London to get 100 LCD screens-mounted garbage bins ahead of Olympic 2012

The City of London has lately started parading high-tech waste bins on its streets that have large LCD screens on their either side. The advanced bins, dubbed the Renew Bins, will help commuters not only dump their garbage, but also stay updated with the recent financial news, stock, weather and traffic updates. London, which is prepping up to host the 2012 Olympics, will get 100 Renew Bins across the city ahead of the event.

Renew Bins

Twenty-five units have already been set up to test how a waste bin and LCD displays can be combined to facilitate things for every day travelers. The LCD screen-mounted bins will be installed at famous spots of the city, thus people can stay connected to business, weather and other updates on their way to workplaces.

The project for Renew Bins has evolved over the last several years. A unit of Renew Bin features a pair of LCD displays and Wi-Fi connectivity for updating the news. In addition, the waste bins will act as Wi-Fi hotspots. Can you guess tying up your smartphone or tablet with a bin for network connectivity?

The London Stock Exchange and The Economist provide content for the already erected Renew Bins. Robin Hepburn, a senior member of the financial communications company Waughton, says that the Renew Bin project wants the support of a sponsor. It would be nice if the project had a sponsor like Barclays with the Boris bikes, Hepburn told the DailyMail.

According to Hepburn, it took around five years to bring this project out into the streets. Meanwhile, inspired by the London project, many cities including New York, Tokyo and Singapore are also planning to set up such bins in their financial districts. New York City plans to set up a test pod in Lower Manhattan outside the stock exchange, Hepburn added.

The Renew Bins never come cheap. To manufacture and install a single unit of the high-tech bin, it costs £30,000. In addition, it costs a huge sum of £500,000 for the maintenance for a period of 21 years. However, developers are hopeful that some brands will show initiative to sponsor the big project, especially when it is meant for Olympics 2012.

Apart from bringing breaking headlines and financial news to people, the Renew bin will be highly helpful in event of a major transport disruption or any other calamities. The authorities can deliver the updates to the city commuters through the Renew bin network. This way a large number of people can be reached with less effort.

In London, locations like Cannon Street, Moorgate, Fenchurch Street and many others will get the Renew bins initially. Many more places will be covered with the high-tech waste bins before the Olympic 2012.

Via: Dvice/Geeky-Gadgets