Battle won, but war goes on

Another day, another pleasing victory in this city’s ongoing war on litter.

We launched our Clean Streets campaign because the Sunderland public were sickened by the mess in our city.

They wanted action and, on this evidence, they are getting it in spades.

Yesterday we reported how a man was fined almost £100 after rubbish he’d paid a scrap dealer to dispose of, ended up dumped in a Sunderland street.

Today, it’s a scrap metal dealer hit in the pocket after he was spotted discarding three sofas in another street. This latest offence cost the man £600.

These incidents of littering highlight some key areas in the war against litter louts.

If you think you can wash your hands of responsibility just be getting someone else to dump your rubbish, think again. Only use reputable businesses or, ideally, the council services. It is your responsibility to ensure rubbish is disposed of correctly.

The fines too are heartening. A slap on the wrist does nothing. Hefty fines send out a strong message, and it’s good to see the council dishing out bank busting fines.

But the most satisfying thing is the response of the public. When we carried out a city survey, 66% of respondents said they were unhappy with the state of our streets and wanted action.

Significantly, however, they are playing a major part in the clean up.

The scrap dealer was snared when residents reported him to the authorities.

Only by being vigilant and working together can we succeed.

A battle has been won, but the Clean Streets war goes on. Well done.