The aftermath of a music festival is pretty much the same all over the world. Discarded cans, food packaging, cups, flyers and even tents create a sea of waste on the deserted sites. To encourage festivalgoers at India’s Bacardi NH7 Weekender to throw their trash into bins and not on the ground, Mumbai startup ThinkScream developed a smart trashcan that provides people with 15 minutes of Wi-Fi connection when they feed it trash.
ThinkScream creates new age technology solutions for businesses. For the festival group, it offered free Wi-Fi connection to lure in festivalgoers, subsequently creating awareness around responsible rubbish disposal. The trashcans are made out of plastic and feature an LED screen that flashes a Wi-Fi symbol when rubbish is thrown inside. The Wi-Fi connection lasts for 15 minutes within a 45-metre radius and results in a gathering of Wi-Fi users around the trashcan.
The trashcans were a huge success at the festival and since then, ThinkScream has been approached by various companies who have identified the branding opportunity the bins represent. Business aside, the bins could help clean up Mumbai’s city streets and get pedestrians into the habit of throwing their trash away responsibly.
