This?

or This?

My friend was horrified that a big cosmopolitan city should still be using bin liners piled up in the street as the main system of refuse collection. I had to admit that on occassions the bags did indeed split and the contents were left strewn across the road and blown around the street to end up settled in front gardens up and down both sides of the road. Domestic pets and occassional attacks by foxes have also led to bags being ripped asunder and their contents littering the streets.

Here I was showing my guest the delights of modern Brum, the great achievements of the past decade or so, and then, its - 'down to earth with a with a bump' on something so obvious! Something so simple stuck in his mind and leaves a lasting impression. Birmingham has gone a long way towards shaking off its image of a drab and dreary urban sprawl and the word is getting around that this a city going somewhere. Isn't it a shame that our rubbish isn't going in a wheelie bin? Couldn't we go the extra mile?

There are issues of course. There is the cost. There may be a requirement for adapted refuse trucks and a change in working practices to cope with using wheelie bins. However, I am convinced that the changes would be for the better. A much cleaner environment and far easier and more tidy than existing arrangements. When Tewekesbury County Council first adopted the scheme over a decade ago, questions were raised such as where would the bins be left when they were emptied - in the street? What about the elderly who find it awkward to move the bins?

Perhaps Birmingham City Council should talk to other counties who are using this much cleaner and more efficient method of refuse collection in order to find the answers. I am sure none of these counties would consider reverting back to black plastic bin liners. What a shameful advert for our region.