The BinDaycator lights up bin colour due for collection

I first saw an image of it on twitter, on one of those syndicate collection site – all about the bantz and the lolz and funny pets – but thought it was worth following further…

It is the work of Darren Tabord, a Glasgow-based maker. And it is impressively involved! A lot of work has gone into it.

“Is it a red bin day or blue bin day?” he found himself asking at home, and created the BinDaycator to answer that question. It’s an Internet connected system, that queries the council website and finds out which bin is due for collection next, by changing colour appropriately.

The original post can be found here, and in the comments he tells us the files for 3D printing the model are on Printables and related video can be found on his YouTube channel. It’s also been featured in HackSpace magazine (issue #29).

As well as the bin, there are Adafruit’s individually addressable NeoPixel LEDs, a 330Ω resistor, and the MCU, an Espressif Systems ESP8266 – an Arduino friendly L106 32-bit core based on Tensilica Xtensa. Check out the tutorial video below for more details:

X

I know X is not fashionable anymore, but I do like it, even the comments. A couple on this post, for example, made me smile

“I do what my next-door neighbour does – she’s the binfluencer.”

“When you release an update that rides it to the kerb I will get one”

LOL

See also: Arduino Nano adds family member with Espressif-based Nano ESP32