From the 1st July, people who are caught dropping and leaving litter behind in public in Wirral will be hit with an on-the-spot fine.
A team of enforcement officers appointed by the council will be out and about targeting people who don’t dispose of their litter in a responsible way. Anyone observed dropping and leaving litter will receive an on-the-spot penalty of £80.
Officers will be taking a zero tolerance approach to the issue and the proceeds from the fixed penalties will go back into environmental activities in the borough, such as tackling litter, graffiti and fly-posting.
Councillor Bernie Mooney, Cabinet member for Environment and Sustainability, said: “I know from the feedback we get whenever we conduct public consultations, as well as more informal conversations I’ve had with local residents, that cleaning up our public spaces is a real priority for Wirral people.”
“At the heart of this issue is a need to tackle that minority of people who still believe it is okay to just drop their rubbish wherever they fancy. It can’t just be about education or awareness-raising anymore, nor can we afford to just throw more money into street-cleansing – there has to be a realistic deterrent and I believe hitting these irresponsible people in the pocket is the way to go.”
Street-cleansing currently costs Wirral Council £3.7m per year and last year more than 4,500 tonnes of waste was collected from street cleansing rounds.
For more information, please visit the Council website.
