The staggering cost of cleaning the streets in one Greater Manchester town

Littering is costing Wigan council taxpayers around £4 MILLION a year - and dealing with fly tipping alone takes up £1m of that cash. Although steps taken to tackle the problem by educating the public are having a ‘visible impact’ a senior councillor says it's right to continue to fine offenders.

Since the launch of the town’s ‘Keep It Clean’ campaign 12 months ago, more than 173 fixed penalty notices have been issued - including more than 70 for acts of littering from vehicles, like throwing away cigarette butts, Wigan’s place and environment scrutiny committee was told. Portfolio holder for planning, environmental services and transport Coun Paul Prescott said: “It’s an environmental crime to drop litter and that’s how we should proceed.

“It’s not right for people to throw their litter on the ground and walk away. The issue needs education but also enforcement.

Try MEN Premium now for FREE... just click here to give it a go.

“There’s no excuse to litter, and there’s definitely no excuse for fly tipping. No-one wants to take someone to court for this, but if they don’t learn, that’s what we will do at the end of the day.”

A report to the committee hailed the recruitment of more than 2,000 volunteer litter pickers operating across the borough. It said the Keep It Clean campaign ‘delivers strong messages to residents and visitors’.

“Our environment team has been focused on implementing a number of initiative to ensure littering an fly tipping is tackled head on to ensure the borough is cleaner, greener and safer,” the report said. And it hailed the success of the extension of the town’s ‘bulky waste’ offer, which has increased the number of available appokntments per week with introduction of a third collection team