Card Swiping and QR Code Scanning Often Fail to Open Doors, Procurement Costs Can Exceed 100,000 Yuan—Are Public Smart Trash Bins Becoming "Showpieces"?

Currently, many regions are continuously upgrading and transforming waste sorting facilities. Through government procurement, smart trash bins (houses) are being upgraded in residential and public areas, generally improving hygiene, appearance, and user experience.

However, investigations by Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporters have found that some public smart trash bins face issues such as malfunctioning, complicated operation, and high costs. Coupled with maintenance gaps and excessive features, they have become superficial “decorations,” which not only affect residents’ waste sorting experience but also waste public funds.

Some smart trash bins are “unusable, difficult to use, unnecessary”

Recent visits by reporters revealed that after deployment, some smart waste sorting facilities frequently encounter problems. Instead of improving efficiency, they turn smart technology into a “negative experience.”

— Malfunctioning, untimely maintenance. “The trash bin repeatedly fails to open after swiping cards or scanning QR codes, showing no network. No traditional ground bins are provided, and the smart stations are always unusable. Where should we put the trash?” Ms. Liu, a resident living in an eastern coastal city, reported that her community installed smart trash bins, but due to frequent network failures, the bin doors often won’t open, forcing residents to leave trash outside.

A visit to an old neighborhood in that city found that the smart trash bins’ openings remained constantly open, and the sensor-activated opening function was not enabled. Near the bins, trash was piled up on the ground.

Within a key university campus in the city, numerous “dual-classification smart IoT sanitation bins” equipped with solar panels were installed. These bins feature automatic sensing openings and electronic screens that display real-time data such as “Today’s Deposits” and “Today’s Emptying.”

However, an observation of 25 similar bins on campus found that 21 of their automatic sensing openings were damaged or malfunctioning, and 15 had simultaneous faults in sensing and electronic screen functions, with issues like doors not opening automatically or screens turning off. Some students forcibly pushed open the sensing openings or blocked them with large trash items, preventing the doors from closing properly.

— Complex operation, residents prefer traditional bins. In another old neighborhood in the city, a reporter experienced a four-category smart trash bin costing over 100,000 yuan. To use it for the first time, residents must scan a QR code on the touchscreen, register via mobile phone, and upload facial recognition data. Afterwards, opening the bin requires entering a phone number or scanning face on the screen, then pressing the corresponding electronic button to deposit trash.

Waiting nearby for about 30 minutes, 10 residents came to deposit trash, but all bypassed the smart bin and went straight to the traditional ground bins behind it. “Shouldn’t smart trash bins make things easier? Now it’s more complicated, kind of like a decoration,” said one resident.

— Overly advanced, “cool” features become “useless.” In another old neighborhood, a reporter saw a smart trash bin that could be activated via a “holographic floating button.” This “button” uses “cutting-edge ‘airborne holographic imaging’ interaction technology,” projecting a 3D virtual button on a small screen installed on the bin. Residents can “touch” the virtual button in midair, causing the corresponding bin’s opening to activate automatically.

However, the electronic screen used to activate the “holographic floating button” was powered off, and the four doors of the bin remained open for a long time. “Every time you click the floating button, the system makes a ‘please sort and deposit trash’ prompt, and the door makes a loud ‘clack’ sound, which has caused complaints from nearby residents. So during the day, we just cut the power and keep the doors open,” an administrator told reporters.

Compared to traditional bins, procurement costs can be up to 70 times higher

Reporters found that publicly available government procurement information shows that the prices for smart waste sorting facilities are quite high, often several tens of thousands of yuan per unit, with some exceeding 100,000 yuan.

For example, in a northwest provincial capital city last August, a demonstration project for urban household waste sorting procurement (second phase) resulted in bids for six four-category smart bins and two hazardous waste bins at prices of 136,500 yuan and 45,800 yuan each, respectively. The total cost for these eight collection facilities exceeded 900,000 yuan.

In a central county last September, a project for upgrading waste sorting equipment reported that 20 “green smart waste sorting houses” of the same brand sold at 63,000 yuan each, while “enclosed waste collection stations” cost only 4,400 yuan each.

In November, a city in the central region awarded a contract for an integrated update of waste sorting and sanitation facilities, with 100 smart deposit boxes totaling about 6.3 million yuan, averaging 63,000 yuan each. In contrast, 480 sets of four-category HDPE trash bins purchased at the same time cost only 43,200 yuan, about 900 yuan each.

A street office in a major eastern coastal city reported that the upgrade project for waste sorting at 25 community points had a unit price of roughly 50,000 to 60,000 yuan. The detailed list showed that “smart openings” alone cost as much as 12,000 yuan per unit.

Additionally, some winning companies’ main businesses lack strong ties to the R&D and manufacturing of sanitation equipment.

For example, a project for upgrading waste sorting facilities in a county was awarded 15.58 million yuan, including bins, fruit peel containers, collection stations, and waste compaction vehicles. A check via Tianyancha revealed that the winning bidder was a car service company with a registered capital of only 500,000 yuan, with one shareholder and two employees. The company’s address was a simple auto sales shop made of color steel panels.

An industry insider supplying smart trash bins to North China told reporters that their main business is government procurement. “Usually, the government finds a middleman bidding company, which then purchases from us. This is because the government typically pays after a certain period, so the bidding company advances the payment. But the factory price and the bid price differ significantly. For example, a smart bin might cost the winning bidder 10,000 yuan, but the actual bid might be 30,000 yuan, with a markup of at least double.”

Smart technology should not “override” practicality and cost-saving

Experts say that in promoting the upgrade of waste sorting facilities, “smart” should not overshadow practicality and cost-effectiveness. Fiscal investments must be transparent, and public feedback should be prioritized. The evaluation and supervision of the practicality of procurement facilities should be strengthened.

— Improve standards to prevent blindly following trends. Zhuang Deshui, deputy director of the Public Policy Research Center at Peking University, stated that many current smart trash bins are non-standardized products. Procurement decisions are often subjective regarding functions. He recommends standardizing and improving government procurement parameters for public smart bins, including hardware materials, technical modules, and service fees, to prevent regions from blindly pursuing “trendy” or “hot” features and excessively high-end, high-cost “top-tier” facilities.

— Focus on practicality, base procurement on needs. “During the upgrade of waste sorting facilities, it’s important to listen broadly to residents’ opinions and needs, and adjust procurement accordingly,” said Wang Jieying, partner at Shanghai-based Tianchi Jun Tai Law Firm.

She suggested that high-priced smart facilities should first undergo small-scale trials to evaluate their actual impact on collection efficiency and cleaning workload before large-scale procurement. Establishing feedback mechanisms from residents can help promptly adjust procurement strategies if faults are frequent or the actual benefits are limited.

— Strengthen bidding oversight to ensure every penny is well spent. Experts recommend setting qualification thresholds for companies bidding on smart sanitation projects, such as R&D capabilities and industry experience, to prevent unqualified firms from participating. During government procurement, price comparisons should be conducted not only among different manufacturers and similar products but also against traditional facilities to ensure fiscal funds are used effectively.

(Reporting by Tang Yitian and Zhou Jiayi)

Upgrading waste sorting facilities should not become a “tech show”

Currently, many regions are actively promoting the quality and efficiency transformation of urban household waste sorting. Features like AI chat, GPS, sensor-activated lids, 3D projection buttons, solar-powered lighting, and overflow alarms have gradually entered public view and daily life.

Trash bins are one of the most common public facilities in cities. The emergence of many smart trash bins has become a “scenic spot” in urban landscapes. Some smart bins, with their novel experience and “tech appeal,” attract public attention and even become popular check-in spots. Ideally, smart trash bins should leverage technology to simplify sorting, improve efficiency, and enable precise management, making sorting easier for residents and sanitation work more efficient.

However, in reality, some smart trash bins do not meet expectations—“smart” features sometimes add burdens rather than reduce them. For example, in communities with a high proportion of elderly residents, bins with complex operation procedures are purchased; some facilities are overly high-tech with features that dazzle but cost a lot; others are heavily promoted during installation but quickly fall into disrepair, affecting daily use.

The smart upgrade of public facilities should not be a “tech show.” It is well known that the purpose of smart technology is to improve efficiency and convenience, not to pursue “the most advanced” or “high-end” for its own sake. Traditional facilities, or smart ones that meet core needs, are equally qualified.

If “smart” is blindly regarded as a “plus” in urban governance, with the belief that high-end equipment equals upgraded governance, residents’ actual experience is often overlooked. “Brainstorming” to add high-tech or top-tier features can turn public projects into superficial “face projects.”

When upgrading public facilities, it is essential to adhere to facts, needs, and local conditions. For example, the evaluation of smart trash bin upgrades should be based on real indicators such as sorting accuracy, resource utilization, and collection efficiency. Listening to residents’ voices and transforming their needs into practical solutions is the right way forward.

Trash bins may be small, but they connect to people’s livelihoods and reflect governance style. The efficient use of public funds directly impacts service quality and people’s well-being. Currently, regions are taking measures to save costs and oppose waste, and every penny must be spent wisely. In government procurement of waste sorting facilities, strict supervision, standardized procedures, and transparency are essential to ensure funds benefit the public.

Waste sorting is not a tech show. Eliminating superficial “face projects” and “tech displays,” and adopting a pragmatic approach with solid measures, will deepen public awareness of waste sorting and promote a green, low-carbon lifestyle.