Past Projects

November 2009: Litter Pick

Although it was a blustery, wet and cold day, 11 committed residents worked against the elements and helped to fill 28 bags of recyclable and household waste. Two people even gave up part of their birthdays to join in! It was good to get out and meet some local people and hear their views on the area, and the pick itself  was a great success, especially considering the poor weather: the ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures are on our Flickr site. Our efforts were helped greatly by Selly Oak Constituency Staff who loaned us litter picking equipment and Birmingham Environmental Partnership who gave support and advice.

September 2009: Bins Project

In September 2009 we completed our first project, a kind of street-art which was timed to coincide with ArtsFest. It involved us decorating several bins up and down Stirchley High Street with fabric covers made by us, and also featuring a cover by Gosia Weber, a local artist who specialises in textiles.  The project was featured on Birmingham: It’s Not Shit where our bins were described as BiNS Bins of the Year. It wasn’t all a resounding success though, and the best laid plans often go to waste: our careful plotting didn’t take into account the possibility of additional rounds of rubbish collection, and although we left gaps in the fabric for passers-by to put their rubbish into the bin, the covers had to be removed for the bins to be emptied. It may be something of a glaring gap in training, but Refuse Collectors do not receive formal instruction in the appreciation of fine art: all but one of the bins lasted less than twenty-four hours. The last (above) was saved for posterity after around two days of active display, during which it received many admiring glances.