The seaside resort of Katwijk is distributing balloons to all its residents this week, printed with a drawing of a rubbish bin.

The aim is to encourage locals to blow up a balloon, not the town’s waste bins, during the New Year firework frenzy. Last year, 36 rubbish bins were either totally destroyed or badly damaged by fireworks, and damage to street furniture totalled €37,500, the council says.

The campaign kicked off earlier this month, when officials began giving the bins names and happy faces, along with a personal history and a promotional video.

Pieter Prullenbak, for example, goes skateboarding and has gone off fireworks since his friend Toby was blown up last year, while Vera Vuilnis -according to her AI video – would like nothing better than a job at the beach.

Officials hope Chris Container, Appie Afval and the rest will encourage residents – particularly teenagers – to think twice before blowing them up.

“We are showing people that you can blow something up without causing damage,” mayor Nathanaël Middelkoop told local media. “Waste bins are too often a target at New Year. Blowing them up is dangerous and a waste of council money.”