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Wordy Wastebaskets

DW staff (ncy)April 22, 2004

Berlin partygoers may come to the conclusion they had one too many to drink when rubbish bins start shouting at them on the city's streets. But the talking trashcans aren't a figment of inebriated imaginations.

https://p.dw.com/p/4wCH
"Thanks, really great!" Kalle Kiez (left) tells tidy BerlinersImage: dpa

Siggi Sport, Hitlist Harry and Susi Smart have taken to the streets of Berlin, doing their part to create an upbeat and tidy atmosphere in the city known for its, some say, crude vernacular.

Siggi Sport hollers "go-a-a-al" when cleanly passersby toss their trash into his welcoming receptacle. Hitlist Harry sings a takeoff of a German pop song and Susi Smart thanks her benefactor in English, French and Japanese.

The three faceless, orange characters are solar-powered, multilingual rubbish bins.

The Berlin city sanitation department introduced the five trashcan characters on Wednesday in an effort to show that cleanliness is "cool" and to help polish the capital's image. On top of showing their appreciation for being "fed," the wastebaskets will relay information on what's going on in Berlin over the summer to tidy pedestrians.