Recently, standard recycling bins for bottles in my residential town have been replaced with huge, red plastic bins in strawberry format. The 'strawberry' has two round black 'eyes' through which bottles are introduced into the red container, and a black slot through which nylon/plastic bags are slipped into it. The stuff is taken out through the bottom part which has a square door opening.
round black hole for bottles
The red containers , placed in 'strategic' public places such as at a main street corner, near a supermarket, restaurant, park , bus stop, parking area - seem to be highly durable and color-fading resistant; The intention and idea are good; the design is, however, not very attractive, in my opinion. It looks huge , awkward, and far from resembling a natural strawberry. I hope it's experimental and the people responsible for the project, will either improve the look of the strawberry or improve the former facility. In most places, by the way, the bottle recycling bin is placed close to the paper recycling bin, and/or the trash bin. Good neighbors.
near building with gym studio & supermarket
adjacent to paper recycling bin
Why strawberry? Well, our town was in its beginning, a rural settlement surrounded by strawberry fields . It still has some of the fields , and its informal icon is the strawberry. Along the pedestrian part of the avenues that run to and from the municipality building, there are many plastic strawberry exhibits in various colors created by local artists. These 'strawberries' display all sorts of prints and inscriptions such as "only love brings love". Perhaps the love slogan is correct , but all this affluence of plastic strawberry exhibits might gradually 'kill' the desire for the real fruit.
'strawberry' with Love slogan (in hebrew) at top
I thought we were the only crazy people who took a theme & ran it into the ground. With Cincinnati, it’s pigs. My hometown in NC had artists decorate giant rocking chairs (we have a lot of furniture manufacturing). But I love the strawberries – I think that they’re highly visible & might help the recycling effort a lot!
ReplyDeleteI think they look cute, and hopefully they'll make people more interested in doing good for nature.
ReplyDeleteThough if the strawberry is a logo for your town, maybe they should have used a few different fruits to pep it all up & to avoid monotony.
Like pineapples or cherries.
I think these are wonderful,such fun.We have huge square metal containers that are ugly,rusted,dented and covered in unpleasant graffiti.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see something like this in our local town,but the council has no sense of fun!!
Oooo, i was impressed!!!!
ReplyDeleteIs so nice and clever idea and i like so much the red color!!!!
Your photos are amazing!!!
I wish you a happy summer, why am away from the INTERNET, until September.
Sorry about that.
Many greetings and kisses
I must say that this idea is a good one. Most of those containers in my own city looks horrible. Yours are fine!
ReplyDeleteYou must understand that somewhere, somehow we must throw our trash. How we do it depend on us.
I also think they are attractive: it would be hard to miss a huge, red strawberry when looking for someplace to recycle the waste in your hand! But I agree with PinkPanthress that a variety of fruits would be a plus.
ReplyDeleteThe Bug,
ReplyDeletePigs and rocking chairs? That's funny. I totally agree with your view on the visibility of the strawberry bins. That could indeed help the recycling effort.
PinkPanthress,
Ecologically it's a good idea. I think I might get used to the format, and even..enjoy it.(I'm not sure about the effect of adding additional fruit exhibits).
matron,
I'm glad you think so. No doubt, it looks better than the previous metal square which probably resembles the ones in your town.
magda,
Yes, one can never go wrong with the red color.
I'll miss you and your photos. Have a wonderful summer vacation!
robert,
The mayor is trying to do positive things for the town. This project is one of them. It needs some improvement , but it'll do.
Dimple,
You're right as always.
I see an almost unanimous opinion on the bins in the comments so far: cute, attractive, wonderful, funny, and greatly visible.
I like the idea. The locals should get to choose what to use but it looks like that decision has already been made.
ReplyDeleteI like your strawberry containers, Duta. They are the most imaginative containers for recyling that I've ever seen. I think it's commendable that they tried to come up with something attractive. One of the cities I live in (I live in two), starts with a "W", and all along the main streets, lightposts, etc., you will find the letter "W." They built some pretty strips between the some of the main streets for flowers and plants, and each of these is adorned with at least 10 "W"s. A little much, I think!!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea, I think that red colour makes you aware about it, and helps you to remember abou recycling.
ReplyDeletewow, they are so funny, I like them!
ReplyDeleteMixed feelings about the 'strawberry' recycling unit. At least there has been some attempt made to improve the look of the unit although it still looks a little unsightly. But at least it is not the big round green containers we have here which do not do anything to prettify the place up!
ReplyDeleteOne Fly,
ReplyDeleteRight. It appears the decision has been taken by the municipality people, but the strawberry bins don't cover yet the whole city, so there's hope for some improvement in the bins to be placed in the other parts of the city. Who knows.
Bica,
Glad you like the containers. I believe in your good taste. The 'W'-s in your residential cities are a very cute idea too.
LumiRo,
Red is a very good color, as far as visibility is concerned; this is of course, a great advantage.
Ola,
They do look rather funny; it brings a smile on people's faces, and that's good.
Vera,
I appreciate any attempt made by the mayor and his team to beautify the city, even if it's not always successful.
DUTA:
ReplyDeleteSomehow the idea seems great to me. the colour and the visual appeal of the campaign will sure promote people to be aware of the recycling unit. I wish there was one in our streets. Our streets are the public waste dumping ground.
Joy always,
Susan
Seems so very artistic town...and very impressible the Love slogan !!
ReplyDeleteDuta, I really like the strawberry with the love slogan in hebrew .
ReplyDeleteAnd I like the big strawberry recycling bins too, they are kind of big but I think cute as well!
I really enjoyed this post!
You always share such great info about where you live.
Margie :)
Send the big red strawberries to us as I think they are way more pleasing to the eye that the bins. Peace
ReplyDeleteSusan Deborah,
ReplyDeleteYes, I do agree with your opinion that the big red strawberry bin, could promote public awareness to the recycling concept.
nomore,
The mayor and his team do have artistic tendencies as far as our town is concerned. That's good. It makes the town look prettier.
Margie,
I'm flattered by the fact that you've enjoyed my post. Glad you liked both the big strawberry bin and the smaller strawberry exhibit.
Lady Di Tn,
Oh, the strawberries freshly collected from the fields are a great delight to the eye and taste senses!
While I like the idea of recycling they do kind of stick out like a sore thumb. But I guess they might draw people to want to recycle more...especially children and if you teach children to do the right thing from a young age they grow up doing the right thing...like recycling. Maybe that's why they are so cartoonish?
ReplyDeleteMaybe they thought that the previous recycling facility looked a bit messy and needed tidying up. It does look like it has arrived from a theme park although with the bright colour and local tradition, it looks like you are going to have to campaign a little harder !!
ReplyDeleteAlicia,
ReplyDelete"stick out like a sore thumb" - well put, Alicia. For children, the strawberry bin might indeed prove educational.
J_on_tour@jayspaze,
The previous recycling facility has transparency; one sees the bottles. IMO, it should have been improved , not replaced.
I love the strawberry and I think they should be everywhere to help with recycling....Neat
ReplyDelete@TheBug~ You must be from Thomasville or High Point. My husband grew up in High Point.
ReplyDeleteDuta! Such a delightful blog post! Thanks for sharing.
I have an unrelated question: our 12 year old son received an invitation to a Bar Mitzvah in the mail today. It is very fancy - a small scroll, mailed in a gold foil sleeve...Wow! Andrew was VERY impressed with the invitation alone. My husband & I told him that it is an honor to be invited - sort of like being invited to a Baptism. My question: what type of gift does one bring to a Bar Mitzvah?
Kim,
ReplyDeleteI suppose the strawberry bins will soon cover the whole town area. The majority of the people seems to like them.
Sussannah,
Here are some gift ideas:
- money gift (cash or check) placed in an envelope with a Bar Mitzvah Card
The sum is customary in multiples of 18 which is the numerical value of CHAI (meaning life and luck):
$18, $36, $54 - How much is up to you.
- a book on a relevant jewish theme (you'll find it in a judaica store).
- a leather wallet
- a savings/charity box
- jewllery items (bracelet or pendant) such as:
personal name in Hebrew letters
or a jewish symbol : star of Magen David, the hebrew letters for the word 'Chai'.
- Anything that your son feels his friend would like to receive as present.
I think that anything that starts a conversation on litter gets a thumb up from me. Not to mention how visible it is, which is an added bonus. Often, I'm searching for a rubbish can and can't find one because it is camouflaged to fad into the background. I'm all for putting it in the open where people can see and use it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Duta, that the large red strawberry brings the consciousness around to the idea of recycling. And while it fits in with the town's identity, I think it would do well with a makeover to a more subtle and modest design!
ReplyDeleteForgive my absence from the blogosphere, as I have made only a couple of posts these past months. You know how life takes over!
Well that is interesting...and a little odd. At least you have places to recycle. I wish we had some kind of containers here (ours would probably be an ear of corn...that wouldn't look too great either)!
ReplyDeleteThank you SO much for the ideas, Duta. I especially like the chai symbolism of 18. I'll show my son your answer & I'll bet that is what he'll want to do - personal & meaningful. You're a peach!
ReplyDeleteDuta, It's been awhile. I hope you are doing well! I like the strawberry containers as they're much prettier than the former facility picture you posted. The "logo or brand" idea seems to be catching on everywhere. I wonder if it started with the Cow Parade that are in cities globally now and in which miniatures or figurines can also purchased. Our little town has just started putting up rockfish aka striped bass..... Guess its no worse than pigs, rocking chairs, or the bears I've seen in Cherokee, NC. Anyway, its interesting to look at all the different ideas the local artists come up with when decorating them.
ReplyDeleteAngelina,
ReplyDeleteVisibility of the red strawberry bin - is indeed its greatest advantage.
Lynda Lehmann,
It's good to hear from you.
I'm definitely in favor of a "more subtle,and modest design" of the strawberry bin.
Sue(Someone's Mom),
Perhaps the main thing is to
have "places to recycle" regardless of their shape.
Susannah,
You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. Hope your son greatly enjoys the Bar Mitzva event.
Lisa,
Good to hear from you! I'm glad you like the red strawberry container. It's indeed interesting to look at the ideas that artists in different parts of the world come up with.
Interesante imaginile,ingenioase forme,coloreaza pur si simplu aspectul strazii....profesionalismul este la el acasa!bravo lor!
ReplyDeleteMultumesc pentru comentariu.
ReplyDeleteAdevarat, aceste forme dau culoare si infrumusteaza aspectul strazii.