Rubbish Roundup 16th July

Rubbish Roundup 16^th July

A crackdown on litterbugs and people who let their dogs foul in Hyndburn, Lancashire could potentially raise £35,000 a month in fines for the council.

Private enforcement officers are being drafted in to hand out £75 fixed penalties to people who drop litter, chewing gum and cigarettes, and who fail to clean up after their dog.

The council estimate that up to 110 fines will be handed out every week.

The council leader issued a warning to litterbugs and irresponsible dog owners, saying they should ‘watch out’ and that law-abiding residents are fed up of the area being spoiled by the minority. He added that people want cleaner communities and their crackdown also coincides with the introduction of new recycling bins.

According to the council, there will be a two-week ‘settling in’ period when the crackdown starts, where the enforcement officers will go a little easier on people.

Councillors are considering a 12-month ‘pilot period’ and a report is set to be shared at the next cabinet meeting which will give details about the percentage of the fine revenue the council will keep.

A litter picker whose job it is to keep Northampton town centre tidy has been fined - for dropping litter! The man, who works for Veolia on behalf of the council, was seen discarding a cigarette butt on the pavement. He was spotted by an enforcement officer from Kingdom who handed him a £60 fine. The man and the enforcement officer had a heated discussion which resulted in police involvement.

The local council member for the environment commented that the council won’t tolerate littering, regardless of who the litterer is or who they work for.

Kingdom has been enforcing litter fines in Northampton since January, and they issued 2,218 fixed penalties in the first two months of the year.

Two retired residents in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, spend hours each day picking up litter to keep their town clean. The couple decided to take action against litter when they took their grandson to a local beauty spot and found rubbish everywhere.

With the help of their daughter, they’ve set up a Facebook group called Sleaford Be Litter Free, and their efforts have had such an impact that locals are approaching them in the street to thank them.

They also encourage other people to pick up litter, because their philosophy is that they might not be able to stop people dropping litter, but they can encourage them to pick it up. It’s all about changing attitudes. The couple say they can’t bear to see litter, after growing up in the countryside where there was none.

They often go to a local play park and pick up litter for hours to make it a nicer and safer place to play for children.

The couple believes that more people are now aware of litter, but they’re calling for more recycling bins to be introduced around the town to help tackle the problem. They say they have contacted the council about introducing combined general waste and recycling bins.

Speaking of the strangest items they have found when picking litter, they say a clog shoe sticks in their mind as being particularly unusual. But the issue with the litter they find is not what they come across, it’s the sheer volume of it. They say they will continue their good deed as long as they are both fit enough and until people stop dropping litter.