Leeds City Council

1,000 Bespoke Litter Bins Supporting a Cleaner Leeds

Leeds City Council partnered with Wybone to deliver a major city-wide street cleansing initiative, commissioning the manufacture and supply of 1,000 bespoke MLB/112/ECO litter bins to support the council’s Clean Streets and Litter Free Leeds campaigns.

The project formed part of Leeds City Council’s wider strategy to improve street cleanliness, increase public engagement with anti-littering initiatives, and provide durable waste management infrastructure across busy city centre locations.

The Challenge

Leeds City Council required a litter bin solution capable of withstanding the demands of high-footfall urban environments while also helping to promote behavioural change around littering and responsible waste disposal.

The council wanted more than a standard litter bin. The new units needed to become a visible part of the Litter Free Leeds campaign, encouraging residents to engage with local clean-up initiatives and anti-litter messaging.

The Solution

Working closely with Leeds City Council, Wybone adapted the MLB/112/ECO litter bin design to incorporate a range of bespoke features tailored specifically to the project requirements.

Each unit was manufactured with a black powder-coated galvanised steel body featuring gold detailing, Leeds City Council branding and custom Litter Free Leeds graphics. QR codes were integrated into the design, directing members of the public to campaign information and community litter-picking initiatives.

The bins also incorporated rod-assisted self-closing ashtrays to help reduce cigarette litter and maintain cleaner public spaces.

Creating Public Engagement

One of the most distinctive elements of the project was the incorporation of bespoke Swoopy the Owl laser-cut detailing. The owl cut-outs were backed with printed vinyl artwork, creating a striking visual feature that reinforced campaign branding and gave the bins a unique identity across the city.

Each bin from 1-1000 were numbered which quickly became a talking point across Leeds, generating significant social media engagement and even inspiring a city-wide “bin hunt” as residents searched for and shared photographs of the new bins online. It also started the mass hunt to collect each bin location and ultimately built a lot of engagement around finding bin 1000.

Delivering at Scale

Manufacturing and delivering 1,000 bespoke litter bins for a single local authority project demonstrates Wybone’s ability to successfully deliver large-scale street furniture contracts while maintaining consistent quality, branding and functionality throughout production.

The bins were delivered fully assembled with the concrete slab and liner already fitted, allowing the units to be immediately used once positioned by our installation team.

The completed installation now forms part of Leeds City Council’s ongoing efforts to improve street cleanliness, reduce littering and encourage greater community participation in keeping Leeds clean.