The
kitchen bin is a part of our lives. We use it maybe a dozen
times a day and its design problems swiftly become self-evident:
the lid quickly becomes stained and soiled, and the rubbish
bags are very difficult to lift and remove from the bin, especially
if you are not young and fit. As designer Richard Seymour
observes: "Emptying a kitchen bin must rank alongside changing
nappies and open heart surgery for the worst, nastiest, messiest
things you could ever want to do."
Thousands of kitchen bin products exist on the market, mainly
low-cost items with swing lids, lift lids etc, but the problems
associated with the product are so well-known that they have
become a joke. "Bean stains on the swing bin are one of those
things you laugh about when you talk about it," declares Seymour.
"But we live with these things every day and theyre
just not good enough. So what a great challenge - theres
got to be a better bin."