BETTERBIN
“and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks”
Isaiah 2:4
BETTERBIN makes do with what NYC already has, showcases reuse, reduction of waste and innovative recycling by a spectacular example on a scale of city. BETTERBIN is made from the copious amounts of sheet metal already in use by the City – silver MTA subway cars and blue busses, yellow & green TLC cabs, red FDNY trucks, white & blue NYPD vehicles, white and green DSNY cleaners – everything that at the end of their service life ends up at the scrapyards. BETTERBIN states “this is a living city that cares about its waste and recognizes the difference between termination of use and termination of usefulness”
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR01.jpg)
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR02aa.jpg)
Antecedents and references
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR02b.jpg)
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR04.jpg)
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR06.jpg)
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR05c.jpg)
DSNY bin
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR05b.jpg)
NYPD bin
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR05a.jpg)
FDNY bin
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR05d.jpg)
MTA bin
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR05e.jpg)
NYC TAXI bin
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR03.jpg)
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR09.jpg)
NYPD bin
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR08.jpg)
FDNY bin
![](https://www.austin-mergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BTTR07a.jpg)
NYC TAXI bin
Additional Project Information
BetterBin Litter Basket Design Competition organized by Van Alen Institute (VAI) and NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY), the Industrial Designers Society of America (ISDA), and the American Institute of Architects New York (AIANY)
Project Team
Aleksandr Mergold, Jason Lin