Rubbish Roundup 15th October

Rubbish Roundup 15^th October

A report has revealed that fly-tipping in Caerphilly cost the council more than £150,000 to clear up last year. There were almost 2,000 reports of litter being dumped, which is actually a 15% reduction on the previous year. But the council has said no more and it’s set to get tough by issuing fines of up to £400 for fly-tipping with no early payment discount. The increased fines are possible because if the fly-tipping is on council land, the council can take civil action against the perpetrators for trespassing. Councils across Wales received 38,614 reports of fly tipping last year, which cost more than £2.18 million to clear up.

A walker has blamed the council for failing to clear litter from a popular beauty spot in South Tyneside. The retired man often walks on Cleadon Hills, but said that the area is being spoiled by overflowing litter containers that the council is failing to empty. The man took a photograph of one of the bins and said it was full to the brim with bags of dog waste, and appeared as if it had been full for a while. Cleadon Hills is part of a conservation area that includes a water pumping station and a local farm. Local authorities have a duty to look after conservation areas. A spokeswoman for the council thanked the man for bringing the issue to their attention and confirmed that the bin had now been emptied. She added that they are committed to keeping open spaces tidy and street cleansing teams visit the area three times per week to empty the bins. She urged people to cooperate and either use the bins provided or take their litter home with them.

Liverpool Council's ‘litter squad’  have been banned from the campus at the University of Liverpool because students complained they were stressing them out ahead of their exams. The litter enforcement officers from Kingdom, who work on behalf of the council, have been accused of fining students for ‘petty littering’ such as carelessly discarding cigarette butts, which the Students’ Union say has added financial stress to the students’ exam stress. The firm will continue to patrol the outskirts of the University grounds and adjoining land.

The Students’ Union said that littering is not acceptable on campus and everyone must take responsibility for discarding their waste properly. It added that there is a ‘Green Team’ at the University that works hard to keep the campus clean and praised students and academic staff for bringing the issue to their attention.