Clever design

When I grew up, you got money back (a so-called deposit) when you returned glass Coke (and other) soda bottles to a supermarket or café. So when we were on our school holidays we would all race each other along the beach from rubbish bin to rubbish bin, and then return our loot to the local caff to exchange the deposit for sweets.

In Sweden, they have a similar system where aluminium cans and plastic bottles are returned to get back the deposit paid when you bought it. It’s a bit icky (as I know from memory) for the people retrieving these items from bins, so Stockholm City has installed the contraptions above. You don’t put your bottle or can into the bin, but into the chute at the side (PANT is deposit in Swedish). People can then easily see where the bottles are and remove them without sticking their hand in the bin.

Author: Janet Carr

Fashion, beauty and animal loving language consultant from South Africa living in Stockholm, Sweden.

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