Rome tries out innovative fireproof waste-bins

They will go in the middle “squares” of the Via Appia Nuova boulevard for better accessibility by the garbage trucks

AMA, Rome’s municipal environmental company in charge of waste management and cleaning, is testing out a new model of “bell” waste bins. What’s innovative about these containers is that they are larger in capacity, smart and fire-resistant. Plus, their location is kind of unusual as they are placed in the middle of the Via Appia Nuova boulevard.

The latter is possible because of the specific design of the thoroughfare, which includes delineated squares between the two traffic lanes. These spaces are used as parking spaces and now they will also host the new waste containers, at least for six months, which is how long the experimental phase is set to last.

Better decorum, better resistance

The 3,700-litre bins have been placed in the central "square" of the road, both so as not to be a nuisance for the shops and to facilitate their emptying (which is carried out by specific means with loading from above, as already happens with the glass bells). The solution was necessitated as a way of circumventing the phenomenon of unlawful parking of cars in front of the containers – something that hinders the operation of the waste trucks.

Batches of these separate waste bins (wet, paper, plastic and undifferentiated) have also been placed in the so-called African district (quartiere Africano) in Municipio II. As for the Via Appia Nuova, you can find them between Piazzale Appio and Piazza di Ponte Lungo.

Sabrina Alfonsi, Rome’s environmental councillor, described the features of the new containers like this:

“These are bell bins that have double the capacity of normal bins and can also be positioned in the centre of the streets since their emptying takes place from above. This creates a great improvement for shop owners who no longer have bins in front of their windows. They are also fireproof bins - we saw this when they tried to set fire to one of these in viale Eritrea but it remained intact.”

The councillor also revealed the smart functions of the containers, such as sound devices that emit noise when someone parks in front of them, sensors that indicate the fill level, plus anti-rat devices.