Looking at other ways to tackle litter problem (From Worcester News)

Looking at other ways to tackle litter problem

2:20pm Thursday 2nd September 2010 in

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THERE are many different ways to tackle the problem of litter on our streets.

As the Take Pride in Worcester campaign comes to an end, looking at how other local authorities have dealt with the problem may give Worcester City Council a few ideas for how to carry on the good work.

Chorley Council in Lanc-ashire started its Smile Chorley campaign in 2008 and has not looked back.

Underpinning the campaign is a pledge which local people and the council have promised to fulfil.

Among them is the promise that the council will keep the streets clean and people will help by not dropping litter and cleaning up after their dogs.

Councillor Pat Case, deputy leader of Chorley Council, said: “Chorley Smile is our borough-wide civic pride campaign which aims to encourage residents to take responsibility for their own environment by signing up to a series of ‘pledges’.

“The campaign has been a real success with the ethos that everyone in Chorley works together to do their bit and make the borough a better place.

“By educating people, getting the community involved and recognising the good work people do, we’ve seen many more people take pride in the neighbourhood and ‘making Chorley smile’ has become a catchphrase in the local community.

“It now underpins a lot of the work we do and it’s about doing exactly what it says – making the people of Chorley smile.”

However, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands decided to deal with the issue differently by clamping down hard on those who drop their litter.

Deputy council leader Councillor Steve Eling said: “We have had problems with litter for quite a long time. All our surveys and consultations about the area reveal that litter is always up there and people want something done about it.

“We take a range of different approaches. We work with schools and a local community-based volunteer organisation.

“But we came to the view a while ago now that there also needed to be a penalty.

“Quite clearly, whatever we were doing was not working.

“If there was a penalty, people might think twice before dropping litter on the ground.”

In Sandwell, if people do not use the bin they face a fine of £50, which increases to £75 if it not paid within 10 days.

Coun Eling said: “We know the bulk of the community is behind us. We know that £90,000 in fixed penalties came in last year, but it cost £4.2 million to keep the streets clean.

“However, it is worth it because we do think the policy is having an impact and our streets are cleaner.”

The Take Pride in Worcester campaign was launched in your Worcester News in conjunction with Worcester City Council and VisitWorcester and has been hailed a success.