Tipsy Bin takes hassle out of cleaning up

Glen Steele and his Tipsy Bin. Photo / Janna Dixon

What gets wobbly and falls over after too many bottles of beer?

The Tipsy Bin - one student's way to avoid morning-after clean-up duties.

Glen Steele, 21, designed the bin after getting sick of picking up bottles after parties.

"I go to a lot of parties and I tend to sleep over because I live in the wops and I can't get home," said the design student from Stillwater, north of Auckland.

"I usually find when I wake up in the morning pretty much every flat surface is covered in bottles."

His solution was the Tipsy Bin, which encourages drinkers to dump their empties by making a game out of throwing in bottles. The glass smashes inside, making the bin rock on its curved base, but stiff bristles across the opening prevent broken glass spilling out.

Once full, the bin falls over: "That indicates that you've had a good party," Steele said.

The third-year Massey University industrial design student has entered the idea into this year's James Dyson Award for design engineering.

The public can vote for the best local entry at www.jamesdysonaward.org until tomorrow.

Finalists will qualify for the international competition and the top Kiwi entry will win a package including $3000 cash and a trip to Dyson's UK design centre.