​Student invention: Throw the bin in the bin

A couple of bright students from Denmark invented the DropBucket, which recently brought home yet another prestigious Scanstar Award for DS Smith Denmark

The DropBucket is nothing short of a genuine success story. It all began when a couple of young students at DTU (Technical University of Denmark) had a good idea: Why not make a cheap, logistically efficient, environmentally sound recycling bin for large events like music festivals?

Yes, honestly, why not? And so the bright young students went ahead and developed a new recycling concept with a corrugated recycling bin that you simply throw out with the trash when it is filled. This way, the costly, time consuming, and polluting procedure of collecting, emptying, cleaning and redistributing heavy plastic containers is eliminated, and instead you just fold out a new corrugated DropBucket on site. Perfect for large events like music festivals and trade shows.

Instant festival hit

The young entrepreneurs behind the DropBucket concept contacted DS Smith to partner up with someone who really knows corrugated and that could help further develop designs etc., and within very short time the finished product was ready; a corrugated recycling bin with a solid design making the bin stable, and with a plastic coating on either one or both sides making the bin withstand all kinds of weather and outdoor abuse.

The production of DropBucket bins started in 2013, where it almost instantly became a smash hit on the famous Ro​skilde Festival, and during 2014 DropBucket has experienced nothing but an increase in success. Starting the year with a capital injection of more than €130.000 from their first investor, Faroe Investment company Royndin, and having had more than 5,000 bins distributed on a wide variety of festivals and outdoor events in Denmark throughout the Summer, DropBucket has grown into a genuine business success. In fact, the success is solid enough that DropBucket is now a fulltime job for the inventors and co-founders Marie Berggreen and Heida Nolsøe. From their Frederiksberg office in Copenhagen, Marie and Heida are now planning to take on the rest of Europe with their recycling hit.

Recycled innovation: 

DropBucket was invented by technical students Heida Nolsøe (right) and Marie Berggreen. Both have since acquired their Bachelor's degree in Design & Innovation from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and are now working fulltime on expanding the DropBucket concept to the rest of Europe.

DropBucket is a fantastic case

Development Manager in DS Smith Denmark, Flemming Larsen:

"DropBucket is just an allround fantastic case. For one it is a great product that is accommodating both environmental and cost issues of the existing recycling solutions at large events. And secondly, in a sense DropBucket represents a bright future for the Danish business world in that it is a couple of really talented young students, who are behind the whole concept. In DS Smith we are very proud to be working with DropBucket and having been part of the innovation, development, and manufacturing processes of such a great product. It goes perfectly with our own focus on innovation in everything we do."

Apart from being a great innovation and development showcase the DropBucket also represents the great synergy of our great company. This Danish product is actually manufactured in the Mariestad box plant in Sweden due to the special PE-coating needed in order to make the bin resistant to all kinds of weather.

About Scanstar

Scanstar is an award that is handed to the absolute best packaging solutions in all of Scandinavia. The winners are picked by a jury consisting of different industry experts from Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, and the criteria are based on usability, protection, cost reduction, design and environmental impact. The winners of the Scanstar Award are automatically in the run for the Worldstar international packaging award.

DS Smith in Denmark has a long history with both Scanstar and Worldstar awards for their many original innovations. In 2013 a Scanstar Award went to Denmark for the intelligent corrugated wine bottle packaging solution made with such great protective design that the wine bottles can be shipped with regular package delivery without damage to the bottles.