Tallinn City Government Replacing Trash Cans Across the Capital
Tallinn has started replacing public trash cans, but critics say the placement still needs improvement.
The Tallinn City Government has initiated the replacement of public litter bins across the capital. Over the past year, the city installed 100 new bins to replace those previously funded by advertising revenue, which were removed in 2024, leaving residents without trash cans for a year.
Karmo Kuri (SDE), the former district governor of Nõmme, acknowledged that the situation has improved but noted that bin placement remains problematic. "In some places there are clearly too many of them, while in others there are enough," he said, adding: "Tallinn should pursue its own solution—a high-tech system that allows waste sorting, with sensors in the bins. We would know when they are full and when they need to be emptied. In some parts of Tallinn more bins are needed, while in others some should be removed."
Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa), Tallinn's current deputy mayor, admitted that the disappearance of the bins initially caused chaos but said the situation is now under control. Requests from residents for additional bins have been taken into account. "Today the situation has definitely improved significantly. All bus stops are equipped with litter bins, and so are all the places where people move around the most. There is no longer a situation in Tallinn where someone wants to throw away their rubbish but cannot because there is no bin for hundreds of meters," the deputy mayor stated.
Architect Siim Tanel Tõnisson believes the new situation is an improvement because the old and numerous bins were visually unattractive in the urban environment. "The old bins were not bad, but there were simply a few too many of them. In urban space, you have to pay close attention to ensuring there is not too much visual clutter, so it does not distract from what we actually want to see in the city—other people, traffic, or the urban environment and the city itself," the architect explained.
Additionally, dedicated disposal bins for e-cigarettes have been introduced. They are designed so that no one can retrieve anything from inside them.
