An unusual street art project is coming to St Paul's in Bristol featuring a selection of decorated bins.
The project is part of a campaign called 'Love St Paul's' and has seen Bristol City Council and Bristol Waste working with children and young people in the area to decorate new bins with their artwork. The project is hoped to change the way people think about waste.
You may have already spotted some of the Love St Paul's bins, as they were set to be installed from April 12, running the length of City Road and the surrounding areas.
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Jak Boydon, from community engagement at Bristol Waste, said: “Keeping Bristol clean and tidy is at the heart of what we do. We believe that by working together, with the communities, with the council and Bristol Waste, we can make a real, positive impact on the areas we live and work in.
"Love St Pauls was a fun, community-led solution to a rubbish problem. The creative collaboration between the residents of St Pauls and local youth groups was designed to involve young people in making the area an enjoyable place to live.
"We hope this project adds to the vibrancy of the area and changes the way people think about their waste. If ‘Love St Pauls’ is a success, we hope to replicate it in different areas of Bristol to help improve neighbourhoods across the city.”
The bins were designed in craft workshops which were held at youth groups in St Pauls, with the help of local artist Deborah Weinreb and Sylvia Vincent, Youth and Community worker from Imayla, supported by the Bristol Waste Community Engagement Team. Each workshop encouraged young people to talk about waste, litter and fly-tipping, as well as how to improve the streets of St Pauls.
Sylvia Vincent said: "Clean open spaces are vital for our children to enjoy themselves in Bristol. If children in the St Pauls youth projects could change anything in the area, it would be to stop fly-tipping, increase recycling and remove litter on the streets.
“The Love St Pauls project has engaged young people in the waste and recycling conversation. It has given them a voice to send a message to the St Pauls residents and the Bristol community to be more conscious about what they throw away and to look after the places in which they live.”
Using crayons, pens and paint, those participants created designs that included pictures of fictional superheroes, catchy slogans and even designed clothing for cut-out figures using different materials. The children explored themes around the environment, had conversations about the litter found in St Pauls and considered why we should respect our neighbourhoods.
Councillor Kye Dudd, cabinet member briefing for climate, ecology, energy and waste, said: “Fly-tipping is dangerous, unsightly and an unnecessary blight on our beautiful city. The Love St Pauls project shows that by working together, we can collectively make a real difference in cleaning up the streets of Bristol.
"This project will help make sure St Pauls is a clean and safe space for everyone to enjoy. We are proud to be a part of something that has captured the creativity and vision of young people in the area to help tackle an issue that they say affects them.”
The designs have been adapted to fit on 15 bins in the area and Changing Your Mindset, the Full Circle Project at Docklands Community Centre and St Paul's Adventure Playground provided the space for the workshops and helped encourage the children to express themselves through art. Bristol Waste says it hopes the bin art will help enhance the St Pauls district and inspire discussions about litter.
You can find all of the bin art displays on the Love St Pauls art trail, using this map.
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