Client Testimonials
The bin housings that we’ve had installed recently at Cappagh Gardens have transformed the neighbourhood. The fly-tipping has stopped, fire risk is minimised and residents are now actively recycling where they didn’t used to at all before, because we’ve made it so easy for them.
There were some mixed reactions to the initial roll-out, but residents have quickly become accustomed to using the communal facilities and we’re already seeing a reduction in fly-tipping and a lot more recycling, largely because the facilities are accessible, safe and easy to use. Along with the other work we have done around the estate with upgrades to the homes and the surrounding landscaping, I believe that the waste and recycling hubs have made a lasting improvement to the Pollards Hill neighbourhood and the residents’ daily lives.
Carey Gardens Estate is a Resident’s Management Organisation under the London Borough of Wandsworth. We strive for excellent resident satisfaction which drives everything we do. We selected metroSTOR to design and install bespoke waste and recycling bin enclosures on the estate and have not been disappointed! The excellent service and advice provided by the metroSTOR team has enabled us to increase recycling on the estate by updating the facilities and moving them to a more accessible location. This has also assisted in decreasing the amount of general waste, as well as improving the appearance and environment for residents. Customer service was exemplary from start to finish; the bins were produced quickly, delivered and installed to the agreed schedule. I cannot fault my experience working with metroSTOR! I would definitely recommend metroSTOR and look forward to working with them again on future improvement projects at Carey Gardens Estate.
Wherever we have installed metroSTOR units we have found them to dramatically reduce instances of fly-tipping, encourage residents to dispose of the refuse and recyclables responsibly and improve the appearance of our neighbourhoods.
Northwards Housing is a non-for-profit arm’s length management organisation who manages properties on behalf of Manchester City Council across the North of Manchester. As an organisation we were concerned about one of our estates’ in terms of excess waste and fly tipping named Damhead. We began researching into different waste storage providers and after a detailed investigation in to the main providers chose to go with metroSTOR. The Damhead estate consisted of 6 metal cages filled with singular bins across the estate which serviced residents who lived in the flats. The cages had too much space inside even with the bins and therefore residents were dumping inside them costing Northwards roughly £6000 per quarter to remove as Biffa (waste contractor) were not contracted to do this. We were having our own estate services team service the bin stores prior to Biffa arriving therefore costing us for their involvement as well as the tipping costs. On one occasion one of our estate teams emptied all cages and we tipped £1800 of household waste. It costs Northwards roughly £350 to have an estate services team on the estate for one day and in the months running up to metroSTOR being installed it was regularly twice a week visits. By implementing metroSTOR’s we introduced recycling facilities at all blocks which have since been used well and has reduced general waste by a significant amount, have saved the company thousands of pounds annually, improved the estate aesthetically and in turn improved the recycling habits of residents. metroSTOR don’t look like waste units so along with what’s been mentioned we have also had zero fly tipping requests logged near the new stores. Northwards have since the success of Damhead implemented metroSTOR across other sites and intend on using them in many locations going forward. Thank you for solving our prolific waste and fly tipping issues!
Dacorum Borough Council commissioned metroSTOR to design and install communal mobility scooter stores at a number of Supported Housing Schemes. The excellent service and advice provided by metroSTOR has enabled the Council to provide over 50 spaces for mobility scooter users in safe, clean and fully compliant conditions. This has significantly improved the quality of life for the tenants using these facilities. Dacorum Borough Council continue to work closely with metroSTOR to install mobility scooter storage facilities within the borough.
We have found them to be a quality product at a reasonable price but above all, the ease of specifying is the biggest bonus for us as a practice. The flexible modules and cladding options provide a good range of choice and we no longer have to worry about the quality of fabrication of bespoke designs.
With biodiversity being high on the agenda of the Myatt’s Field North project as well as being integral to the Code for Sustainable Homes requirements, we required innovative ways of introducing biodiversity into the residential areas. It was then that the metroSTOR cycle units with the greenroof option was chosen to not only provide green roofs to the cycle stores, but to ensure they integrated attractively into the environmental fabric of the area.
We have been using metroSTOR charging stations on our sheltered schemes at Stonewater for two years now; we chose the units originally because the scalable concept allowed us to reduce costs by simply dropping in the required number of attractively-styled, robust modules to each scheme rather than designing a bespoke solution time after time. I am pleased to report that the units are performing very well and we have been particularly impressed with the high level of service given by metroSTOR with their comprehensive installation package.
Early last year, Havebury Housing had a metroSTOR PSH-6 scooter store installed at a sheltered scheme in Haverhill which had a number of mobility scooters being charged in communal areas. The secure unit is fitted with integral lighting and charging points, and has proved itself to be absolutely ideal for disabled users, sitting attractively within its surroundings due to the timber cladding.
East Kent Housing has successfully trialled the metroSTOR bin units for several months with a very positive response from Residents, Refuse Collectors and other contractors. It is an ideal system for our requirements, being robust, aesthetically pleasing and cost- effective, it has had a dramatic impact on the environment with less littering and fly tipping and by reducing fire risk.
We consider metroSTOR units to be an excellent product and have found them to be very effective for reducing fire risk, litter and fly tipping issues with waste and recycling bins across our estates. They have also been well received by both residents and refuse collection officers.
South Essex Homes have installed a number of metroSTOR bin stores; they have stood up well in extremely challenging environments and in addition to an improvement in the appearance of our estates we are pleased to report a significant reduction in litter and fly- tipping. Waste control has become far more efficient resulting in valuable staff time being utilised elsewhere within the Estates.
The units are cleverly designed and have enhanced our external spaces. This enabled us to locate the recycling bins at points where residents regularly pass, encouraging correct usage.
It’s great to be able to address long-standing issues with the gates at the estate, the new bin stores and sheds have hugely improved the usage for tenants and the whole area has been redesigned; the Tenants are delighted with the improvements.
One of the biggest problems on this estate were the refuse storage areas; brick buildings with roofs. These areas had become real magnets for anti-social behaviour and environmental issues including fly-tipping, spillages, bad odours and rats. Deliberate fires had been started, and rough sleepers had been reported. The buildings also took up a lot of room with their large footprints and blocked out the light from the streets. The metroSTOR waste stream enclosures were recommended by another of our clients (a housing association) based in South London; I thought the units would work well in this area and the client agreed to use them. They have made a huge difference to the appearance and management of the area, especially when compared with the previous units. I’ve had positive comments from a range of council staff – the Project Manager likes their appearance and the Contracts Manager of the refuse contract says they work well for the collection team and he has had no reported operational problems. In terms of management, the way the units are designed makes it really easy to visually check and report fly-tipping in and around the units. If there are spillages they can easily be cleaned by washing through the open space at the bottom. The opening at the front for everyday use makes it possible to lock the bins away (and prevent them moving) between collections. The design is fantastic; they’re compact and low level, so don’t block views, light or footpaths. The timber panels are light in colour and look attractive, but don’t mark easily and have resisted an attempted fire with very little damage (and no repairs required). They were much more cost effective than other options that were considered. These have been so successful that I’ve recommended them to another client (another housing estate refurbishment for a local authority).
Fife Council recently installed the metroSTOR bin enclosures on some blocks where we had serious issues with side-waste. They immediately reduced the time spent by our clean-up teams and absolutely transformed the area into an area tenants can be proud of. We now plan to install many more of these across our estates.
So as part of Operation Revive our partners at metroSTOR aided with this fantastic solution to reduce the instances of fly tipping and side waste on the estate, that was one of the major contributing factor to the arson issues that we’re experiencing. Operation Revive in total has evidence of 68 percent reduction in arson and the use of these fantastic bin stores has really helped us to both improve the way the environment looks but also provide an attractive and usable solution for our waste storage.
The residents have fully embraced the change to bin enclosures. They’re happy to be rid of the difficult to use and smelly bin chutes, which were often unusable because they were blocked. We’ve had some really positive feedback about the bin enclosures and the opportunity to recycle. The additional refuse and recycling capacity means that bins are now collected weekly instead of three times a week. And the daily changing of the chute bins that was being undertaken by our concierge service is no longer required.