There are serious environmental problems caused by plastics, especially PET bottles. Vast quantities of such bottles are used and subsequently dumped every day. Because of their large volume per unit mass bottles of this type are generally uneconomic to separate and recycle.

There is therefore a need to provide a means for collecting such bottles economically for recycling.

Statements of Invention A plastics bottle collection street bin comprising a housing of generally triangular shape having three sidewall portions, the housing having an inlet means for plastics bottles, a receiver for receiving the plastic bottles, and at least portion of at least one of the sidewall portions having an advertising display means.

In one embodiment of the invention the inlet means for plastics bottles is an inlet hole corresponding to the size of the plastics bottles to be collected.

Preferably the inlet means comprises at least two spaced-apart inlet holes. Ideally, the inlet holes are vertically spaced-apart to receive bottles inserted at different heights.

Preferably the inlet means is provided in one of the sidewall portions. Ideally, at least portion of the sidewall portion containing the inlet means defines an access means.

In one embodiment of the invention the street bin includes an access means provided by a door in a sidewall portion of the housing. Preferably, the door extends substantially the height of the housing.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the receiver is located in the housing.

Ideally, there are at least two receivers in the housing, one located above the other, a lower inlet means communicating with the lower receiver and an upper inlet means communicating with the upper receiver. Preferably in this case the upper receiver is stacked on the lower receiver. Ideally, on opening of the access means both receivers are removable simultaneously from the housing. The street bin preferably includes a trolley for the receiver.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention two of the sidewall portions define an advertising display means.

Preferably at least the sidewall portions defining the advertising display means have a height to width ratio of approximately 3: 2.

In a preferred embodiment the advertising sidewall portions define an included angle of less than 90°. Ideally, the sidewall portions define an included angel of approximately 45°.

Preferably two of the sidewall portions are of substantially the same length.

In one case the three sidewall portions are of substantially the same length.

At least one of the sidewall portions may be of generally convex shape.

In a preferred embodiment one of the sidewall portions contains a single sheet advertising display. Preferably the single sheet advertising display is illuminated.

Usually, a display access door for accessing the advertising display sheet is provided.

In a preferred embodiment one of the sidewall portions contains a scrolling advertising display.

Preferably the inlet means, in use, faces generally opposite to the direction of pedestrian flow.

In a preferred embodiment the maximum width of the street bin in the direction of pedestrian flow is less than lm.

Preferably the footprint area defined by the sidewalls of the bin is less than lm2.

In a preferred arrangement one of the advertising sidewalls portions extends at an angle for viewing by on-coming traffic.

The street bin may comprise a number of similar generally triangular housing which are combined to define a larger segmented unit.

The invention also provides street furniture incorporating a street bin of the invention.

Preferably the street furniture includes a user interface means.

The user interface means may be a telephone station, a rest point, may include a seat means, a pedestrian collection point, a vending unit, a kiosk, a shelter, an information point, and/or a banking point such as a cash point.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description thereof given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a plastics bottle collection street bin according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the bin; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the bin with an access door open; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the open bin with a top portion removed; Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the bin, in use; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an access door of the bin; Fig. 7 is a plan view of the door; Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view on an enlarged scale on the line VIII-VIII in Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a detail of the door; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a trolley and receptacles used in the street bin; Fig. 11 is a side view of the trolley;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing one advertising sidewall of the street bin; Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing another advertising sidewall of the street bin; Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a framework of the street bin; Fig. 15 is a plan view of a streetscape illustrating the siting of two of the street bins; Fig. 16 is a perspective view of another street bin of the invention; Fig. 17 is a perspective view of a further street bin with an access door open; Fig. 18 is an exploded view of another street bin; Fig. 19a to 19c are side views illustrating the operation of the bin of Fig.

18; Fig. 20 is a perspective view of another plastics bottle collection bin according to the invention; Fig. 21 is a plan view of the street bin of Fig. 20; Fig. 22 is a perspective view of another street bin; Fig. 23 is another perspective view of the street bin of Fig. 22; and

Fig. 24 is a plan view of the street bin of Figs 22 and 23.

Detailed Description Referring to the drawings and initially to Figs 1 to 15 thereof there is illustrated a plastics bottle collection apparatus 1 comprising a housing having a base plinth 2, a top 3 and sidewall means. The housing is of generally triangular, in this case wedge shape and comprises a first sidewall portion 4, a second sidewall portion 5 and a third sidewall portion 6. The third sidewall portion 6 defines an access door which is hingedly mounted about a vertical axis 12 from a closed position as illustrated in Fig 1 to an open position illustrated in Fig 2 to gain access to the interior of the housing.

The access door 6 has inlet means in this case provided by upper and lower inlet openings 20,21 through which a user inserts plastics bottles for recycling. Container means for receiving the bottles is in this case provided by upper and lower receivers, in this case containers 22,23 having respective inlet openings 24, 25 which are aligned in use with the openings 20,21 to receive the plastics bottles.

The containers 22,23 are stacked one upon the other on a trolley 25 having wheels 26 to facilitate ease of insertion and withdrawal from the housing.

The positioning of the inlet openings 20,21 not only facilitates access to children and adults but also more effectively distributes the PET bottles on insertion into the containers 22,23.

Referring in particular to Figs 6 to 9 the access door 6 comprises a steel framework including uprights 30 and cross members 31 clad by steel cladding panels 32 having the access openings 20,21. Each opening 20,21 is covered by a flexible guide and entry restriction means provided by a strip 35 of flexible material having a cruciform shape 36 cut therein through which a bottle is pushed. The strip 35 is sandwiched between the outer cladding panel 32 and an inner

reinforcing strip 37 with an opening 38 for plastics bottle entry. The assembly thus formed is retained in position between a pair of cross members 31 by elongate locking bolts 39. This arrangement provides ease of assembly while confining the entry of item to elongate plastics bottles for recycling.

Referring in particular to Figs 10 and 11, each of the containers 22,23 comprises framework elements 40 which are clad by plates 41 in which the entry cut-outs 24, 25 are provided. The wheels 26 are provided by castors mounted to the lower framework elements 40 of the lower container 23. Lugs 45 project upwardly from the upper framework elements 40 of the lower container 23 to provide location means for the upper container 22 on assembly as illustrated in Fig. t 1.

Referring in particular to Fig. 12 the sidewall 4 includes a left to right scrolling advertising sign 50 which is back-lit by lights 51 for enhanced display. The sign 50 has a signage access door 55 with a transparent panel 56. The door 55 is hinged about a vertical axis for access to the sign 50 for maintenance and/or replacement.

Fig. 13 illustrates in particular the sidewall 5 which is this case includes a display advertising sign 60 which is back-lit by lights 61 for enhanced display. The sign 60 has a signage access door 62 with a transparent panel 63. The door 62 is hinged about a vertical axis for access to the sign 60 for maintenance and/or replacement.

An inner framework 65 of the street bin is illustrated in Fig. 14 and comprises three upright posts 66 joined by framework elements 67. The access door 6 and advertising sidewall portions 4,5 are attached to the framework 65.

Referring to Fig. 15 there is illustrated a typical streetscape with two of the street bins 1 according to the invention in position on opposite pavements 70,71. It will be noted that the plastics bottle inlet means, in use, faces generally opposite to the direction of pedestrian and traffic flow generally as illustrated by the arrows. This allows safe access to the plastics bottle inlets without substantially hindering

pedestrian flow. One of the advertising sidewalls, in this case the fixed signage wall 5 extends generally parallel to the line of the street/pavement and the other of the advertising sidewalls 4 extends at an angle for ease of viewing by on-coming trafic. In this way the advertising impact is maximised while optimising collection of plastics bottles for recycling.

To provide minimum obstruction to pedestrian flow and minimum negative streetscape environmental impact the footprint area defined by the bin is less than lm2. For the same reason, ideally the maximum width of the street bin in the direction of pedestrian flow is less than 1 m.

The access door 6 may be fitted with a telephone, or any other item, and may include public information material regarding recycling or the like.

Referring to Fig. 16 there is illustrated another plastics bottle collection street bin 100 according to the invention which is similar to the street bin described above with reference to Figs 1 to 15 and like parts are assigned the same reference numerals. In this case the sidewall portions 4,5,6 are of substantially equal length so that the housing defines a generally equilateral triangular shape. The included angle between each pair of adjacent sidewalls 4,5,6 is approximately 60°. Each of the sidewalls is of generally convex shape to enhance the display and viewing of the advertising. The street bin 100 has a larger footprint area than the unit of Figs 1 to 15 and is therefore suitable for siting in locations with a larger access area.

Referring to Fig 17 there is illustrated an alternative collection apparatus 130 which is similar to the apparatus of Figs 1 to 15 and like parts are assigned the same reference numerals. In this case receivers 131,132 for receiving the plastics bottles are of lightweight netting material and are removably attached, for example, to the access door 6.

Referring to Figs 18 to 19 there is illustrated another collection apparatus 140 which is similar to the apparatus described above and like parts are again assigned the same reference numerals. In this case the access means is provided by an open top of the unit and the PET bottle collection containers 141,142 are removed through the top opening. The containers 141,142 are removed simultaneously by a hoist 145 of a lift truck 146 engaging a lift hook 147. The containers 141,142 are interlinked by a linkage 149 which facilitates lifting of the containers 141,142 at the same time.

Referring to Figs 20 and 21 there is illustrated another plastics bottle collection street bin 150 which is similar to the bin of Figs 1 to 15 and like parts are assigned the same reference numerals. In this case only one of the sidewalls provides an advertising display. The street bin 150 may be used in the same or different areas as the bin of Figs 1 to 15 or as one of a number of elements of an assembly such as a two part assembly or a three part assembly 160 as illustrated in Figs 22 to 24.

The invention provides a highly efficient collection apparatus for PET bottles which is not only user friendly and easy to operate but is also easy to maintain by simple loading and unloading of containers for the PET bottles collected. In addition, and of especial importance, is the use of the collection apparatus as an advertising display medium. This facility greatly enhances the apparatus as it provides a revenue generating facility which may be used to fund the associated recycling operation required. The advertising panels are most preferably 6 ft by 4 ft corresponding to the optimum height to width ratio of 3: 2 for the sidewalls.

The plastics bottle collection street bin of the invention may form an element of any suitable street furniture unit. Such a street furniture unit may include a user interface means which may be a telephone or other communications station a bank station such as a cash point, a pedestrian rest point, a seat means, a pedestrian collection point such as a taxi rank and/or bus rank. The street furniture may include a vending unit such as a kiosk, and/or an information

point, for example for tourists. The street furniture may also include a shelter to protect users.

Many variations on the specific embodiments of the invention described will be readily apparent and accordingly the invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in construction and detail.