Ludlow scouts are the first to get a new Scouts Community Badge from West Mercia Police, with support from Shropshire Council’s environmental maintenance team in south west Shropshire.
At the invitation of PC Dan Wood, the town’s local policing officer, the Ludlow First Scout Troop looked at the community issues facing Ludlow town, and chose to promote the use of the public litter bins to reduce littering.
Two successful litter picks around the town resulted in 12 bags full of general litter, including part of a car exhaust! These were displayed in the town square as part of a promotional stand on Saturday, 18 June 2011.
The council’s street cleaner was asked not to collect general litter on Saturday morning in time for the litter pick so the public could see the quantity of litter removed each day. This contrasted with a map showing the council-maintained public litterbins where litter could have been put instead – not to mention the bins provided by individual stores and traders.
Visitors to the stand voted for the best anti-litter poster designed by the youngsters, and a prize will be awarded to the winner. The posters showed the detrimental effects of littering, including endangering animals’ lives and untidiness.
Councillor Martin Bennett, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for street cleaning, said: “It’s very good to see our young citizens taking an active part in keeping their streets clean and tidy. I would like to thank them for their hard work, which has made a real difference to Ludlow. Complaints from the public about litter are very close to the top of most councillors’ problem list, and I am pleased that we have been able to support the scouts in their efforts, to gently encourage everyone to use the bins provided.”
Meanwhile a member of the public in Shropshire has taken a stand against littering by reporting a person dropping litter out of their car window in a Ludlow car park.
After gathering a witness statement, Shropshire Council issued the offender with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £80. Whilst speaking to the council’s street scene team, the witness said:
“I don’t see why people should get away with it. Littering is wrong and the public need to show we won’t stand for it.”
Councillor Martin Bennett, Shropshire Council’s deputy cabinet member, said of the case: “Thanks to the care and attention of a member of the public taking a stand against littering, we are able to tackle this, and I hope this will help to change behaviour for the better.”
Councillor Rosanna Taylor-Smith, Shropshire Councillor for Ludlow North, said: “I am grateful to the witness for providing full details of the litter being thrown on the road and providing us with information to trace the person responsible. Littering of wrappers, cigarette ends or anything else should not be tolerated and costs all of us as taxpayers a considerable amount of time and money to clear up. I am pleased that the individual concerned admitted to the offence and I hope this will set a good example to everyone here in Ludlow.”
This case brings the total number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued by the south west street scene team to 18 since April 2011.
