PEOPLE of Boscombe will now be thanked for putting their littler in a bin after the Coastal BID installed 12 new, interactive talking bins.

Operations manager at the Coastal BID, Fiona McArthur, said it was part of the government’s towns fund and hoped it would help clean the area.

She said: “It is an interactive bin. It is part of the future towns fund and the Coastal Bid had allocations to do quick wins in the high street to tidy it up a little bit.

“They are Covid-friendly with a foot pedal, they cut down on the council’s timing, they are tidier and hopefully put a smile on people’s faces.

“We started planning in October. It is all part of the ‘pride in place’ and ‘bounce back from Covid’.

“All the people in the area and other BIDs are working really hard to smarten it up in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and to encourage people to come back to the high street and give it a new lease of life.

“They don’t overflow and I have seen people using them and smiling, it has been positive so far.”

When the bins are used, a robotic voice will say: “thank you for using me” and a screen on the front shows how full it is.

Ms McArthur said the BID worked with the council to find the best suppliers of bins and identified these as the most efficient.

Councillor Philip Broadhead, deputy leader and cabinet member for regeneration, economy and strategic planning said: “We’ve recently installed 12 new bins in Boscombe using funds secured from the £21.7 million that was allocated to Bournemouth as part of the government’s town deal which will see a major investment in town centre regeneration.

“These replacement bins use solar power to compact litter and can hold much more than a normal bin – and they also inform staff when they need emptying, leaving our crews free to focus on other street cleansing works that are currently taking place across Boscombe.

“This is the first phase of work in the regeneration programme for Boscombe.”

Resident Katerina Janoutova was impressed by the bin but said the best way to tackle littering was through education.

“I think it’s a good idea and hopefully it will help,” she said.

“I think we need to start with education, if people litter, they will still litter.

“We should educate the children fist, but this is a good idea.”