A company behind eco bins which claims it could save Brighton and Hove up to £600,000 a year has been turned away by council bosses.

BigBelly’s solar panel bins can hold six to eight times more waste than the average street bin.

However, the company claims it was turned down by Brighton and Hove City Council following a meeting last year.

BigBelly has over 15,000 selfpowered units installed worldwide and uses solar power for 100% of its energy needs.

The energy is able to compact the rubbish, allowing the bins to hold between six and eight times more waste, reducing collection trips by an average of 86%.

Each bin comes with a wireless monitoring system and sends an email and text when the bin is 85% full which can be viewed on desktops and smart phones.

David Jackson managing director of BigBelly said: “The bins eliminate birds scattering rubbish across streets, parks and beaches – a problem in seaside resorts like Brighton.

“As the only Green city council, we are surprised that Brighton will not consider our bins as a viable option.”

BigBelly already has bins set up in locations across the city, including Nottingham, Bath, the Isle of Man, Bournemouth, Oxford, Westminster, Scunthorpe and Aberdeen.

Emission

BigBelly provides its bins on an operational lease at only £21 per bin per week.

The company claims this can provide each council with an average net operational saving per unit of £77 per week.

Stuart Best, area manager at Bournemouth Borough Council, said: “We are delighted to confirm that we have achieved significant reductions in both cost and collection frequency with BigBelly bins.”

BigBelly claims Brighton seafront would need 120 units to replace the current 150 bins, which would give annual savings of around £600,000.

It also predicts that one tonne of carbon emission would be saved annually per bin.

Aspokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “We are committed to finding and introducing innovative ways to reduce litter in Brighton and Hove which are cost-effective and beneficial to the city.

“We did meet this company last year to find out more about the bins and to look at whether the product would provide value for money in line with our existing services.

“Any decision on introducing new types of bins needs to go through a robust procurement process designed to ensure suitable equipment which offers value for money is purchased for our city.”