Council calling for Environment Champions
The council is calling on residents who are sick of litter, fly-tipping and graffiti blighting their local community, to help with them to clean up the borough’s streets.
A new Environment Champions scheme is being introduced to help improve the cleanliness of local streets and encourage communities to work with the council to tackle rubbish as quickly as possible.
Local people can register to become Environment Champions who report issues as soon as they occur, so that they can be dealt with quickly.
Cllr Colin Ellar, deputy leader of the council, and cabinet member for environment, said: “We know people are frustrated about dumped rubbish on our streets and nobody could disagree with them.
“We are already investing more money to improve the service, but we need people to be our eyes on the ground so we can get rubbish cleared quickly before it attracts more.
“By working with local people to nip the problem in the bud early, we can help make sure areas don’t feel neglected and an excuse for people to add to the rubbish.
“As well as trying to tackle problems that appear, we’re going to be running a campaign to remind people not drop litter or dump rubbish in the first place. This will be supported by enforcement by council officers and the police, who can served fixed penalty notices of up to £80.
“We’re also working with other groups – landlords, trade waste contractors and shops – to highlight what they can do to make sure our streets are kept clean.”
Environment Champions can do as much or as little as they feel able to - from simply reporting problems they see on their travels, to organising or taking part in community clean ups.
The scheme is being piloted in Hounslow Central, Brentford/Isleworth and Heston/Cranford from 1 October 2012, and will be rolled out across the rest of the borough next year.
October 17, 2012