Let’s get tough on litter
• Big names backing campaign • Sign the petition
BY ED WALKER Editor-in-Chief InYourArea.co.uk
ERUBBISH left on the street and in pedestrian areas, discarded packaging dumped in parks for someone else to deal with. These are all scenes that have become too familiar during the easing of coronavirus restrictions in the UK but which have their root in a much more long-term problem - the UK’s litter epidemic. Today we are standing up to it, and urging you to do the same, with our new campaign Don’t Trash Our Future.
The Hinckley Times, together with local community and information platform InYourArea.co.uk and our nationwide network of sister newspapers and websites, has teamed up with Clean Up Britain to push for changes.
We believe these fresh policies will force irresponsible litter louts to improve their behaviour while making authorities use the powers of enforcement they have.
Our campaign has two aims:
■ To increase the maximum punishment for littering to a £1,000 fine or 100 hours of supervised community litter picking
■ To make it compulsory for local authorities to enforce the law on littering
Councillor Michael Mullaney, of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, said: “Residents contact me about thoughtless people who litter and fly-tip in places across the borough.
“We have an excellent team at the borough council who work hard to try and keep Hinckley and the rest of the borough clean.
“If the Government were to provide stiffer penalties this would help deter the thoughtless people who bring our area down by littering. “I would welcome national measures that would help local communities like Hinckley and Bosworth to keep our area cleaner and tidier.”
The Hinckley Times is urging you to sign the petition on the In Your Area website (inyourarea.co.uk/ DTOF), with the aim of reaching 100,000 signatures so we can lobby the Government to change the legislation.
We’re also calling on councils to flex their muscles in the fight against rubbish and make far better use of the powers they already have available.
A Freedom of Information request sent by Clean Up Britain to 169 councils in England and Wales found the majority (56 per cent) were issuing less than one fine per week for littering and more than two dozen (16 per cent) don’t issue fines at all.
In a recent survey conducted by InYourArea.co.uk, more than 7,500 respondents overwhelmingly said littering has a negative effect on them and their neighbourhoods and classed it as a big problem.
John Read, founder of Clean Up Britain, said: “Clean Up Britain is very excited to be running the Don’t Trash Our Future campaign with InYourArea.co.uk
“We know from the countless people who contact us that there is a huge desire - from people all over the country - to try and solve the lit