Aberdeen is set to benefit from new colourful bins in an innovative funding project with the help of McDonald’s and Hubbub.
Following the Council’s successful bid for funding through the Neat Streets grant, the local authority has received £10,000 {1} from McDonald’s and support from environmental charity Hubbub, to install 24 new eye-catching bins in Hazlehead Park, Victoria Park, Queens Terrace Gardens and Union Terrace Gardens.
The campaign is based on the success of Hubbub’s Bristol Binning campaign, launched in Bristol City Centre in 2022 and will also support the Council’s existing Clean Up Aberdeen mass-participation initiative, which encourages bringing people together for litter picking clean ups.
Council Co-Leader and Net Zero, Environment and Transport Committee convener, Councillor Ian Yuill, said: “Council staff and people are taking part in litter picks as part of our Clean Up Aberdeen initiative, which encourages civic pride and makes our city a more attractive place to live through the disposal of unsightly discarded packaging on our streets.”
“That is why we are delighted to team up with Hubbub and McDonald’s on the Neat Streets programme, which will enhance our efforts through the addition of the new colourful bins incentivising people to do even more to keep our streets looking their best.”
The new bin designs feature playful takes on song lyrics, gaming motifs and puns, encouraging passers-by to bin their rubbish, helping to keep local spaces clean and litter-free.
Litter costs UK local authorities alone £699 million per year {2} and continues to be a growing nationwide issue, despite research from Hubbub revealing that 62% of people feel angry when they see litter on the ground and two in five find it frustrating that there aren’t more bins or campaigns to tackle litter. {3}
Gavin Ellis, Director and Co-founder at Hubbub said: “We have a wealth of experience in tackling specific types of litter in targeted environments and are delighted to share our learnings from Bristol’s Binning with Aberdeen to develop litter-busting initiatives for their local area.”
Local McDonald’s Franchisee, Mathew Jackson, who owns and operates two McDonald’s restaurants across Aberdeen said: “We’re delighted to be part of a project that brings Aberdeen’s communities and local council together to make a real difference across the city. As a business rooted in the community, it’s inspiring to see local voices shaping the look and feel of Aberdeen, and it’s a pleasure for us to play our part in the litter pick to kick off this great initiative. The new bins will encourage people to take pride in their surroundings and help keep the city clean for everyone who lives and works here.”
The Neat Streets grant fund is supported by McDonald’s, who has funded projects with Hubbub since 2018. McDonald’s is tackling litter in local communities, both by litter picking and reducing the amount of waste its restaurants produce. The brand has been working to make recycling easier over the past four years too, and since 2015, has installed over 1,100 new recycling units, meaning it’s easier to separate plastics and cups for recycling in 85% of its restaurants. McDonald’s also collects used oil from its kitchens and turns this into enough biodiesel to fuel more than half of its delivery fleet.
For more information on how to address litter in your local area, visit Clean Up Aberdeen | Aberdeen City Council
