life a bit easier and more dignified for their more marginalised citizens

With a simple addition to existing trash cans, cities across Denmark have made life a bit simpler, safer, and more dignified for the collectors who make money by claiming the deposit on discarded cans and bottles.

Introducing the bin-shelf: making collecting cans & bottles simpler, safer and more dignified

By simply adding a ‘shelf’ to existing trash cans, Danish cities have made collecting bottles and cans much easier, less dangerous, and more dignified than having to dig around through the trash. Of course, recycling correctly also puts less pressure on the environment, which is always a good thing. 

What began in 2015 as a three-bin trial in Copenhagen has since spread to five major cities

In 2014, Danish students Emil Heegaard & Andreas Kvist wanted to find a better way to deal with the approximately 166 million krone’s worth (£19.7m/€22.3m/$27.5m) of recyclable deposit bottles and cans that are wasted in Copenhagen trash annually. All those bottles and cans are going to landfill, and vast sums of the paid deposit cash is going unclaimed.

So, during innovation classes with guest teacher Toke Lotz in 2014, they came up with an idea that makes it easier for needy people to collect plastic bottles and exchange them for cash. By simply adding a ‘shelf’ to existing trash cans you could make collecting bottles and cans much easier than digging around in the trash. 

They presented their idea to the Københavns Kommunune. It became apparent that another group (including Michael Olsen, featured in the video)  had already approached KBH Kommune with a similar project — so, everyone joined forces, and 5 months later, “KBH pant” was launched!

What began in 2015 as a three-bin trial in Copenhagen has since spread to five major cities across Denmark, and it’s hoped the model can be replicated in other cities.

Source: Kreativ-Kommunikation.dk