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IPFS News Link • Technology: Software

'Smart Bins' Will Act As Wi-Fi Hot Spots To Those In Underserved Neighborhoods

• True Activist

As was recently shared in the article "Education Can Be Beamed To Poor, Rural Locations With This Device," the ability to connect to the world wide web and receive free information is an invaluable resource that has potential to positively shape the world. With knowledge comes the ability to introduce change, which is why efforts to supply those in poor, underprivileged locations with access to information should be applauded for what they are.

It was recently shared by Popular Science that Bigbelly, a maker of smart Wi-FI enabled-trash and recycling bins, will be placing their bins in neighborhoods around the five boroughs in New York to act as free Wi-Fi hot spots. Because living in a city basically demands a citizen has access to the internet, this change will no doubt be welcomed by those in underserved locations.

NYC won't be the first location the smart bins will be implanted, however. In their original form, the bins are already in place in other cities around the world. Not only do the solar-powered receptacles compact trash as it comes in so it has to be emptied less often, sensors detect when the bins reach capacity (or when they begin to get smelly), and then communicate with local waste management organizations to alert them that they need to be emptied.


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