Recycling bins a mynah miracle for islanders...

A MYNAH problem with rubbish bins on a remote South Atlantic island has been given the bird – by a Midlands company.

Plans to introduce the 4,000 inhabitants of St Helena to the joys of recycling looked like being scuppered by the island’s huge flocks of mynah birds that have learned to scavenge from the plastic bins.

The birds have caused a terrible mess and their sheer numbers prevented members of the public approaching the plastic buckets.

Now, Derbyshire company Amberol has come to the rescue by supplying St Helena with special, bird-proof bins with a retractable hinged flap. The receptacles are now in place in St Helena’s capital, Jamestown. The company, which supplies novelty bins to schools and councils, clinched the order after being visited by a delegation from the Natural Resources Directorate of the St Helena Government. That was a business trip of over 5,000 miles. Patience AtkinsonGregory, managing director at Amberol, said: “Mynah birds aren’t commonly an issue for our customers here in the UK but we were happy to make the modifications for our visitors from St Helena, just as we would for any other customer.” Mike Durnford, environmental risk manager on St Helena Helena, said: “The bins were chosen for their multifunctional use and because they are more aesthetically pleasing than the red wheelie bins used on parts of the island for glass recycling.

“They also offer greater versatility as they can be used to dispose of general waste as well as recycling glass.”

The bins have stub plates and can be used to dispose of cigarette butts, which are one of the most commonly littered items on the island.

Mynah birds were introduced on St Helena in 1885 to remove ticks from cattle but the bird has not only added to the litter problems, it has hit the island’s most famous species, the St Helena plover, very hard.

Mynahs target plover nests chicks. and

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