In 2012 the founders, husband & wife duo Michael & Deborah Brady like a lot of people had a young family and overflowing bins, and more annoyingly bins not being collected because of contamination!! Their annoyance with their council’s leaflet communications led to further research by the duo and after discussions with WRAP NI they discovered that their personal annoyance was affecting more than their household:
In WRAP’s authoritative report Barriers to recycling at home | WRAP several important findings highlighted the need for improved communications to help local councils improve their recycling performance:
Current recyclers sometimes or often:
- Bin things because they are not sure if they can be recycled (48%);
- Throw recyclable bathroom wastes in the residual bin (41%);
- Put things in the recycling even if they’re not sure they can be recycled (36%);
- Forget to put out the recycling because they are not sure of the collection day (33%);
Michael is an architect and with this creative flair and Deborah’s excellent communications skills the Bin-Ovation App was developed in 2013.
With local council advice on board and WRAP iconography throughout, the Bin-Ovation App was launched in 2014 in Banbridge District Council
The keys features of the original App package were
- Which Bins Search Engine - where a compendium of household items populates a library of hundreds of products, each with pictures and local authority specific guidance on disposal
- News/Info Section – Highlighting useful council specific information on waste collection and bank holiday collection arrangements
- Handy Bin Reminders
- Online Collection Day Calendar
- Recycling Locations with GPS co-ordinates and opening hours
- Reduce / Re-use / Recycle TIPs section
- Council specific Push Notifications direct to users’ devices
- Monthly Council Specific Report detailing most frequently searched waste items, page views and new user numbers
- Bin-Ovation created and council branded promotional materials – see example below – insert images provided
2018 - 2021
In response to changing council priorities they have added the following optional features for specific councils
- Report It – Users can report environmental issues such as dog-fouling, fly-tipping, litter or graffiti direct from their smart phone with option of a photo and GPS location
- Auto Reminders – Council can supply a database of their collections and collection reminders are set up on download
- Apartment feature – the ability for users who live in an apartment to access details specific to the their collection scheme
2023 – Major revamp
- A new Home Screen that allows the user to see at a glance all the functions of the App
- A Recycling Quiz for the user to complete and learn and in a fun way
- A Bins Challenge sorting game for the user to learn in an interactive way
- A Push Notifications in box so the user can retrieve Push Notifications after they have been sent In addition Push Notifications can now carry a hyperlink to a council website to carry more information
- Standalone website versions of the Quiz and Game for Recycling Offices to use on school visits
The App package is the most comprehensive in the UK market and the new features are already being designed with a facility to book a Recycling Centre visit and a Priority Article facility planned for 2nd half of 2023.
Bin-Ovation is currently in operation in 5 out of the 11 Northern Ireland Super Councils and another 2 due to live in H2 2023. (Previously in 13 NI Councils before Super Council amalgamations).
When a council subscribes to the App the App updates, content changes , Push Notifications and monthly reports are undertaken by Bin-Ovation with no staffing requirement for the council.
With the challenges brought by the demands of Consistency of Collections, increasing Food Waste schemes etc Bin-Ovation App is a flexible, low cost way to communicate to residents about changes to their household scheme.
