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New measures to tackle
environmental crime
AN environmental crime hotline and a
crackdown on late night takeaways that don't clear litter from outside their
premises are among new measures set to be introduced to tackle blight in
Liverpool.
It is the latest in a series of measures being proposed following a request from
Mayor Joe Anderson for action to make Liverpool cleaner and greener.
The hotline will enable residents to provide information in confidence to help
the City Council catch individuals involved in environmental offences such as
fly tipping, litter and dog fouling; and they may be eligible for a reward if it
leads to penalties or charges.
There will also be a crackdown on late night takeaways that don't take steps to
reduce the amount of litter around their premises; with persistent offenders
having their license conditions reviewed and their opening hours reduced.
It follows a doubling in the number of staff tackling fly tipping and cleaning
alleyways, with 4 new teams working 7 days a week. The work; focused initially
on Kensington - is being followed up with pest control to tackle rodents, and
education and enforcement activity to support residents to keep areas clean.
The enforcement team have also been supplied with hidden cameras to gather
evidence in fly tipping hotspots and issue ?400 fixed penalty notices to
offenders.
Mayor Joe Anderson said:- "We are absolutely determined to tackle the
curse of litter and fly tipping which blights some parts of our City and are in
this for the long haul.
We are doing our bit by investing more in clearing the backlog of rubbish in
alleyways and following this up with support to help make sure people dispose of
their waste sensibly. But on the flip side, we will not hesitate to take
enforcement action where we are able to act on information, whether it is
provided confidentially by members of the public or from investigations carried
out by our staff.
Our residents deserve to live in a clean and green environment and not have it
trashed by residents and landlords who think it is someone else's responsibility
to clear up their mess. If someone provides us with information that leads to
prosecution, it is right and proper that we provide some kind of reward for that
if it is deemed appropriate."
Other measures being considered by the Cabinet, on
Friday, 7 July 2017 included:-
► Working with schools to educate children and families about the importance of
minimising waste and recycling more and introducing an annual competition with
prizes for the best ideas.
► Continuing to give environmental grants of up to ?500 for community clean ups,
flower planting and the creation of community gardens.
► Visiting businesses to make sure they are adequately licensed for waste
disposal.
Funding is coming from efficiency savings made by creating a new arms length
company to operate refuse collection and street cleansing; Liverpool Street
Scene Services Limited.
Councillor Steve Munby, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said:- "This
is a comprehensive plan to tackle the issues caused by litter and fly tipping in
Liverpool through a mix of clearance, enforcement and education. We are doing
our very best to show we care for the area to inject pride back in to
neighbourhoods and want that to be reciprocated by people helping us to keep the
City tidy as well."
Work is underway to clean and repair four foot alleyways to improve the storage
of waste, as well as introducing larger recycling sacks, expanding weekly
recycling services for City Centre apartment blocks and piloting weekly
recycling.
And a team of 14 environmental enforcement officers from Kingdom are issuing ?80
fixed penalty notices to people caught dropping litter.
Street cleaning currently costs Liverpool Council Tax Payers ₤8.5 million per
year and last year more than 6,500 tonnes of waste was collected from street
cleansing rounds.
Earlier this year, 2 serial fly tippers who were caught dumping tonnes of
illegal trade waste, including asbestos, yards from a children's dance school
were jailed following a surveillance operation by the Council and Merseyside
Police.
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