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Someone has the timeline backwards. Although one of the founders of Artmongers is originally from Argentina, the bins were first introduced in the U.K. and were supposed to be brought to Argentina in late 2006. The 61% increase in recycling happened in the U.K., not in Argentina.

an article saying this
Artmongers site confirms

I think the main thing is to actually have receptacles for public recycling. Here in New York, if you're not at home (or possibly the office), you can't recycle. If you grab a drink on the go, or bring recyclable items to a picnic, or the like, you're pretty much out of luck. Just putting bins for #1 plastic (the kind water and soda bottles are made of) every few blocks and in public places like parks would make a huge difference.

I remember being really impressed with Montreal because their subway stations have bins to recycle newspaper.

The cows are just that bit more attractive than the more common green and brown bins (which are exactly the same in every other respect).

Recycling is collected from the doorstep now though as we sort waste or risk fines (my brother's bin has a microchip to monitor content for example!) so most people don't have to make trips to these so much any more.

we actually do have some public recycling bins in NYC, they are part of a pilot project by the Department of Sanitation. there are bins for both paper and metal/glass/plastic at Union Square, Brooklyn Borough Hall, the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and some others. here are some of DOS's conclusions from their experiment:

"The sites with the lowest contamination rates and the largest amounts collected were the ferry terminals, Union Square, and Columbus Park. These sites are characterized by heavy commuter use and are located in dense, downtown neighborhoods with large numbers of office workers who use the public space for lunch. In contrast, public space recycling was highly contaminated and yielded little material in residential parks frequented primarily by families and children. Such users are less likely to generate newspapers, bottles, and cans than are commuters and lunching office workers."

also:

"For this pilot, the DNSY Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling researched public space recycling in London, England; Toronto, Canada; Seattle, and Portland. All cities face challenges keeping their public space recycling free from contamination, and all site bins in high traffic areas where efforts are most likely to succeed."

and, surprisingly:

"Contrary to popular opinion, waste generated in public spaces is only a tiny fraction of residential, public maintenance, and commercial wastes overall. While public space recycling won't raise the city's diversion rate by more than fraction of a percentage point, it is an important way to reinforce the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle message."