Rubbish Roundup 27th November

Rubbish Roundup 27th November

Rubbish Roundup 27th November

 

Doncaster hands out the most litter fines in the UK. Between April and October this year, 3,548 fixed penalty notices were handed out, which is over 700 more than Leeds, which has the second highest number in the country.

The figures were published after a Freedom of Information request asked 180 councils to reveal how many litter fines they hand out. The request was made after the introduction of new powers for local authorities to fine vehicle owners if litter is thrown from their car, regardless of whether they are the culprit.

Doncaster council say that the high rate of fines does not mean that they have the worst litter problem in the country, rather that they reflect the zero-tolerance approach they have to litter. They add that they work hard to ensure that Doncaster becomes a cleaner place to live, work, and visit.

Doncaster is one of the only councils in the UK that can fine people for throwing litter from a vehicle, which has added to the high number of fines.

They have hired the private firm Kingdom to gather evidence of environmental crimes and send it to the council. The council officers then make a decision about whether or not to issue a penalty.

The council are also holding ‘Action days’ where they ask volunteers to help council staff to pick up litter, plant bulbs, clear weeds, and tidy hedgerows. The message is that it’s not just the councils’ job to keep the town tidy, but local people also have to do their bit.

The top five areas for issuing fixed penalties from April to October 2017 according to the figures were: Doncaster 3,548; Leeds: 2,793; Birmingham 2,234; Brent (London borough) 1,316; and Coventry 532

Read more at: http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/doncaster-national-capital-for-litter-fines-1-8858901

The anti-marine litter campaign, Waste Free Oceans has launched a children’s book to educate them about the problem of plastic litter in our oceans. The book, titled ‘Plastian The Little Fish’ was written for children aged 5-10, and it tells the story of a brother and sister who embark on a sea adventure and become concerned by the amount of litter they see in the water. They build a trawl to collect the debris that is floating in the water, aided by Plastian and his other marine animal friends.

Waste Free Oceans worked with Enplast, the Linpac Group, and the British Plastics Federation to bring the book to print.

Biggleswade Good Neighbours are a group of residents who volunteer their time to help people to carry out tasks they otherwise wouldn’t manage, like gardening, DIY, and befriending. One other task they carry out is litter picking, and they meet up regularly to clean up litter from parts of the town to make sure it remains a pleasant and clean place to live and visit. The local council provide them with the equipment they need. Members of the group say that joining in with the litter picks is a great way to meet people and see parts of the town you might not visit. Plus, looking after where you live is a very rewarding thing to do.

If you live in the area and you would like to get involved, contact them on:

Phone - 07771104255

Email - biggleswadegoodneighbours@gmail.com