New cigarette and gum bins to crackdown on environmental crime
Date Published : 05 March 2010
New bins designed specifically for chewing gum and cigarette ends have been installed in the town centre as part of the council's ongoing fight against littering.
Walsall Council today launched a crackdown on the ongoing problem which costs thousands of pounds a year to clean up. It is part of the Cracking Environmental Crime campaign designed to tackle a variety of issues from flytipping and graffiti to littering and dog fouling.
A total of six sites in the town centre have been chosen for the smartbins. They are:
- Darwall Street, outside the Civic Centre
- Park Street, outside the Saddlers Centre
- The Bridge, by the Sister Dora statue
- The Bridge, outside Tesco
- Darwall Street, by St Paul's at the Crossing
- Lichfield Street, opposite the Council House
Councillor Mike Flower, cabinet member for the environment, said: "Every week our litter squads face the ongoing task of dealing with carelessly discarded cigarette ends in the town centre and also having to remove chewing gum from the pavements.
"We are providing these bins and we need people to use them. We are striving hard to make Walsall a cleaner and greener place for residents and visitors and I hope people will follow our plea to place their gum and cigarette butts in them.
"If it works we will be looking to role these out across the borough."
On average around £78,000 of public money is spent each year removing chewing gum from the town centre's streets with two cleaners working solely to tackle the problem five days per week.
Those who continue to flout the law and continue littering the town centre and other parts of the borough run the risk of being landed with an £80 fixed penalty notice. Non-payers can have their case pursued through the magistrates court where the fines can increase significantly.
In 2009 21 fixed penalty notices were issued for littering and three cases pursued through the magistrates court for non-payment.
Councillor Garry Perry, Walsall Council cabinet member for communities and partnerships, said: "Working alongside our residents we are determined to crackdown on environmental crime.
"No-one likes walking through a town centre which is littered with rubbish and with chewing gum plastered everywhere and we are urging you, the residents, to work with us in two ways by using the new bins and reporting incidents of littering and other environmental crimes."
Last June the council launched its Cracking Environmental Crime campaign in a bid to stamp out problems such as flytipping, flyposting, graffiti, dog fouling and littering.
Contact us
To report any issues call 01922 653344.