Our solar powered litter bins clean up with Green World Award!

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council is celebrating a major environmental success after its network of solar-powered, compacting litter bins earned a prestigious Green World Award.

The accolade, part of a global initiative recognising excellence in environmental best practice, was presented to the Council and its partner, Future Street, at a ceremony in the House of Lords. It honours the joint project to install more than 120 solar-powered, compacting bins across the borough.

These innovative bins use solar energy to compress rubbish, increasing their capacity and helping keep streets cleaner for longer. They also send automatic alerts to the Council’s Cleansing team when they’re about 80% full, so they are emptied before overflowing, significantly reducing litter and fly-tipping, especially in the borough’s four town centres.

For example, after the 2025 Reigate Christmas Fayre, the amount of leftover litter was about two-thirds less than in previous years before the new bins were installed.

The Council estimates that cleansing crews now spend around 50 % less time emptying bins, saving fuel, cutting CO₂ emissions and freeing staff to focus on other tasks like street sweeping and litter picking.

Councillor Hannah Avery, Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services, said the smart bins have helped improve efficiency, reduced the borough’s carbon footprint and made it easier for people to dispose of rubbish responsibly. She also thanked Future Street and the Council’s cleansing teams, as well as local residents who use the bins and help keep public spaces clean.

The project was funded through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) — a charge on new developments used to support local infrastructure — and won the Silver Award in the “Utilities: Environmental Improvement” category, competing against more than 500 entries. The Green World Awards are organised by The Green Organisation and backed by a number of environmental bodies.