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Wellingborough Council launches year-long litter awareness campaign
Published Thursday 21st January 10
The Borough Council of Wellingborough has launched an education campaign to reduce unsightly and dangerous litter on our streets.
Over 30 million tonnes of litter are collected from the streets of England every year, and it costs council tax payers £780 million a year to clean it up.
Only 25 per cent of people admit to dropping litter, but often people don't consider small items such as chewing gum or cigarette ends to be litter. Wellingborough Council's campaign aims to educate people about different types of litter, why it's such a problem, how much money is wasted clearing it up, and what the council is doing to help tackle the problem.
The 'No Excuses' campaign centres around the excuses people give when they litter our streets, and focuses each month on different sorts of littering such as cigarette ends, fly-tipping, littering from vehicles, cigarette ends, chewing gum and general littering.
"I pay my council tax, so I expect it to be picked up"
"It's only small, I didn't think it was litter"
"My wheelie bin is full"
"Birds and animals will eat my left over food."
"I won't get caught throwing something out of my car "
"I didn't see my dog do it"
The campaign aims to make people realise there are no excuses for dropping litter. A cigarette end can take 12 years to biodegrade, chewing
gum resists normal street cleaning and has to have expensive jet washing treatment, fly-tipping costs local authorities £74m a year to clear up and can lead to pollution of the environment, dog fouling poses a serious health risk, especially for children, discarded food can attract vermin, and all littering is unsightly and makes local areas look untidy and uncared for.
Keep Britain Tidy have found a correlation between appearance of an area and a fear of crime. If a street is littered, people feel less safe in that street, so it's up to us all to respect where we live and work, which will directly influence people's feelings of safety and wellbeing.
The council's amenity services will support any group who wish to organise a litter pick in their area by providing picking sticks and black bags, and will collect and dispose of the litter after the event.
The No Excuses campaign has been sent to 40 schools in the borough, and posters will appear around the town. A campaign display will feature at events throughout the year.
For more information please contact Customer Services on 01933 229777 or email generalenquiries@wellingborough.gov.uk