The Cow Bins of Shoreditch

The Cow Bins of Shoreditch, as a title, sounds bizarrely to me like the name of a messed up film - albeit one most likely either to be British and terrible or British and only slightly amusing. The real Cow Bins of Shoreditch (of the borough of Hackney to be exact, but Hackney doesn't sound quite as cinematic) are in fact a much more fascinating phenomenon and a subject that I have been intrigued by for some time now.

Here they are, lining the streets of our city - The Cow Bins of Shoreditch/Hackney! I have noticed them in the past, but never really thought about it. I think the sight of such pleasant cow-looking bins is able to nestle itself into someone's mind subconsciously. Maybe the contrast of farm animal camouflage against the landscape of the urban jungle is that powerful that they subliminally merge into each other and the Cow Bins blend into the natural backdrop of Hackney. Or maybe I am looking too far into it...or not enough as the case may be.




The Cow Bins will not be anything new and exciting to a lot of people, they have been around for ages. In all likeliness they are not even going to be of much interest to anybody. However, I look past the boring concept of disguising grotty grundons as nice, pretty cows and see their inner beauty - the ability to transform our streets into a much more pleasant environment in which to be and walk around in. I certainly felt more comfortable approaching the Cow Bins rather than a load of skanky, rot containers - nearly getting run over in the process:

If you are reading this, I urge you, the next time you see or walk past the Cow Bins, to stop and take a moment to appreciate their visual appeal and their values. What is more, the power of the Cow Bin may extend beyond the reach of our city directly into the lives of Hackney residents and families - after all, taking the rubbish out could never ever have been so much fun! Kids, parents and adults alike must be racing each other to clear out the bin bags and the recycling......

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