Sydney City Council is considering a plan to swap out garbage trucks for high-powered vacuum garbage tubes. Kind of like Futurama, but with trash rather than people. Unless you stuffed people in there. Which I’m legally obliged to point out would be a very bad idea indeed.
If there’s something that you’d think was immune to the march of technology, it’d be trash. But you’d be wrong. We’ve already seen RFID-equipped garbage bins. Now, the Sydney Morning Herald reports on a plan to replace garbage truck collections with integrated high-pressure garbage tubes. The plan may be adopted by the council at this stage for new developments.
It’s understandably easier to fit new garbage tubes to new buildings rather than dig around placing them on existing infrastructure. Garbage tubes certainly sound very Futurama, but it’s a technology in widespread use around the planet, from Stockholm to Seoul. [Sydney Morning Herald]
MrTaco
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 4:09 PMHow big are these tubes, exactly? I’m curious as to what kind of size limitations there’d be on your garbage.
MrTaco
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 4:10 PM…
I guess you could say
It’s not a dump truck :P
Jarod Saunders
Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 11:32 AMIt’s a series of tubes?
EckyThump
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 4:12 PMObviously, this is not going to work for existing infrastructure, and even then it won’t work for individual houses, without an incredibly expensive and disruptive overhaul! So, garbage trucks will be around for some time yet. I do like the idea though! #]
Caesar Wong
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 4:39 PMCool idea, but how will they manage to get that much suction?
LucasF
Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 9:52 PMWith a big sucking machine.
Liam Johnson
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 5:03 PMMoreover, think of the potential for serious injury…
TIm
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 5:10 PMThis idea has worked for quite a while in the US: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/trash-sucking-island/all/1
TSH
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 5:13 PMI never thought that similar systems would already be in place. I wonder how they solved the various issues? Not convinced that it’s a good idea anyway – surely the cost of installation and maintenance of such a system is greater than the cost of garbagemen and trucks.I never thought that similar systems would already be in place. I wonder how they solved the various issues? Not convinced that it’s a good idea anyway – surely the cost of installation and maintenance of such a system is greater than the cost of garbagemen and trucks.
Ogre
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 6:24 PMActually, a garbage truck driver needs to be paid all the time, while you really only need to pay someone to maintain the tubes when something needs fixing.
RB
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 5:14 PMdoes it have a reverse cycle? Trash Volcanoes!
Ammusionist
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 5:27 PMDo they convert the trash to energy, then pipe it away across the NBN?
Finally – mothers can start saying “Hey Johnny – Go upload that garbage”
Tim
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 5:36 PMI can imagine issues such as clogged tubes and people putting things they shouldn’t in there damaging the system. But if they can solves all that its a cool idea.
Andy
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 7:12 PMImagine the cost of the electricity that it would take to power that much suction over that amount of tubes.
Drongo
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 7:36 PMIf they could have a reverse system for food and prostitutes, we wouldn’t need to leave the house
Paul
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 10:23 PMI wonder how many pets fall (are thrown) in to the system each day.
I guess it’s really no different in danger to being picked up in a wheelie bin and squashed to a bloody pulp in a truck.
josh
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 11:40 PMomg, put it in reverse!
first of all, i can see people putting animals in these things. not cool. And the socialist in me is saying “WHAT ABOUT THE GARBAGE MEN??”
Grammar Nazi
Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 12:58 AMSeeing as this is Australia, shouldn’t we be calling it ‘garbage’ or ‘rubbish’ as opposed to ‘trash’?
markk
Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 9:58 AM+1
Struth, doesn’t anyone speak Aussie anymore? Its a ripper of a language slowly being lost and turned into English (US). I’m more than semi (not/ sem.eye) disappointed
olearymo
Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 12:36 PMWhat’s ‘Aussie’? You mean stroin, rite? strewth. Getting all fancy with your ‘aussie’ shit.
On a related note, we don’t say ‘ripper’ anywhere near as much as we used to. What a shame. One of my favourites.
You ripper! What a ripper! etc etc.
morgan
Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 3:44 AMone single blockage or damaged pipe, and they’ll have to dig up the whole footpath/road/building running above the whole pipe, not to mention how much money would be needed to keep it going (most likely more than it costs for the garbos and trucks) :\
seems like another of clovers dreams that will never come to life, or will fail after millions of dollars are spent on it
DarkAura
Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 8:56 AMWe use garbage chutes in our apartment complex and I love it over the last apartment where we had to walk the trash to a bin. This sounds like the next logical step. LETS DO IT!
Azza
Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 10:01 AMDoes this mean we can finally get garbage bins in train stations, without fear of terrorists blowing us up?
olearymo
Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 12:37 PMExtend the tubes to the centre of the Earth. Problem solvered.
Sam Timmins
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 2:18 AMWouldn’t it be amusing if someone at central accidentally hit Reverse?
“It’s MEGABIN! She’s GONE from SUCK to BLOW!”
chai
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 5:23 PMWhat about using the storm drains though? There should be enough water flow to keep the garbage moving, all we need is a filtering mechanism at the final exit. We can fit sensors to monitor to the flow of the water along the way along with some reservoirs of water ready to flush in case the flow stopped.
Lets upgrade and make use of the existing infrastructure.
Clearly its not going to work with the small drains, but once you get to the big drainage tunnels, surely they can also be re purposed for garbage carrying