new bins on the block
/There have been articles in newspapers here about new waste bins on the streets of the city and basically they have criticised the bins because of their size.
Three hundred of the new bins bins will replace old, drum-shaped bins that are now a distinct feature on the city streets. Generally these old bins are a deep yellow with a black metal top where smokers stub out their cigarettes and many have a short, curved band on the outside where bottles and metal drinks cans are left so that they can be recycled for the deposit.
The new bins are square and have perforated metal exterior panels that are that dark "Copenhagen Green" ... the distinct colour used for the city benches that is so dark that it is almost black.
Clearly, part of the reasoning behind the replacement of the bins was the idea that the larger the bin then the less often it will have to be emptied and that must have sounded like a good cost-cutting exercise.
Journalists asked why the bins could not be sunk down into the ground to increase capacity but still keep a relatively modest profile but presumably that would have meant more complicated and more expensive work when the bins are installed.
The new bins on Kongens Nytorv are obviously much larger than the the old waste bins but in such a large and open space they almost seem to make sense …. there are a lot of seats here around the oval of the central garden where people sit in the sun, many to eat or to drink, and lots of people walk through and around the space so there is lots of rubbish and bins have to be fairly obvious.
It was when I saw new waste bins on the square to the east of Vor Frue Kirke that the bins actually looked intrusive …. placed in a long line and each with flanking benches on either side that look ridiculously small. Here the bins look almost threatening and I'm not sure how many people will want to sit shoulder to shoulder with a giant bin and particularly in sunny hot weather when the whole idea is that the bins will go for much longer before the contents are disgorged.
a new bin on Kongens Nytorv but clearly people still want bottles and cans to be recycled even if these bins do not have a special holder on the outside
on Vor Frue Plads the new bins certainly loom over the benches
on a hot day the bins will ensure social distancing
Is this a new bin or just a special, yellow free version of the old bin because it is close to the royal palace?
New bins on the quay of the harbour north of the royal palace but not the new design.
They are on the quay by the offices of the shipping company Mærsk so might be the private sector showing how waste bins should be designed. What do these do that needs a solar panel on the top? note the foot pedal to make the flap of the bin open handsfree
An old drum-shaped, yellow waste bin near the City Hall.
The small drum-shaped bins have some advantages. They are compact and can be placed back against the front of buildings on narrow pavements and the curved shelf on many of the bins is a good idea …. they take bottles and tin cans so that the deposit is donated to the people who salvage them.
The sharp yellow cover is distinct but rapidly get very dirty and the wide lip of the bin is not a deterrent for gulls and crows who pull out food cartons like pizza boxes and scatter the mess across the pavement.
the old bins:
diameter: 45 cm
height: 70 cm
the new waste bins on Vor Frue Plads:
width: 72 cm
depth: 75 cm
height: 1.4 metre
