If I were to try and sell you a couple hundred networked, bomb proof trash cans with LCD screens on them, you would probably hurt yourself laughing. The whole idea of such high-tech trash cans sounds very absurd, but that is exactly the direction that the fine folks across the pond in Briton are headed.

The new trash cans, designed by Media Metrica, are not designed to protect the trash after an explosion (that is the absurd part), but instead they are designed to resist exploding when the bad guys drop a bomb in them. The bomb-proof bins are designed to absorb as much as the shock wave of an explosive device that is placed in them. If they do explode, they are designed to not turn into shrapnel. Not so dumb huh?

The LCD side of things is simply a plus to do a little advertising and make some money. This becomes a win-win; people are safe, companies get paid, the bad guys get frustrated because their crappy evil schemes don't work. I like it.

Source.