The Story of the Littershark

MJS: The creators of the winning concept would get a contract to produce 500 units of their waste bins. So that was exactly my goal: the production of those 500 units and the revenue we would generate from them. Never in a million years did I imagine making 100,000 of them!

MJS: We had just one week to submit the design, the product and the price. We pulled out all the stops to realise Zemp’s vision. It was a monumental task! Seven people worked for that whole week to produce an actual sheet metal product out of the design sketch.

MJS: Bringing design, technology and practicability together, and doing it all for the price that we had submitted during the tendering process. For example, Werner Zemp’s hinges, which had originally been on the outside, were a design flaw that needed addressing, and we had to take his sketch section by section to find solutions to the problem.

MJS: There were 80 design submissions from all over the world, of which 27 fulfilled the specifications. We were in the top three. That was quite something, considering that we had no idea how to build a waste bin! We now had the chance to put our product through practical testing for six weeks at the five most important locations in Zurich.

MJS: At the Letzigrund in Zurich. But we didn’t just drop off our litter bin – going the extra mile is one of the pillars of our success. We therefore printed a brochure with instructions on how to anchor and maintain the bin. I also stopped by personally with my son Matthias to check the locks and clean the bin. Much later, when we had already won the competition, I received feedback that the city had been surprised, but also delighted, of course, that the litter bins were always so clean. (laughs)

MJS: We were ready to deliver our first 250 bins by the agreed date in January 2003. But the city of Zurich was unable to install and place the bins due to snow. At the same time, the town of Bülach asked us for some bins, so we delivered 40 units from this shipment to Bülach.

MJS: Our litter bin was initially called the Pipe, because several pieces of it looked like organ pipes lined up next to each other. During the competition process, an article appeared in the Tagesanzeiger rating the three finalist models. In it, our two competitors were playfully referred to as misshapen beer barrels and washing machine drums, and ours was dubbed “the cheeky shark”. I read the article and knew right away: Our product would be called the Littershark.

MJS: Our original model is exactly the same as the one we brought into being on 26 June 2002. We have retained the golden ratio and proportions in every subsequent model. The Littershark is unique, and we have protected and patented the design. The Littershark is a definite milestone in the history of litter disposal – there is a time before and a time after the Littershark. In retrospect, the birth of our Littershark was a watershed moment.

MJS: The fact that we were so insistent on the design and proportions made some people shake their heads. So did the fact that the Littershark only has a bin opening on the front.

MJS: Its name, the golden ratio, and our appearances at trade fairs, sometimes even as football players, are what make the Littershark so fascinating and sexy. Wherever a Littershark is found, it exudes a touch of that essence.

MJS: It was clear to me that selling the Littershark would need to be done face-to-face. My former secretary was the first one tasked with selling our sharks. After the first week out in the field, she didn’t want to go back to working in the office – that’s how much she enjoyed distributing our great new product in Germany and France

MJS: Alongside the design and technical aspects, the human element is the most important thing about the Littershark. It is important to afford respect to those who use and maintain the bin every day. They are the ones who embody our ethos. In the waste disposal business, the Littershark is the Rolls Royce of litter bins. It stands for prestige, for luxury, and for making a difference with disposal systems.

MJS: In Singapore, there is a bear-proof Littershark, primarily to keep out the local monkeys! In Anchorage, Alaska, there is a bear-proof model to stop polar bears helping themselves to the rubbish.

MJS: Our highest Littershark, the one on the Jungfraujoch in the Alps. I have visited this one many times. Originally, it was put there to cold-test the level measurement system to find out how long its battery would continue to be operational at constant sub-zero temperatures. The Strebelshark with our Strebel crest also gives me great pleasure every time I see it – it now guards my grandson’s sandbox. Incidentally, one of his first words was Littershark