A better kitchen bin

The kitchen bin is a part of our lives. We use it maybe a dozen times a day and its design problems swiftly become self-evident: the lid quickly becomes stained and soiled, and the rubbish bags are very difficult to lift and remove from the bin, especially if you are not young and fit. As designer Richard Seymour observes: "Emptying a kitchen bin must rank alongside changing nappies and open heart surgery for the worst, nastiest, messiest things you could ever want to do." Thousands of kitchen bin products exist on the market, mainly low-cost items with swing lids, lift lids etc, but the problems associated with the product are so well-known that they have become a joke. "Bean stains on the swing bin are one of those things you laugh about when you talk about it," declares Seymour. "But we live with these things every day and they’re just not good enough. So what a great challenge - there’s got to be a better bin."