Eco-bin, Ella Highlands, Sri Lanka

Eco-Bin, Ella Highlands

Now this is the ultimate eco-bin: made of wood, at one with its environment, visible but inoffensive. It would be difficult to fault the designer of this bin, except perhaps that it is very large and rather too open to the elements! And that people are throwing things away just next to it, not in it, so are not perhaps very clear about what it’s for.

The scenery around the bin is beautiful: rolling hills, tea plantations, waterfalls (‘Ella’ means waterfall in Sinhala, the main official language alongside Tamil). We enjoyed easy-going walking, followed by Ayurvedic treatments with names like ‘shiro dhara’ using hot oil that trickles onto your forehead from above, tickling the brain and stimulating the circulation. After decades of civil war, Sri Lanka is opening up quickly to tourism, but the lack of infrastructure means it is still possible to travel slowly, taking one’s time.