Wyndham City’s efforts to save almost 390,000 litres of recycling that would have otherwise gone to landfill by installing cutting-edge smart bins throughout the municipality has seen it named one of the five best communities for waste diversion globally.

In a recently released list of the top 25 highest recycling and compost diversion ratios from Smart City deployments, Wyndham City was ranked fifth overall, ahead of initiatives in New York’s Times Square ad Miami Beach in Florida.

The rankings were announced by Boston-based organisation Bigbelly, a world leading Smart City solution provider specialising in smart waste and recycling.

Wyndham City was recognised for its smart bin initiative, which Smart City portfolio holder, Cr Aaron An, said was returning impressive results.

“Since installing 32 smart bins throughout the streets of Werribee and Point Cook one year ago, Council has diverted more than 386,000 litres of recycling away from landfill,” Cr An said.

“This is a great result that shows how thinking outside of the box and implementing new technologies to tackle some old problems can make a real difference.”

“We first installed these smart bins in May 2017 with the goal of making Wyndham more efficient and environmentally friendly.”

“They can hold up to 600 litres of rubbish and recycling – five times more than the average street bin. Featuring solar panels on top, the bins automatically crush waste, compacting it so they can hold much more than standard bins.”

“The smart bins can even notify Council staff when they are full and need to be emptied, creating an environmental benefit by allowing them to be emptied 80 per cent less often.”

“From our award-winning CityLens initiative that shows users the future of our City in augmented reality, to these environmentally friendly bins, Wyndham is leading the way in harnessing new and emerging technologies to solve every day problems and improve the lives of our residents.”

Wyndham City’s Environment and Sustainability portfolio holder, Cr Heather Marcus, said she was pleased to see the smart bins were having a positive impact on the local environment.

“Our environment is something we can’t replace. Once it is damaged beyond repair, there is no going back. That’s why results like this are so encouraging. It shows we are making real progress and a tangible difference in the way we treat our local environment,” Cr Marcus said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Wyndham continue to use innovative ways to minimise our environmental footprint and I’m confident we’ll continue to produce great results like the ones these smart bins have produced.”