What started as a school project has now turned into a business with four full-time employees. The original portfolio of just one model for festival use has turned into three new DropBuckets for commercial and residential use, and distribution - which used to be limited to Denmark - now goes throughout the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Germany. Talks have also been commenced with distributors in Sweden, Norway and Austria. Today the two designers have put their studies on hold to focus on growing their business. 

The premium model is a simple and sustainable waste bin for festivals and events. It is made from recycled cardboard, is foldable for easy transport, storage and carrying, and can be put up in just a few seconds. It can also be reused a number of times (depending on the kind of waste that has been put into it) and then thrown out or recycled.

Heiða Nolsøe and Marie Berggreen invented the waste bin at their first semester on the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), where they were studying design engineering. The purpose of their first-semester project was to come up with a solution for waste management in Copenhagen. Realising that waste management was often an afterthought for events organisers, they created an affordable, durable, and portable bin that was also sustainable.  

After their semester project, their professor told them that DropBucket was a fantastic idea that they should continue to develop. Therefore, the girls put together a contract and spent the next year researching and developing the product.

The first year the two students developed the product with dedication. DropBucket had its first appearance in 2013 at Roskilde Festival – the biggest festival in northern Europe. They called the organizers just 14 days before the festival. The organisers said to them that it was too late, but when they were told about the idea, they loved it. The festival saw an environmentally friendly way to cut down on waste and decided to give DropBucket a go. It was a success, and the waste bins have been a feature at Roskilde Festival ever since. After the festival and the media coverage they got, investors began to approach them. In March 2014, P/F Royndin, an investor from the Faroe Islands, invested €175,000 into DropBucket ApS.

Earlier this year, DropBucket won one of the world’s most prestigious design awards, the Red Dot Design Award: Best of the Best. They are now available at Red Dot Museum shops in Germany as well as the Red Dot webshop.

Details

- The waste bin is made from recycled cardboard

- A PE-liner makes the cardboard water-resistant

- It is foldable which reduces the amount of space that is taken up during storage and transportation

- One person can carry ten trashcans in each hand

- With a simple push it can be put up in less than one second

- The pyramid shaped form makes it stable in wind 

About the company 

The founders of DropBucket, Marie S. Berggreen and Heiða G. Nolsøe, both have a bachelor’s degree in Design and Innovation from the Technical University of Denmark.
In March 2014 P/F Royndin invested money in the company, which has made it possible for them to run the firm full-time from the office in Copenhagen