500 Irish-Built Solar BriteBins for the City of Melbourne

Melbourne is getting 500 solar compacting bins. The City of Melbourne is installing PEL’s BriteBins across its CBD, Southbank and Yarra River parks. PEL manufactures them in Ballindine, Co. Mayo. Inside Waste reports that the rollout is billed as the largest smart bin rollout in Australia. Installation began in September 2026, and Medianet reports it should finish by the end of November.

Why Melbourne chose a smart bin rollout

A busy city centre needs bins that say when they are full. Melbourne’s first-generation compacting bins, introduced in 2016, had reached the end of their life. Residents had also raised repeated concerns about overflowing bins in the CBD and Southbank. As a result, the council wanted a system that alerts crews before anyone reports a problem, The Melburnian reports.

Fixed collection routes were part of the problem. Trucks visit bins on a timetable, whether the bins are full or empty. Medianet reports that this wastes time and adds truck movements through the city. So the council moved to compacting bins that report their own fill level. That way, each collection happens because a bin needs it. A pilot completed in 2025 tested the approach before the council awarded the five-year contract.

Solar compacting bins built by PEL

PEL’s BriteBin compacts waste on solar power and reports its own fill level. As a result, crews go only where they are needed. Each unit in Melbourne is a Superfy S200 BriteBin that PEL manufactures, Medianet reports. Each one answers a problem the council set out to fix.

• Fewer overflows: each bin holds four times the waste of a regular litter bin, as The Grey Nomads reports.
• Collections on demand: Medianet reports that fill-level sensors trigger a pickup at 85% capacity. This replaces fixed routes and cuts truck movements through the city. A bin that reaches full capacity also triggers a priority dispatch.
• Built for public spaces: a sealed, non-touch design guards against spillage, pests and litter. Each unit also has a contactless opening flap and an integrated foot pedal. Every unit is wheelchair accessible.
• Irish-built: PEL designs, develops and manufactures the BriteBin range in Co. Mayo, as its About us page explains.

How the rollout works

The City of Melbourne ran a tender, and PEL’s BriteBin was selected on performance, quality and price. The council awarded the five-year contract to Superfy. Superfy installs and manages the bins, and it provides the collection management platform for this contract, Medianet reports. The Superfy platform is used for the Melbourne contract only.

The platform gives the council visibility across its whole bin estate of more than 3,000 locations. It also supports decisions on collection frequency and bin placement. Meanwhile, Superfy’s local Melbourne team services the contract, backed by a Victorian warehouse and parts depot, Medianet reports.

Bins are going in across the CBD, Southbank and parks along the Yarra River. The last should be in by the end of November.

What is being said

Lord Mayor Nick Reece said the city is “putting its bins on the sunshine diet”. He said the bins run on solar power and compact more rubbish. They also alert crews when they need emptying, Waste Management Review reports.

Acting chief executive Rick Kwasek also spoke to councillors. The new bins use “technology that allows us to identify bins when they reach capacity”, The Melburnian reports.

Superfy chief executive Darren O’Donohoe makes the case for smart collection. The Grey Nomads reports his view that “waste collection has traditionally been blind”. With fill-level data, however, a council collects only when it needs to.

Conclusion: solar compacting bins at city scale

Installation is under way. Once the first months of operation produce data, PEL will share measured results.

PEL is an Irish manufacturer with 21 years of experience in waste reduction equipment. It produces balers, compactors, glass crushers and smart bin systems in Ballindine, Co. Mayo. Councils and private operators can buy BriteBins or rent them, as PEL’s BriteBin page explains.

Manage a town centre, park or public space? Book a consultation with the PEL team about solar compacting bins. You could have fewer overflowing bins and fewer unnecessary collections.

Melbourne’s rollout puts smart waste collection into practice at city scale. Solar compacting bins let each unit hold more, and fill-level sensors tell crews which bins need emptying. As a result, the council can move from fixed routes to on-demand collections. PEL manufactures the bins in Co. Mayo, and installation continues until the end of November. Once the first months of data are in, PEL will share the results here.

If your town or city faces the same challenge, book a consultation with the PEL team.