Smart Dublin Project Deploys Bigbelly Bins in the Docklands

Dublin, Ireland 2021-2022 – Dublin City Council has partnered with Bigbelly and Future Street LTD, Bigbelly’s authorized distributor in Western Europe, to install a full fleet of Smart Waste compactors across the Dublin Docklands area. Launching the project in 2019, Dublin is deploying the Bigbelly stations over a 30-month period, expanding the network of smart bins to create a clean, safe, and innovative community. The “Smart Bin” project aims to reduce visible waste & litter, keep pests out of public spaces, reduce collections & improve collection efficiency, and host additional smart technologies such as sensors, wi-fi, and telecom equipment.

“It has been fantastic to work with the Dublin City team to grow the Bigbelly project over a short number of years since the initial trial,” said Garrett Owens, Chief Financial Officer at Future Street. “What started as a focussed collaboration with Waste Management has progressed rapidly following our rollout of the Smart Docklands implementation. Over a short period that has opened out into a multi-faceted Smart City testbed for projects ranging across data analysis, sensor technologies, and more recently telecoms.”

Learn More about Smart Docklands’ “Smart Bin Innovation” Project HERE

Functional Design & Intelligent Collection – “Parts & Smarts”

Dublin is deploying Bigbelly’s High Capacity, solar-powered Smart Waste compactor, which can hold up to 5 times the waste volume of traditional bins. Bigbelly’s HC compactors feature the Hopper disposal interface and provide complete containment, eliminating visible waste, litter, and pest access to waste. The Bigbelly units also feature the Hands-Free Foot Pedal for more sanitary waste disposal.

These Bigbelly Smart waste units are equipped with sensors that report fullness levels and station status in real-time, allowing collection teams to service bins exactly when needed. Dublin’s waste collection teams manage the Docklands fleet through Bigbelly CLEAN Software Management Console, the cloud-based platform that provides visibility and reporting insight into the entire deployment.

Hosting Smart Technologies with Bigbelly

In addition to supporting key public waste operations, Dublin is seeking to leverage Bigbelly’s form factor & CLEAN management platform to host a variety of smart technologies. These include foot-traffic sensors, air quality sensors, public W-Fi, and telecom equipment to host 4GLTE & 5G. The Docklands’ High Capacity compactors and Telebelly Multipurpose Hosting platform hide technology in plain sight, helping address urban densification challenges.

Current Impact of Bigbelly’s Smart Bins

Thus far, the Dublin Docklands’ current deployment of Bigbelly High Capacity Smart Waste compactors has delivered a number of significant & measurable benefits, including:

Up to 85% reduction in waste collection
First solar-powered public Wi-Fi
Data gathered from bins & sensors supports urban & environmental research opportunities
Custom graphic wraps and side panels on bins enabled public messaging & community engagement, including COVID-19 information, clean city campaigns, environmental campaigns, and supporting local business

Existing Bigbelly Deployments across Dublin City

The Smart Dublin Docklands deployment is the latest among a collection of large-scale deployments across Dublin city, and in counties across Ireland. These deployments have seen wide success; Bigbelly has become a part of Dublin life, improving the quality of life for residents and visitors. The Docklands joins the ranks of other major Bigbelly deployments, including: