Liverpool's subterranean super-bins will change lives - mayor

The steel or reinforced plastic bins are being set into the ground in areas that struggle to find space for overground containers

A city council has begun installing "subterranean super-bins" in a bid to deal with the "age-old problem with black bag refuse and litter".

Liverpool City Council said the first underground bins, which will replace temporary communal containers, had been installed in Kensington and Walton.

They have been designed to "create a cleaner waste solution for 27,000 terraced households", it said.

Mayor Joanne Anderson said the £1.5m project would make a "huge difference".

"I want Liverpool to be a zero-waste city and to achieve that we need to be smarter in how we enable people to dispose of what they generate in their homes," she said.

"These subterranean super-bins are going to make a huge difference to the quality of life for thousands of families across huge swathes of our inner-city neighbourhoods."

'Underground revolution'

The bins, which are made of steel or reinforced plastic to reduce odours, are being set into the ground in areas that struggle to find space for overground containers.

The council said the "uniquely designed smart bins... issue an alarm when full and will be emptied with a crane lift via a release mechanism in its base".

"It is estimated the emptying and reinstallation process will take less than 10 minutes," a representative said.

"The bins will be fully accessible to those with limited strength, or mobility, some operated with foot pedals, others with ground-level mechanisms.

"Cleanliness is a priority, so no bins will be operated by hand."

They said the bins came in a range of sizes and the biggest was able to take about 1,100 gallons (5,000 litres) of waste, which equated to about a week's worth of rubbish from 20 houses.

They added that the "underground revolution" had been launched in a bid "to bin an age-old problem with black bag refuse and litter" and "end a rubbish issue for huge swathes of the city".