Don't talk rubbish

This month streets in Liverpool and London will have bins that sing and speak to you. Keep Britain Tidy has partnered with Liverpool City Central and arts organisation Sing London to create this project which is aiming to encourage people to care about the area they live and dispose of litter properly. Many famous people have made recordings for the bins, some of which are specific to their location, opera for Covent Garden and a recording by former cricketer Phil Tufnell for bins near Lords cricket ground are just two of those that have been recorded.

It successful it will be rolled out to many more cities across the UK. Whilst it's fun and a bit of a gimmick there is a serious message behind it. People should start thinking about how they get rid of their rubbish and stop littering their area.

Unfortunately however a high proportion of litter in city centres comes from those out partying late at night. Visit a city centre street early Sat or Sun morning and you will see it littered with bottles, cans and take away wrappers dumped after the partying has finished.

It's the regular use of commercial and industrial road sweepers that tackles this problem successfully. Somehow, whilst supporting new initiatives for keeping streets clean, I don't think a talking bin will stop a drunken partygoer from dumping his unwanted kebab and chips at the end of a night.