This is Bath --Restaurant owners have insisted that they are not to blame for encouraging gulls.
Jonathan Overton, chairman of the Association of Bath Restaurants, welcomed the request from B&NES for everyone to play their part.
"I think there is a myth that many people blame restaurants, when in reality it often seems to be domestic black sacks that offer fare for the flying rats that we all so despise. Commercial waste has been tightly controlled for some years and the vast majority of businesses work hard to get this right and certainly do not want their waste distributed outside their premises."
Henry Brown, chairman of the Bath Federation of Residents' Associations, said it was sceptical about the role played by food left lying around.
"There are huge numbers of gulls in Bath and not that much food lying around. We suspect the problem is more that urban roofs are a good place to nest and breed. If that's right, the solution is to continue to discourage nesting. The 'fire gel' sounds interesting. Whether that works or not, the council is in a good position to advise property owners on practical steps they can take."
He added that the reusable refuse sacks were "a mistake": "They are too smelly to keep indoors between collections, and extremely unsightly if left hanging on railings all week."
Opposition Conservative councillors have said the Liberal Democrat-run authority is still not doing enough, and that more resources needed to be put into enforcement action against firms which break the rules.
Party spokesman for neighbourhoods, Councillor Geoff Ward (Con, Bathavon North), said: "B&NES must be living in a parallel universal if it thinks Bath's gull and litter problem is getting better. The action the council says its taking is clearly failing badly.
"You only have to walk around the centre, especially in the early mornings or evenings, to see the terrible state of some of the streets, with food waste and litter strewn everywhere.
"There is a real risk this could become a public health hazard if more isn't done." Reported by This is 10 hours ago.