SPECIAL CAMPAIGN TO CRACK DOWN ON LITTER LOUTS LAUNCHES TODAY
sign up at www.inyourarea.co.uk/dtof
WE’VE all seen rubbish piled up in our alleyways, detritus strewn across our city and town centres and discarded packaging dumped in parks for someone else to deal with.
In fact, many areas of Greater Manchester have seen a particular rise in littering as lockdown restrictions have started to ease.
Today we are standing up to it, and urging you to do the same, with our campaign Don’t Trash Our Future.
The Manchester Evening News, alongside 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 will leave no choice for both irresponsible litter louts and the authorities who have the power to enforce the law but so often don’t, to take longlasting action.
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
Today we are launching our petition with the aim of reaching 100,000 signatures so we can lobby the government to change the legislation and shed the country of its long-held reputation as a litter-plagued nation. 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 (16pc) don’t issue fines at all.
In a 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.
JB Gill, a former member of superstar pop group JLS who is now a passionate advocate for education and the countryside, has signed up as an ambassador for Don’t Trash Our Future.
“It’s great to see that people recognise that litter is a public health concern and a major problem,” he said.
“The only way to stop the damage being done to our health, nature and wildlife is to sign the Don’t Trash our Future petition, object to local councils not enforcing fines and demand a higher penalty for those dropping litter.”
Other celebrities including Clare Balding, Jeremy Paxman, and Gabby Logan have also backed the campaign. John Read, founder of Clean Up Britain, said the campaign has stemmed from a ‘huge desire’ from people to try to solve the UK’s litter epidemic.
He said: “Littering is symptomatic of a lack of pride in our local communities, and a lack of respect for other people and the environment generally. This campaign is about challenging and reversing these negative sentiments, and saying enough is enough. “It’s a criminal offence to litter and it needs to be treated that way. “Fines need to be increased to a level which shows the government – and society generally – will no longer tolerate this antisocial and selfish behaviour.” Littering is a big problem in Greater Manchester. Some 4,360 litter and fly-tipping fines were issued in Manchester in the first quarter of the year – up from 3,176 in the same period last year. Coun Pat Karney, for Harpurhey and Collyhurst, told the M.E.N that current litter and fly-tipping legislation is not working. He said: “It is blighting communities and costing local authorities multi-millions to clear it up. I support this campaign to strengthen the legislation and would go further – serial louts and fly-tippers should be locked up.
At the end of May, residents in Levenshulme had to tidy up after a group of revellers left the remains of their barbecue in a popular park.
Overflowing bins, broken glass, and gas canisters were all seen spread across Highfield Country Park. “I can’t turn a blind eye on stuff like that,” a resident who tidied up the mess said.
Travellers spent two weeks camping out at Cringle Playing Fields in Burnage and left behind rotting rubbish and leftover toys. The state of the park meant that many dog walkers and runners avoided the area completely as it was left ‘appalling and dangerous.’
Since January, the Radcliffe Litter Pickers have collected more than 1,500 bags of rubbish. They have found underwear, shoes, trolleys, and even fire extinguishers. On one occasion, they collected 150 bags from a visit to Withins Reservoir.
And revellers attending a ‘quarantine’-themed rave left hundreds of empty beer crates, glass bottles and gas canisters in Daisy Nook Country Park in Oldham last month.
Ed Walker, editor-in-chief of InYourArea.co.uk, said: “InYourArea are proud to be working with Clean Up Britain to tackle the country’s litter and waste epidemic. Our users are sick of seeing their neighbourhoods being treated like rubbish dumps.”
It’s a criminal offence to litter and it needs to be treated that way John Read, founder of Clean Up Britain