Paul Smith’s Giant Rabbits Aim to Curb Littering in London

Just give the giant green rabbit your garbage and nobody gets hurt. The five-foot-tall bunnies stationed through September at London’s Covent Garden and Holland Park actually come in peace, bearing trash bags. Toss in your garbage and their ears light up. The bunny bins were designed by the multitalented Paul Smith as one of 15 projects commissioned for London by the city’s Design Museum. “I tried to keep my idea simple and hopefully interesting. I am always amazed how bad people are about litter and how they are so thoughtless,” said Smith. “My exhibit is hopefully a tiny step towards making people be better with their rubbish.”

While Smith injected his trademark whimsy into rubbish bins, David Adjaye smartened up London’s bus shelters, Thomas Heatherwick gathered up quotidian lampposts into a “chandelier” bouquet, and Zaha Hadid, well, she whipped up an entire vision for the city of London. Other top designers who answered the museum’s call to give something back to London include Tom Dixon, Neville Brody, and Ron Arad. All 15 projects are on view through October 4 in the Design Museum’s “Super Contemporary” exhibition, which is co-sponsored by Beefeater gin. You’ll need to remember that last part when the guards give you trouble for drinking gin—make that Beefeater 24 “luxury gin”—in the museum. Just tell them the green bunnies made you do it.

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