01242 620903Why hire a Solar Bin?
9th Oct 2025
Local authorities and organisations across the UK are under growing pressure to deliver cleaner and safer public spaces with smaller budgets. Solar bin hire from QCR offers an affordable, smarter and greener way to manage litter in high footfall areas.
What is a solar litter bin?
Solar bins have a greater capacity than traditional bins of the same size making them a great solution for busy places. When litter inside a solar bin is compressed under the internal compaction plate, more waste can fit inside. This continuous cycle of compaction helps to reduce the frequency that the bin needs to be emptied.
Why have solar litter bins grown in popularity?
The task of litter management is getting harder for local councils due to shrinking budgets, fewer resources and higher expectations from the public. Solar litter bins are becoming more popular because they can help to reduce waste collection costs and improve street hygiene with a smaller team.
What are the advantages of hiring solar bins?
- No Big Upfront Investment
Hiring instead of buying bins helps to overcome the problem of needing a large upfront investment. Instead, the savings generated each month by switching to this type of litter bin can help to fund the cost of the units over time.
- Equipment servicing included
Hire packages from QCR include an annual service of the unit. This ensures it continues to work efficiently. Any issues can be dealt with by our QCR SafeContractor™ approved professional team, 80% of whom drive electric company vehicles for added sustainability.
- Pay A Fixed Monthly Amount
Monthly rental costs for solar bins are fixed for the duration of the contract when you hire from QCR . By guaranteeing that prices will not rise year-on-year with inflation, purchasing teams can budget more accurately. You'll also have the certainty of a end date within your contract giving you the opportunity to continue with with rental, upgrade, purchase or arrange for the units to be collected.
- Flexibility
You can choose to upgrade your rental package at any time to include access to a cloud based platform that enables you to remotely monitor your bins.
What about waste collection?
Waste collection service and cleaning of the unit is not included within the hire package. However, because the solar bins compact waste automatically, the number of waste collections will be significantly reduced after installation. Fewer trips, less fuel, less fuel means even less carbon footprint.
What are the disadvantages of solar bins?
The main disadvantage of installing solar bins is the upfront cost of buying the units. If a local authority calculates the cost of buying hundreds of bins at once, the total cost of the rollout can be prohibitive.
As a result of the compaction, the waste bag can get heavy which is why it is best to choose a design that incorporates a standard 240L or 360L wheeled bin that can be lifted and emptied mechanically.
Are all solar bins the same?
Not all solar bins are the same so it's important to do some thorough research. The number of suppliers has grown rapidly in the UK, giving purchasing teams a greater variety of options to choose from. Councils who evaluated the technology back in 2019, now have a greater number of designs and suppliers to choose from.
What makes the QCR Solar Bin different?
QCR first looked at this technology in 2009. Since then, manufacturers have continued to make improvements to the design and iron-out problems. QCR have worked hard over 25 years to build a strong reputation for providing high quality equipment so we needed to ensure our own QCR Solar Bin was safe, reliable, robust and the ‘best in class’ in the market. With extensive testing now complete, we're excited to take orders from Spring 2026.
WRITTEN BY NEIL HOLLAND
