“智能垃圾桶”將登陸英國

A new "smart bin" could spell the end of environment-conscious families spending hours sorting tins, cartons, bottles, and cardboard for recycling.

一款新型“智能垃圾桶”即將問世，有環保意識的家庭再也不用花幾個小時把錫罐子、外賣盒、瓶子和紙板箱等垃圾進行分類了。

The invention, which automatically sorts rubbish into recycling categories, is being trialed in Poland and is set to go on sale in UK within a few years.

智能垃圾桶可以自動把垃圾按照回收類目進行分類。目前這項發明正在波蘭進行試運營，預計幾年內就會進入英國市場。

The bin, designed by start-up company Bin.E, recognizes different type of waste via a system positioned inside the bin which uses sensors, image recognition and artificial intelligence.

這款垃圾桶是由一家名爲Bin.E的初創公司設計的。垃圾桶的內置系統可以運用傳感器、圖形識別和人工智能等科技來辨別不同類型的垃圾。

Once waste is placed inside, the camera and sensors identify its type and place it in one of the smaller bins. Then it compresses the waste so it occupies less space.

當垃圾被倒入後，攝像頭和傳感器就能識別垃圾的類型，把垃圾放進相應的小垃圾桶，然後可將垃圾進行壓縮以減少其所佔空間。

News of the launch comes after this newspaper revealed that more than a million households are being forced to accept bin collections every three or four weeks, because councils are trying to force them to recycle more.

這款垃圾桶發佈之前，曾有報道稱因議會希望當地家庭能更多地回收垃圾，有超過100萬家庭的垃圾每隔三到四周才收集處理一次。

Data compiled by The Telegraph has revealed at least 18 councils have moved or will shortly be moving to three-weekly rubbish collections, while a further three have adopted or are trialing four-weekly collections.

《每日電訊報》收集的數據顯示，至少18個地區已經實行或即將實行每三週收集一次垃圾，3個地區甚至已經在實行或試驗每四周收集一次垃圾了。

While reducing general bin collections councils are increasing the frequency of recycling collections in a bid to change people's behaviour.

雖然普通垃圾收集的次數減少了，但各地方議會增加了回收再利用垃圾的收集次數，力求改變居民的環保習慣。

It is thought that the bin could be stocked by department stores such as John Lewis, which said it is introducing new hi-tech recycling bins to satisfy increasing customer appetite for them.

據傳，約翰?路易斯等百貨公司正在考慮使用這款垃圾桶。約翰?路易斯曾透露正在引進一款新型的高科技回收垃圾桶，以滿足日益增長的消費需求。

Matt Thomas, utility buyer at John Lewis, said: "We’ve recently seen a jump in specialist bins sales, with a 25 percent increase in the last few months alone. We have noticed our customers are becoming more and more sustainability focused, opting for dual compartment recycling bins that make it far easier to recycle different types of waste.

約翰?路易斯家用設施採購員馬特?托馬斯說：“在短短几個月裏，我們的回收專用垃圾桶的銷量就大幅增長了25%。我們發現，顧客們越來越注重可持續發展了，他們都會選擇雙格回收垃圾桶，以便於回收各種垃圾。”

"In response to this demand, we are really excited to introduce a new voice and sensor activated smart bin this autumn/winter season – designed to use innovative technology to make recycling more efficient and functional for the everyday home."

“爲了滿足這種需求，我們會在秋冬季引進一款配備聲控傳感器的新型智能垃圾桶，我們對此充滿期待。這款垃圾桶運用創新科技，能使日常的家庭垃圾分類更加高效和實用。”

Bin.E's official release on the market will take place in 2018, however at first only a larger version designed for offices will be available.

Bin.E將在2018年正式發售這款產品，但在初期只能買到爲辦公場所設計的加大版垃圾桶。

The office bin will retail at ￡430 while corporate customers will need to pay a ￡107 subscription fee for an accompanying smartphone app, which hooks them up with collection services.

辦公用垃圾桶的零售價將爲430英鎊，購買的公司還要爲配套的手機應用支付107英鎊的訂購費用，以便與垃圾收集服務站聯繫。

A spokesman at Bin.E said the home version of the bin will be cheaper and will not include a monthly payment.

Bin.E的一個發言人表示，家用版垃圾桶會更便宜，也無須每月支付費用。

They added: "After the office version, we plan to create an outdoor version and later the home version. We decided to go for the outdoor version for public areas first because it is more difficult to organize an efficient waste segregating system than in our homes."

Bin.E補充道：“我們計劃在辦公室版垃圾桶上市後開發戶外版，隨後是家用版。我們決定先爲公共場所開發戶外版，因爲在公共場所建立一個高效的垃圾分類系統比在家庭中難得多。”