Page 3 Profile: Jeff Wilson, environmental scientist

Jeff Wilson, environmental scientist (The Dumpster Project)

What’s this, new coalition housing policy?

No, no. While some local councils have moved people into shipping containers and the like to deal with accommodation shortages, nobody is yet to go this far: turning a 33-square-foot dumpster – large bins to you and I - into a liveable abode.

So, who would live in a house like this?

A Harvard-educated University professor, no less. From next Thursday, Dr Jeff Wilson, who teaches environmental science at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas will call the six-foot-nine-inch high steel waste bin home – for a whole year.

Erm, why?

Raising awareness, of course. But not of poor housing conditions, or astronomical house prices. You see, it’s all about the environment, stupid.

He’s saying we treat the planet like a dump?

Nope. He hopes to draw attention to the possibilities for sustainable living and promote a model of ‘less is more’. Over the year, he’ll make the tiny space as energy efficient as possible, installing solar panels and eco gadgets.

A real life eco-saint.

The divorced father-of-one has certainly made a few sacrifices to get his point across. He’s sold all his personal items for $1-a-piece, and also given up his apartment.

So he’s embracing the ascetic life?

Not quite, this is Texas after all – in many ways, the most American of American states. He plans to kit the place out with a few ‘creature comforts’. There’ll be a bed, of course, and lights. And a shower and toilet. And, uh, air conditioning, WiFi and an Xbox console.

All the mod cons. How much are we talking?

The dumpster itself cost $2,000 (c.£1,240). Considering the cost of property in some parts of the country, perhaps we should keep an eye on how he fares…