In Japan, the absence of bins encourages people to take their rubbish home. In Birmingham, however, the lack of bins has turned Henry Barber Park in Bordesley Green into a dumping ground.
At one entrance, a pile of bin bags supports discarded items like a baby seat and a gaming chair—once personal belongings, now eyesores in what could be Birmingham’s most neglected park.
After seeing videos on social media, I visited the park in person and was struck by just how offensive the scene was. You can shield your eyes from the mess, but the stench from overflowing bins is impossible to ignore.
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What’s most frustrating is that many of the discarded items are drink cans. Carrying an empty Pepsi can home isn’t difficult, yet it seems easier for some to simply leave it behind and make it someone else’s problem.
Dozens of seagulls crowded a basketball court, resembling Hitchcock movie extras. Moments later, I saw a woman feeding the birds, revealing why they were drawn there.
More birds than children were in the park—a sad reflection of the state of the area. Overhearing teenagers as school finished, I caught one exclaim: “F***ing hell, look at the state of this.” Another teenager told me the park had been like this “for ages.”
I don’t spend my free time visiting every park in Birmingham, but this has to be an extreme case. Amid an ongoing bin strike, we cannot allow playgrounds to become dumping grounds.
Henry Barber, the park’s namesake, is renowned locally for donating the Queen Victoria statue. The Barber family surely would not want the park that bears his name to be remembered for pizza boxes and rubbish piles instead.
City environment boss Coun Majid Mahmood said: “Fly-tipping harms where we all live and work and is carried out by environmental criminals with no regard for our neighbourhoods or their well-being.
“When fly-tipping occurs, we act as quickly as possible. Our crews clear hundreds of fly-tipping reports each week, in addition to the regular work of neighbourhood crews keeping the city clean.
“Everyone needs to play their part in maintaining a clean environment. There are plenty of lawful options for disposing of waste responsibly.
“We are committed to prosecuting fly-tippers whenever possible and encourage residents to report any evidence to help us do so.”