It’s like Vince Vega says

In Pulp Fiction, Vince Vega says, “They got the same shit over there that they got here… it's just there it's a little different.” Wheelie bins are the same all over the world, except here and there they’re a little different.

Since they first appeared in Germany in the 1970s, wheelie bins have spread across the planet to become the preferrerd rubbish receptacle for much of the world’s population. On the face of it, alongside (and often outside) McDonalds and Starbucks, the wheelie bin is the perfect symbol for the monolithic homogoneity of global consumerism. But look a little closer.

Wheelie bins come in a staggering array of colours, an esoteric codification of their intended purpose frequently making sense only to the local population. Many also carry elaborate crests, heraldic signifiers of the refuse collection authorities under who’s auspices they fall. And you won’t just see them outside shops or in front of people’s homes; they inhabit a range of locations that David Attenborough’s travel agent would be impressed by.

Like the Galapagos Finch, one wheelie bin looks much the same as any other, but under closer scrutiny it is clear that they have evolved a phenomenal array of tiny variations that equip them to survive wherever people have rubbish to get rid of.

This site has been designed as a focus for our developing understanding of the global Diaspora of wheelie bins. Please post your photographs and comment on the majestic diversity of this thin slice of civilisation. It will help the survey if you can include logos and locations in your shots. And in your comments, be sure to tell us the bin’s location and your observations on the little differences that made it worthwhile taking a photograph.

Good Luck