Marseille, in France. Circa 2009, now. This initiative, placing these lovely (ugly?) bins around the city of Marseille is now in place. Photographer Jos Jansen has taken the time to do a rather literal exploration of the environment as it’s affected by the bins. Doth it help keepin clean the environment, yes surely, but does it then also contribute to visual pollution? And how long until these clean spic n span bins are covered in graffiti?

Wherever you look, you see sets of two grey containers – one for the collection of glass (‘verre’), and one for the collection of paper (‘papier’).

I love it! A new collection. A collection of photos of trash collectors. I’d eventually love to see these bins become more of a citywide artistic endeavor. In Minneapolis, Minnesota we’ve got all the power boxes downtown painted by artists, and in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, we’ve got all the downtown fire hydrants painted. Let’s get these thangs lit up with color!

This post from the World Famous Design Junkies Industrial Design category, as well as of course the photography department. Keep those clickers snappin!