Several of the councils in our report have made big strides towards open data - that is, making data freely available to the public, which people can access, use and share.

Leeds City Council has embraced this concept, creating Data Mill North (DMN), one of the largest open data portals in the UK, and encouraging people to use this to create new digital tools for the community.

The bin app is just one of a number of new apps and services that have been created as a result.

What is it?

The Leeds bin app was produced through the council-run Waste Innovation Lab, a day-long event which brought council workers and local programmers, data analysts and civic enthusiasts to address the issue of waste management.

Each lab takes place over the course of a day; in the morning teams develop an idea for how open data could be used to solve the issue in question. In the afternoon, developers work on their own to build a prototype, which could be an early-stage website, an app, or just a Powerpoint presentation which explains the concept.

At the end of the day, participants decide which idea makes the best use of open data to solve the problem. The chosen developer is then awarded seed funding to develop the prototype over the next two or three months.

How does it work?

The bin app uses open data on Data Mill North to notify the people of Leeds of when their next bin collection will take place and which bin to put out.

The app also informs people of any changes to the schedule over public holidays, such as Christmas, as well as nudging people to recycle.

What are the benefits?

The app saves the council from sending paper communications to residents to inform them of collection changes over public holidays, while reducing the chances of missed collections and complaints about missed bins.

By encouraging recycling, the app also has the potential to reduce landfill waste and associated taxes for the local authority.

Created by Leeds City Council, Data Mill North (DMN) is one of the largest open data portals in the UK, hosting over 300 data sets from nearly 40 different organisations and developed with a number of partners.

Leeds has proactively engaged the local community of developers, businesses and civic enthusiasts in the Data Mill through ‘hacks’ and innovation labs, bringing people together around common problems, with the aim of improving life for residents. The Innovation Lab series has produced several products now being used by the people of Leeds, including a website to show energy usage by building; a website/app to help people find the best place to live in Leeds depending on age and preferences; and of course, the bin app.