Lee Towers, sustainability and innovation in Rotterdam

After a previous successful collaboration in Eindhoven, at the beginning of 2019, transformation specialist City Pads decided it was time they got in touch with Sidcon again. On this occasion, they requested 3 new underground compactors for a very special project: the Lee Towers. These tower blocks are located in the Rotterdam Innovation District (RID). This old harbour district is currently being developed as a high-innovation residential-business district. Sidcon’s compactors are the perfect match for this sustainably and innovatively designed part of Rotterdam.

Waste collection for over 850 apartments

The Lee Towers, previously known as the ‘Marconi Towers’ have been part of the skyline in the Merwe-Vierhavens district since the early 70s. Each tower block is 95 metres tall and has 24 storeys. In the past few years, Lee and Tom Foolen have been helping to transform these towers and 2 of the 3 towers have since been converted for residential use with 860 apartments. All waste from the new residents will soon be collected in 3 underground compactors. Obtaining permission from the City of Rotterdam for the installation of the 3 compactors was a formality.

Rotterdam chooses to post-separate

Rotterdam aims to be a clean and vibrant city and lead the way in the circular economy. For that reason the city is encouraging low-threshold recycling of waste with proper amenities in the city.

“Limiting the amount of waste and encouraging its recycling are taken into consideration when we decide on purchasing waste collection solutions. But at the same time, we have the challenge of many high-rise buildings here and so the amount of public space is restricted,”

The 3 underground compactors at the Lee Towers match the specific aspirations of Rotterdam. With this in mind, in 2020, the city will implement a post-separation scheme that will increase convenience for residents and improve the quality of the waste. The upshot is that as much possible waste can be processed and recycled afterwards.

“Limiting the amount of waste and encouraging its recycling are taken into consideration when we decide on purchasing waste collection solutions. But at the same time, we have the challenge of many high-rise buildings here and so the amount of public space is restricted,”

Saving public spaces

In the case of the Lee Towers, the decision to opt for underground compactors was based largely on available public space and using it as attractively as possible. Since the compactor can handle up to 10 times more waste at a single location, fewer containers were needed and so too less space to install underground waste solutions. In the case of these majestic Rotterdam tower blocks, this meant four fewer containers, without having to make any concessions to collection capacity.

“We’d already carried out a pilot with a Sidcon compactor and were familiar with the product. And hardly any modifications were needed for their installation,”