Recycling bins in select cities receive ‘new look’
Bins feature sculpted blossoming tree branches on front of cage; new design comes after complaints that bins were dirty, "didn't look good."
By SHARON UDASINnew recycling bin_311(photo credit: Yael Kplan)
This week the nation’s streets have begun to grow some new trees – in the wiry metal shape of brand new recycling bins, the Beverage Containers Collection Corporation (ELA) announced on Wednesday.Among the first municipalities to receive what ELA calls the “new look” – which features sculpted blossoming tree branches on the front of a more standard cage – are Jerusalem (getting 250), Rishon Lezion (150), Eilat (80), Tiberias (25), Rosh Ha’ayin (20), Azor (20) and Ma’alot-Tarshiha (15).This first set of bins was designed by Chen Guiterman, as part of a larger ELA project to integrate more stylish bins tailored by Israeli designers throughout the streets. Guiterman’s design won first place in a September 2010 competition, while a design featuring a bin that looks like a giant squeezed wire mesh trash can came in second place, and one with an urban panorama came in third.All three of these, along with an original model with decorative flowers by ELA itself, will be available for cities to choose, according to ELA marketing manager Yael Kaplan.“We had a lot of complaints that the current bins didn’t look good – they look like boxes, they’re always dirty and they’re just not nice to look at in the streets,” Kaplan told The Jerusalem Post. “So we had a competition with architects and product designers, in which we asked them to create the next recycling bin of Israel.”In the past year, there has been a significant jump in the broader recycling infrastructure, with 4,377 recycling bins added to the 8,000 already in place, and ELA predicts that by the end of 2011, the grand total will reach around 15,000 bins.“Now we have 13,000 recycling bins all over Israel,” Kaplan said. “If you are outside, you can see the recycling bins wherever you are – from Eilat to Kiryat Shmona. By 2014 we’ll be adding 20,000 more recycling bins; we’re going to add about 4,000 every year.”
