News that their wheelie bins could become vehicles for advertising will have come as something of a surprise to Bradford residents, who might well be shocked at the double standards the plan reveals.

After all, it's only a few weeks since the Waste Management Sub-committee was telling us that the Council had forked out thousands of extra pounds to have gold crests embossed on the bins to help to create "a sense of civic pride". That conjured up the vision of an army of wheelie bins standing in smart ranks outside Bradford homes, proudly displaying the city's logo. Now it seems that instead they could be used as advertising space with, according to a Council study, up to three adverts per bin.

Perhaps sub-committee chairman Councillor Keith Thomson can explain how this will perpetuate civic pride. If the scheme does get the go-ahead he will have to work very hard to convince householders to allow their property to be used as a free hoarding. At the very most the Council should go for the suggested option of putting one advert only on each bin - under the lid, to be seen by the householders when they deposit their rubbish in it.

Council schemes to make money are not to be discouraged in principle. But a line has to be drawn limiting the degree to which civic commercialism should be allowed to creep into ordinary residential streets, which have so far largely been protected from it. What will come next? Perhaps lamp-posts each carrying an advertising billboard? Or even road names sponsored by supermarkets, creating Sainsbury Close, Morrison Mews and Netto Avenue?

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.