The New York City Department of Sanitation, Van Alen Institute, and the Industrial Designers Society of America / American Institute of Architects New York, are seeking an interdisciplinary design team to respond to BetterBin, a design competition to reimagine the iconic New York City litter basket.

To make this energetic city keep daily fresh, DSNY workers plays an essential role to clean the dirt and make the “metabolism” of New York being fluent. 

How can we help these heroes to avoid getting injured? 

Following our streamlined and elegant shape design of trash bin, we mainly focus on reducing occupational damages and inconvenience of sanitation workers.

Furthermore, inspired by the already existing trap for rats, we add functionality to avoid them climbing into the garbage cans. 

Hope these design details can provide some support on resolving our city’s sanitation issues.

Also, expect all New Yorkers will love these little mushrooms blooming at each intersection in this Big Apple.

DESIGN GROUP INTRODUCTION - ATIVA