Lisburn residents urged 'have more pride in your city'

Speaking to the Star after the festive holidays, Councillor Ewart said he was concerned by the amount of litter and abandoned rubbish that he had seen over the festive period.

Councillor Ewart added that the issue of litter across the city has been concerning him for some time.

"While the vast majority of our citizens behave responsibly, it is the minority in our society who believe it is acceptable to throw rubbish from their car windows or drop litter in the street and I would encourage those people to have some civic pride in this City," Councillor Ewart said.

"If all of our citizens start the year as most already do and dispose of litter and rubbish in a responsible way the City streets and countryside will be a more pleasant environment for everyone." he added.

Mr Ewart continued: "If you are out around the country roads you can be driving along and you will see fast food papers thrown everywhere. People seem to eat it and throw it out the window. The car park at the LeisurePlex is the same, people just eat in the car and then set it on the ground. Perhaps there are not enough bins there, but they could bring their rubbish home and dispose it there.

"It is not just food wrappers, dog fouling is also an issue around the city and chewing gum on the streets, particularly along Bow Street. I would just like to clean the place up a bit and have people take more pride in the city which would encourage people to come here.

"I know it is not everybody who is responsible for this but if we don't try it will only get worse."

The Council will provide assistance to any community group or local organisation which wishes to start the New Year off by organising a litter pick and anyone interested in such an event should contact the Waste Management Section at 028 9250 9433.

"A relatively small change in behaviour can make a big difference to our City, so please put your rubbish in a bin, or take it home to dispose of and we can all look forward to a cleaner, tidier and more attractive City in 2010," concluded Councillor Ewart.