Westside Business Improvement District (BID) has invested £20,000 in an Eco City Picker to keep pavements in and around Birmingham’s ‘golden mile’ of Broad Street clean.
The battery-powered giant street vacuum was launched this morning (19 December) next to the Black Sabbath Bench on Broad Street by Cllr Majid Mahmood, the cabinet member for environment at Birmingham City Council.
The super clean green machine will be regularly operated by two environmental wardens on Westside, with all other street wardens also trained to use the machine.
Cllr Mahmood said: “I’m delighted to be launching Westside BID’s first Eco City Picker and I look forward to seeing the great difference this investment will make to the streets in this area.
“The council will work closely with the BID to support these extra efforts to keep our city centre streets clean in any way we can.”
The Eco City Picker is a leaf and litter collector that is 100% battery driven, making it the environmentally greener option for cleaning city streets.
The machine has a 24-volt battery with a working capacity of ten hours, can drive at nearly 4mph, and can collect 240 litres of rubbish before it needs emptying. It comes equipped with a 4.1-metre length vacuum hose and has a maximum noise of 68 decibels.
Gerald Manton, chair of Westside BID, explained that the Eco City Picker will use extra rubbish bags supplied by Birmingham City Council and that these will be collected at agreed times and places.
Mr Manton said: “This is a great example of collaboration between the BID and the council to make sure that we keep Westside’s pavements as clean as possible.
“Westside BID prides itself on being ‘cleaner, brighter and safer’ and therefore we are pleased to be serving our members to our full capacity with this new equipment.
“The Eco City Picker will significantly change the way in which we cleanse the district, as it’s quick and thorough and ensures the area is neat and tidy.
“The wardens will have designated shifts several times a week to drive around the district, cleaning the pavements to make sure the front of business premises remain as clean as possible, making them more enticing for customers.
“There will be a special focus on the area close to the Black Sabbath bench to keep this world-famous landmark which attracts tens of thousands of people a year extra clean.
“Our wardens will also respond to any calls from BID members to help keep the areas near their properties neat and tidy.”
Pete Willis, who manages the Westside wardens, said: “Our wardens are dedicated in providing a great service to our members, always going above and beyond to ensure their requirements are met. I’m confident this new Eco City Picker will once again demonstrate our commitment to members.”
