Two tonnes of rubbish cleaned up – and new litter patrols started
From Irlam and Walkden to central Salford people across the city answered the call to take part in National Clear Up Day organised by Keep Britain Tidy.
Salford City Council supported the plan by providing 450 litter picking grab sticks, hundreds of rubbish bags and dozens of pairs of gloves and taking away over 500 bags of rubbish collected during the event.
Councilor Gena Merrett, assistant mayor for housing and environment, praised everyone who took part.
“It’s wonderful to know that so many people care about their community and a huge thank you to each and every one who took part,” she said.
“Several groups plan to repeat clean ups on a regular basis and I hope this gets the message through to people that litter is just not acceptable. It takes seconds to put litter in your pocket until you come across a bin rather than chucking it in the street and leaving it for others to clean up.”
In Pendleton residents collected 59 bags of rubbish from around the centre and have now launched the Salford Clean Up Network to carry out clean ups every month while over in Broughton local residents cleaned up 72 bags worth of rubbish which were collected from St John’s Church, Murray Street.
The Salford Friendly Anglers Society, which has staged three clean up events in the last couple of weeks, said they collected over 120 bags of rubbish, two bikes and numerous bits of patio chairs.
Their oldest volunteer was 83 and the youngest two and a half and they cleaned up land near Forest Bank prison and beside the old River Irwell in Irlam.
And in a further crackdown on litter and people who don’t clean up after their dogs, Salford City Council is testing a new way of cracking down on offenders by working with a private company to tackle environmental crime on streets and in parks.
The new team, which tackled over 80 offenders in its first month, complements work being done by council staff on reducing flytipping.
Councillor Gena Merrett said the company 3GS approached the council offering a free trial of its services.
“We get dozens of complaints a month from residents angry about people who drop litter or don’t clean up after their dogs but with our core funding cut by almost half, our ability to respond has reduced. Last year we issued 155 fixed penalty notices last year but are keen to do more enforcement where appropriate,” she said.
“When 3GS approached us we realised their work could do more to tackle the issue and complement our crackdown on fly tippers. We will review it after six months and decide whether to extend the trial.”
The new enforcement officers work seven days a week covering known hot spots and issuing £60 fixed penalty notices to offenders caught in the act. The company takes a small percentage of the fines issued but staff are not paid commission or bonuses for issuing penalty notices.
Paul Buttivant, managing director of 3GS said: “We’re employing local people to look after the local environment and support the good work being carried out by Salford City Council.
“Our staff work to educate people about the need to keep their environment clean as well as enforcing the law.
“We are confident this partnership will deliver positive results over the trial period and look forward to developing the service further with Salford City Council.”
Last year Salford City Council launched Operation Pandora to crack down on flytippers. Twenty four offenders have so far been prosecuted for 30 offences resulting in fines of over £26,000. Salford City Council receives over 3,300 complaints about flytipping every year and spends around £140,000 a year clearing up and investigating.
