Major anti-littering campaign begins in Bristol
It will feature a giant sculpture of a wave, made of rubbish, on the Bristol Harbourside
Last updated 2nd Nov 2022
A major anti-littering campaign is beginning in Bristol today (November 2), with the unveiling of a giant wave sculpture made of rubbish, on the city's harbourside.
"Bristol's Binning" as it's been called, has been created thanks to a partnership between the City Council and the environmental charity Hubbub.
As well as the sculpture more than 50 new bins are also being installed around the city centre, some of which will glow and the dark, and some of which will play music when opened.
Others will feature fun takes on song lyrics, gaming motifs and playful puns, while there will be voting bins for general litter and ‘ballot bins’ for cigarette butts which will ask the public to choose between things like Surf vs Skate’, ‘Drum & Bass vs Techno’ or (in a reference to the hit reality TV show Love Island) ‘Casa Amor vs Main Villa’.
Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees says we all have to play a part in making the city clean.
“The Wave sculpture shows the extent of the problem in Bristol, and why we need to take action," he said.
"Not only does litter look unsightly it can be harmful to both people and animals – especially if it ends up becoming ocean pollution.
"We are delighted to be installing new recycling bins around the city centre, which will also help us to improve our recycling rates across the city and achieve our ambitious goals."
The sculpture has been created by eco-artist Wren Miller, using 90kg worth of rubbish, which we're told is the same amount as that dropped on Baldwin Street on just one busy Friday.
It will stand four metres tall and six metres wide.
It has been created because lots of rubbish that gets dropped in the city centre gets blown into the harbourside and can end up flowing out to sea.
“We hope this campaign will capture the attention of the people of Bristol and encourage them to think twice about dropping litter after a night out," Marvin Rees said.
"Working together we can make Bristol a city we can all be proud of."
Students from the University of Bristol will carry out a litter pick today to mark the campaign and there will be pop-up two-minute litter picks around the city in the months to come.
Council enforcement officers will be looking out to reward residents doing their bit to reduce litter with on-the-spot prizes such as vouchers.
Data from Bristol Waste Company has helped identify hotspots for littering across the city, meaning the bins can be put in the best places to have the biggest impact.
Meanwhile, Hubbub involved students from University of Bristol and Bristol College in the design of the campaign messages, as 2020 polling by the charity found that over a third of 16-25 year-olds admitted to littering in the past month and that men were twice as likely to litter as women.
Natasha Gammell, creative partner at Hubbub said: “Bristol is known for leading the way on environmental issues, but litter continues to be a problem, particularly at night as a result of people enjoying the nightlife.
"We hope these hilarious bins that play catchy tunes and glow in the dark, will turn some heads and encourage people to use them and not leave their litter lying around the city.
"With this campaign, we can show that Bristol is winning by binning!”