Four-metre-high wave made of litter floating on Bristol Harbour among targeted messaging installed in Bristol to encourage people not to leave litter behind.
In partnership with Bristol Waste and Bristol City Council, environmental charity Hubbub is launching the “Bristol’s Binning” campaign which aims to help reduce the amount of litter on Bristol’s streets and stop it from travelling into the harbour and out to sea.
Over 50 colourful and eye-catching bins are being installed across the city centre near takeaways, nightlife venues and parks, as well as stadiums, transport hubs, in and around markets and the harbour.
The new design bins will feature fun takes on song lyrics, gaming motifs and playful puns, and there will be glow-in-the-dark bins and bins that both cheer people on and play jungle music when they are opened.
New recycling bins for plastic bottles, cans and glass will also be installed for the first time alongside Bristol’s existing general waste bins and coffee cup recycling bins to make it as easy as possible for people to recycle when out and about, the campaign organisers says.
Colourful voting bins for general litter and “ballot bins” for cigarette butts will be popping up to get people to vote with their litter on hot topics too, such as “Surf vs Skate”, “Drum & Bass vs Techno” or “Casa Amor vs Main Villa”.
Bristolians can also use the LitterLotto app which offers a free-to-enter Prize Draw, with regular spot prizes and jackpots for binning their litter.
The Wave sculpture shows the extent of the problem in Bristol, and why we need to take action.
With the aim of galvanising the public to take action, an art installation of a giant wave made of litter has been created by eco-artist Wren Miller, with support from Bristol Council, Bristol Waste and Hargreaves Lansdown.
The wave is made with 90kg of waste, equivalent to the volume of litter dropped on Baldwin Street in just one busy Friday, to highlight the scale of littering in Bristol’s City Centre.
Officially launching the campaign, Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees unveiled The Wave sculpture on the 2 November morning at the harbour where it will be on display for three months, before moving on land around “prime” city centre locations.
Mayor Rees said: “The Wave sculpture shows the extent of the problem in Bristol, and why we need to take action. Not only does litter look unsightly it can be harmful to both people and animals – especially if it ends up becoming ocean pollution.
“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. Working together we can make Bristol a city we can all be proud of.”
The campaign has been developed based on insights from Hubbub research, the charity’s Neat Streets campaign in Bournemouth and in collaboration with partners and residents to ensure it reaches the right people in the environments they are most likely to litter.
Creative partner at Hubbub, Natasha Gammell, 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!”