Archive · 19 Sep 2026
Shinjuku Station Tests Mobile Robot Bins to Ease Sanitation Work
Shinjuku Station in Tokyo is testing robots that act like moving rubbish bins.
The station is extremely busy, with more than 2.7 million passengers each day.
Workers currently empty bins by hand more than 10 times a day in the tested area.
Three robots will collect rubbish and bring it to human workers.
They move very slowly so people can use them safely.
The railway company wants to know whether the robots can move through crowds.
It also wants to see whether passengers will throw rubbish into them.
Some passengers like the convenience, while others say people in Japan often take their rubbish home.
Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station is testing three mobile robotic rubbish bins.
The station serves more than 2.7 million passengers every day.
The robots move at about 20 centimetres per second and stop when necessary.
The trial will assess crowd navigation, safety, usability and commuter acceptance.
The project runs until late November and is intended to support human sanitation workers.
- Who
- East Japan Railway is testing three robotic bins at Shinjuku Station, with comments from railway officials and passengers.
- What
- Mobile robotic rubbish bins are being tested to collect waste and reduce the workload of sanitation workers.
- When
- The trial is running until late November; the announcement was reported on Friday.
- Where
- The trial is taking place in East Japan Railway’s section of Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, Japan, including its busy underground concourse.
- Why
- The railway operator wants to test whether the robots can safely navigate crowds, collect rubbish, and be accepted by commuters.
- Station
- Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, Japan
- Daily passengers
- More than 2.7 million
- Robots tested
- Three automated bins
- Robot speed
- About 20 centimetres per second
- Trial duration
- Until late November
- Current bin servicing
- Bins in the tested area are emptied manually more than 10 times a day
- JR East bin facilities
- Seven sets of bins and recycling boxes in its section of the station