Securr Works with the City of Portland to Provide Modern Waste Receptacles
Posted by David Moore on
This past May, the city of Portland, Oregon approved the purchase of 100 garbage can units from Securr to be used throughout the city. The decision was part of the Public Place Trash Can program, which strives to add receptacles in areas of high use. The program, which is backed by the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS), hopes to further encourage residents and visitors to keep the city clean by providing modern trash cans with engaging designs.
Expressing the City’s Personality
In an effort to reflect the personality of the city, the program initially planned to reach out to the youth of the area to help create artwork to be displayed on the garbage cans. As the program direction evolved, local artist Dan Stiles was selected instead to create artwork that would create “instagrammable moments for millennials”. The artist, who has years of experience working on projects with a consumer marketing focus, worked diligently to create designs that would be fun and capable of brightening up people’s days. City council has approved all designs and was supportive of the project.
Working Together to Create Better Solutions
To purchase the trash cans, the city of Portland partnered with Downtown Clean & Safe and the Portland Business Alliance. For its part in the initiative, Clean & Safe’s board of directors voted to fund the entire rollout of the program within the downtown business improvement district. In addition to providing $200,000 toward the project for this fiscal year, Clean & Safe has designated an additional $200,000 for the 2018-2019 fiscal year to go toward converting the remaining cement round cans to the new receptacles.
By forming this partnership, the city’s funds are freed up to be used toward expanding its garbage disposal capacity in other areas. These funds were ear-marked in 2016 when the City Council adopted an increase to the commercial tonnage fee of $1.30 per ton in an effort to expand its public trash program. The expansion is part of Portland’s 2035 Comprehensive Plan to add public trash cans and collection services to its regional, town and neighborhood centers.
Bringing Modern Waste Collection Options to Portland
In addition to offering fun designs that reflect the personality of each of Portland’s neighborhoods, the new trash receptacles also bring a higher level of waste security to the city. The new high-volume trash cans feature locking mechanisms that help to prevent damage to the receptacles while also featuring a side compartment for recyclable bottles. The unique design allows members of the public to remove the separated recyclables so they can collect the deposit refund for the recyclable materials without needing to open the receptacle itself.
The city’s new cans, which are customized versions of the very unique Securr CG35 line of Cart Garages, feature a safer design for the workers who collect the trash. With the ability to be opened from the front, a 35-gallon poly cart can be easily rolled to the curb and emptied by the municipalities’ automated collection vehicles.
Securr is proud to be a part of this initiative, which will enhance the city’s overall waste collection efforts while also keeping the city cleaner and safer for everyone.