FRINGE STAR HELPS COUNCIL CLEAN UP ITS ACT
Cheeky Fringe stalwart Craig Hill kept it clean when he helped City of Edinburgh Council’s street cleansing team spruce up the capital during the Festival.
The comedy veteran and Edinburgh resident pitched in to help the local task force tackle one of the summer’s busiest spots, against the familiar backdrop of his own promotional posters at Middle Meadow Walk.
Craig is one of hundreds of performers to be promoting their shows using the Council’s official advertising, which for the first year will generate thousands of pounds towards keeping the city clean during the festival.
The scheme, now in is in its fourth year, dissuades illegal fly-posters by providing alternative advertising opportunities, saving the Council up to £350,000 on the cost of cleaning away flyers and posters.
And now, for the first time, revenue from the advertising contract with print and distribution company Out of Hand, in partnership with Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, will be ploughed back into keeping the city beautiful for residents and visitors.
Money gained from the contract to advertise on Council-owned assets will be used to fund additional street cleansing and litter capacity over the busy festival period.
Environment Convener, Councillor Lesley Hinds, said: “Last year’s Fringe Festival Advertising proved a real success so now it’s great to be able to harness this to help keep our city beautiful for everyone.
“Edinburgh Festival Fringe is an amazing experience for performers, visitors and people living in Edinburgh, but it has an undoubted impact on the city’s environment.
“That’s why we’re glad to be able to work with Out of Hand and Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society to provide a solution benefitting both citizens and those making the most of this world-famous festival.”
The City of Edinburgh Council’s outdoor advertising poster project, delivered by Out of Hand, provides different styles of advertising on around 900 Council-owned assets throughout the city, including wrap-around lamp post advertising and tower columns.
Revenue gained from advertising of performances during the period will fund operational costs associated with the Fringe.
Amongst these measures are the employment of more than 70 temporary street cleaners to patrol the city’s streets to tackle litter resulting from increased footfall and a batch of extra large bins, to be located in some of the city’s busiest areas to cope with the rise in rubbish.
Comedian Craig Hill added: “Edinburgh is so gorgeous I’m really pleased that one of the Council’s priorities is keeping it clean because it’s too beautiful a city to mess up!”
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