Celebrating its 166^th anniversary this year, Cologne Zoo is the 3^rd oldest zoo in Germany and home to over 10,000 animals and one of the largest, most modern elephant enclosures in Europe.

The Heart of Sustainability

Sustainability and conservation are at the heart of what Cologne Zoo does, and in addition to leading a sustainable way of life for their animals, the zoo also plays a part in providing sustainable waste management options for their visitors. However, sustainability isn’t just about using resources responsibly, it’s also about utilising smart infrastructure that makes processes more efficient and environmentally friendly.

This is where our Bigbelly smart bins come into play. In 2024 Cologne Zoo installed a total of 85 Bigbelly stations across the site. In line with their sustainability goals, these units are designed to make the site cleaner and more welcoming for visitors as well as making operations more efficient for collection crews.

With a mix of single and multi-unit stations, the zoo offers several stations that are designated to bottle and can disposal, encouraging visitors to make a sustainable and more conscious effort to recycle in public. What’s unique about this deployment, is that each design features an animal that can be found in the habitat the bin is located at, from South America to Baboon Rock, each Bigbelly represents a different animal or reptile.

Our Bigbelly units are ideal for a high foot fall location like Cologne Zoo because of the increased capacity. With a capacity of over 500 litres of compacted waste, the internal contents are crushed down, allowing up to 5 times more capacity than that of a standard litter bin. This allows the zoo to cater for peak periods where visitor numbers are increased, meaning more waste can be deposited and the stations don’t need to be emptied as frequently.

Our Bigbelly smart waste solutions help staff and operatives to monitor fills levels and optimise resources. Operatives will receive an automatic ready to collect notification when the units are full, helping to avoid unnecessary collection trips, reducing carbon emissions and making the zoo cleaner and more welcoming for visitors.

We are delighted to be working with Cologne Zoo to create a clean, smart and welcoming zoo environment and we were delighted to attend and exhibit at the 81^st WAZA Annual Conference 2026 at Flora Köln and Cologne Zoo, where zoos from all around the world could see first-hand, how our Bigbelly stations are enhancing the visitor experience at Cologne Zoo, and contributing to a cleaner, more sustainable zoo.