Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Money dispensing bins

Get money for your litter
 
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I live in a small sea side town in England and the amount of litter than accumulates around the town centre is unbelievable, the other day I saw a litter man out with his cart and he alone isn’t going to make a huge difference on the amount of litter strewn about the place. So my idea is, why not use the tourists and other people coming into town as litter pickers, obviously visitors are not going to get down on there hands and knees to pick up litter so why not give them an incentive. The incentive being that as a bin senses that litter has been placed in it, the bin dispenses 50p. By now you’re probably thinking this will cost the council a fortune, but say each litter picker is paid £5 an hour and there’s three litter pickers employed, that costs the council £15 every hour, so why not network the bins around the town to give out, between them, just £15 in 50p’s every hour. Everybody wins, that way each person who puts litter in the bin has a chance of earning 50p, The town is cleaner & more hygienic, the council is no worse off because it would have to spend that money anyway. Obviously the cost of the bins would be expensive to start with but think of all the extra money from a boost in tourism the council will get. And even if it doesn’t get people to pick stuff up off the floor, it may just encourage people to put their own litter in the bin!
STE_2020, May 17 2003

Why not use pride? http://www.dontmess...texas.org/index.php
[andrewkorbel, Oct 17 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

[link]






       +. All you need is someone to guard it. He would also make sure that litter is being put into it. Another good thing about this is it would encourage poor, homeless people to actually do something, said something also making them richer.   

       I'd make it be measured by weight.
galukalock, May 17 2003
  

       Why pay one guy to pick up the junk if three others are willing to do it for a smaller price? Either you pay one guy the fifteen pounds to pick up three hours of trash, or you pay him 5 pounds for one hour's guarding, and 50p to each person who picked up the stuff (or even more. 1.50 each, say. It's still less than what you paid the one).
galukalock, May 17 2003
  

       //Either you pay one guy the fifteen pounds to pick up three hours of trash, // can a guy pick up 3 hours of rubbish in one hour?
po, May 17 2003
  

       That's the point. The one guy can pick it up in 3 hours, or three can pick it up in one hour.
galukalock, May 17 2003
  

       Sp: Woiks
<throws into bins/>kwailo78, galukalock, po, STE_2020</throws into bins>
<collects money/>mua muahahahahaaaa</collects money>
thumbwax, May 17 2003
  

       thumb foiled again. I broke into bin and had it away with the cash hours ago.   

       spent it all on a very fine smooth whisky. jealous? jealous!
po, May 17 2003
  

       Why not nip the problem in the bud? Here in Texas they launched a quite popular program that has reduced litter by over 50%. Perchance a social solution, versus technological solution, is called for when the problem stems from humans. see link
andrewkorbel, May 17 2003
  

       Oh... this poor world of ours: money is above all things and motivations. I think this money dispenser bin thing would only encourage waste producing, and generate more garbage. I think humans already produce too much waste for our planet to handle... and making a possitive relation between producing garbage and getting money is not going to help at all. Yes, it could correct people's littering habits, but I think it would be better if we didn't produce so much garbage.   

       Maybe it should work in another way: the lighter your home garbage bin is each week, the more money you get. This way you encourage people to reduce the amount of waste produced and still get money from it, if that is what you want.   

       Anyways, that's what I think. Gracias.
Pericles, May 17 2003
  

       *Throws trash into Pericles bin. Laughs evilly as po has not realized whisky she's got is actually cheap whisky poured into expensive bottle.*
thumbwax, May 17 2003
  

       Ok [thumbwax], revenge is Ok. I don't know who told on me dumping my trash in your bin last week. Must have been [po]... that whisky is doing him no good.
Pericles, May 17 2003
  

       *throws trash in forest, gets big bonus for trash can's weight, laughs evilly as thumb didn't know it wasn't galukalock, it was Pericles poured into galukalock container--meanwhile new whiskey business thriving*
galukalock, May 17 2003
  
      
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