Valiant Technology recently announced the winners of its “Design The 4th Bin” competition. Based on a New York City law which prohibits electronic waste disposal in everyday trash, the competition challenged designers around the globe to create  a public domain e-waste logo and collection bin.

Respondents ranged from design students to internationally recognized industrial designers and architects, according to ITBusinessNet.com.

According to the The 4th Bin Web site, the bin “is to be the means by which e-waste is responsibly collected. Our intent is to see a clearly labeled 4th bin placed centrally in every building in New York City, and eventually all across the country.”

The winning project, designed by Springtime in Amsterdam, took the cake based on its accessibility, ease of use and security features, utilizing a vibrant color scheme and RFID tags to make it both usable and safe.

The bin is intended to stand in the common recycling area for apartment and office buildings. The facility manager regularly moves the recycling containers to the curbside and just does the same with the 4th bin when it is full.

Some of its features include:

Expanding nature utilizes space effectively, allows a low drop for fragile electronics and gives visual feedback as to the capacity of the bin.
An RFID locking system that ensures only residents with a valid RFID tag can open the bin.
Only a special access tag will unlock the wheels.
The main material is Biopregs®, an environmentally friendly biocomposite that can be folded to create the two main parts of the bin.

A National E-Waste Law?

Along with New York City’s efforts to reduce electronic waste, these announcements are part of a growing trend of nationalizing electronics recycling.

Last week, leaders from Best Buy Co., Inc., Minnesota’s electronics recycling industry and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) unveiled proposed federal legislation that seeks to improve the recycling of electronics across the U.S.

The Electronic Device Recycling and Research and Development Act is the first step in bringing together manufacturers, retailers, recyclers and research institutes to help find solutions to the problem of e-waste.

If passed, the bill would:

• Create competitively-awarded grants for universities, government labs and private industry to research and develop demonstration projects for recycling, reuse, refurbishment and life-cycle analysis
• Call for a study by the National Academy of Science to look at barriers and opportunities to increase electronic device recycling and reduce the use of hazardous materials in electronic products
• Direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make grants available for curriculum development for engineering students and professionals in electronics manufacturing, design, refurbishing and recycling industries.