The power of the sun will be harnessed to tackle high street rubbish with the trial of a ‘Big Belly’ solar litter bin this spring.

Ealing Council is using a new rubbish bin which takes up the same amount of space as a regular bin, but is able to store up to eight times as much rubbish with the help of its solar powered compactor.

The built-in smart technology will send the street cleaning team a message when it reaches 85% capacity to alert them to empty it.

The 100% solar-powered bins have been used by other boroughs to save money while reducing the number of bin collections necessary.

The bins also help stop birds, foxes and vermin scattering rubbish.

There are two volume sensors in the bin and when the rubbish reaches a certain level, the sensors trigger the compactor.

It can hold a minimum of 606 litres, increasing to 800 litres of waste, which is up to eight times greater than the average street bin.

Keith Townsend, executive director of environment and customer services, said: “It will be very interesting to see the results of this trial. Anything that helps us keep the streets cleaner has got to be a good thing.

"This could help our street teams so they are only collecting from bins that are full and can focus more on clearing fly-tipping and other litter instead.”

The new bin has been installed outside Ealing Town Hall.