Council targets litterbugs (From The Oxford Times)

Council targets litterbugs

12:00pm Monday 13th February 2012 in Witney By Tom Jennings

Left to right, West Oxfordshire district councillor David Harvey and community wardens Richard Lewis-Skeath and Harold Smith pick up litter in Witney’s Market Square

A RECYCLING chief has issued a stark warning to those dropping litter and costing council taxpayers millions: “You will have to pay.”

West Oxfordshire District Council’s traffic wardens took over litter enforcement last year and have the power to issue on-the-spot £60 fines.

It costs the various councils more than £6m a year to clean the county’s streets – £650,000 of which is for West Oxfordshire.

Councillor David Harvey, district council cabinet member for environment, said people were only issued with fines if they refused to pick up their rubbish after a warning.

He said: “If you drop litter in West Oxfordshire we will fine you.

“But the big message is ‘take your litter home’.

“If people do that, and recycle it, then we all save money because the more we recycle the more credits we get and the less landfill tax we pay.

“It is costing the district council a huge amount to send guys out day after day after day to pick up litter from streets and verges.

“If we could reduce the total cost by half it would give us £325,000 to spend on something worthwhile.

“Little things like not dropping fag ends outside pubs will save us money and make West Oxfordshire a much better place to live in.”

Across Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse District Council spent £658,280 cleaning streets last year and fined 20 people. South Oxfordshire District Council spent £827,225 and fined no-one. Cherwell District Council spent £1.5m and fined 76 people.

Oxford City Council has so far spent £2.6m cleaning the city’s streets this financial year and has issued 182 fixed penalty notices, with 141 already paid.

Two people have been prosecuted for not paying the £80 fine, which is reduced to £55 if paid within 10 days, while five are pending court action.

The authority issued 302 fines in 2009/10 and 277 in 2010/11.

Councillor John Tanner, executive board member for a cleaner, greener Oxford, said: “I am glad that West Oxfordshire is taking a leaf out of Oxford City’s book.

“We have fined people for dropping litter and cigarette butts for some time now and it has made a real change to Oxford since we introduced it.”

And he said the policy had caused a positive feedback loop because when people see cleaner streets they are less likely to drop litter themselves.”