London Implements “Smart Bins” Before 2012 Olympics

[divingbrit]

The object you’re looking at right now is what the city of London calls a “smart bin.” Built by Renew, the smart bins are being installed on the streets of London and have two massive LCD screens slapped on the sides.

According to the Daily Mail, the screens will display news from the Economist and stock quotes. That is, until passersby get violent and either destroy them or hack them. Currently, only 25 units are deployed across the metropolis, but the city plans on adding another 75 between now and when the 2012 Olympics kick off.

I know you’re wondering, so I’ll just cut to the chase. 25 of these “smart bins” cost approximately $47,000. The idea has already started to gain traction in other cities including New York and Tokyo (though I can tell you right now that a LCD-equipped recycling bin in NYC will last all of two minutes before being destroyed or peed on).

One benefit of these smart bins is that they are WiFi-equipped and can eventually become hotspots. They can also be used to notify passersby of emergencies immediately.

techcrunch.com

[richard]

I thought this country was broke - Well if it's not now it soon will be if this sort of gross waste of taxpayers money continues at £30,000 each.

As for 'smart bin', sounds just about the right place to be putting them - in the bin, along with the officials who approved the purchase order.

Next thing we will hearing about is MP's wanting an iPad each to 'improve' their efficiency, oh, I forgot, they want those as well