‘Yellow Card’ for village litterbugs

An officer recommendation to a Council committee on Thursday night for a three-month trial extension of the Litter Education Initiative beyond the town was unanimously supported by members.

Officer Nicola McCall revealed that funding had become available to fund two additional wardens and that the ability of wardens to challenge litterers and issue yellow card warnings gave a useful educational element to the public in terms of littering.

In a bid to put “a positive spin” on the scheme, she said, people seen by staff to be dealing responsibly with litter or dog fouling would be asked for their name and address and put into a draw for a £50 shopping voucher which would run over three months.

The Committee was also told that two tonnes of dog dirt was collected from the purpose-made bins around the borough every month and that those detected failing to clear up after their pet on the street faced a £50 fixed penalty.

Mrs McCall said that a replacement machine to deal with such dog litter had been purchased at a cost of £24,000 which required an additional £30,000 to man and to service. She added that the weight of dog waste going through the machine was not known.

Cllr Timothy Gaston said litter “is everybody’s responsibility”, adding, “it’s important to get local residents on board.”