This film is part of Free

Dustman

Refuse collection you cannot refuse with some state-of-the-art bin business in 1920s Sheffield

Documentary 1928 3 mins Silent

Overview

Long before the plastic plague of wheelie bins populated our streets, the City of Sheffield exhibited some state-of-the-art bin business in its suburbs. This silent extract from an unknown production came to the BFI National Archive as an anonymous fragment. We don't know how far the scheme was implemented, but whether through design flaws or the global financial crash around the corner, it would seem that the revolution in bin collection would have to wait a little longer.