Chaddesden Park in Derbyshire has installed talking, novelty rubbish bins in an attempt to encourage visitors to dispose of their rubbish ‘responsibly’.

The Friends of Chaddesden Park – a voluntary group which acts as a partnership between the council and local communities – has installed two ‘child-friendly bins’ in the shape of a robin and a bear, which are programmed to ‘speak’ when litter is deposited in them.

Triggered by light sensors inside the bins, the messages in the Chaddesden Park receptables include: “Yum yum, feed me more”, “That’s the best meal I’ve had today”, and ““Hi there, we do like your rubbish, can we have more please?”.

According to the bin manufacturers, Amberol, similar initiatives in Sweden have shown that ‘small rewards and positive messages, combined with the novelty factor can all encourage higher usage of the bins’, and ‘establish good habits in children from an early age’.

Amberol Director John Williamson, added: “The talking bins really attract children and have proven highly effective in educating them about the need to dispose of rubbish responsibly, as well as significantly reducing litter in the places where they are located.

“With councils making so many budget cuts, the bins pay for themselves very quickly in terms of reducing the cost of litter collection.”

The bins are available in a range of designs including parrots and chickens as well as the Amberol bear, known as ‘Ambere’, which has a maximum capacity of 180 litres and ‘Percy Penguin’, which has a capacity of 90 litres. Made from recyclable polyethylene, the bins are also equipped with a lock and key for security.

Ward councillor Paul Campbell welcomed the initiative, saying: “The park is at the heart of Chaddesden life and we want it to remain clean and tidy – which is why the new talking bins will be such a valuable addition.”

In 2011, Keep Britain Tidy rolled out ‘talking bins’ to London and Liverpool as part of its ‘Love Where you Live campaign, with celebrities such as Amanda Holden lending their voices for the sound card messages. Other sound effects used included rounds of applause, the Hallelujah Chorus and even burping bins. According to a Keep Britain Tidy spokesperson, the Westminster bins 'attracted twice the amount of litter as the ordinary bins they replaced'.

Earlier this year, Derby City Council ran a ‘Pick Up or Pay Up’ campaign, which reminded visitors to Derbyshire parks to dispose of litter in bins, or take it home, or face fines of up to £75, or £2,500 upon conviction.

Read more about Chaddesden Park’s talking bins.