To be fair to Bridgnorth District Council, when I complained about the amount of cigarette butts in and around Bridgnorth they sent out somebody to sort the problem. The following Tuesday, at Bridgnorth Town Council, I raised the matter whilst we discussed tourism in Bridgnorth. I again pressed the Town Council to make sure that the installed bins are properly identifiable as cigarette and chewing gum bins.
Cllr Shirley, a leading member of the administration on Bridgnorth District Council, claimed that they can not sweep the High Street with a machine as it would remove the sand from between the brick setts. Well Cllr Shirley, I don’t think that answer is good enough. Bridgnorth depends on tourism. If a machine can’t cope then is should be done manually. On a number of occasions, when BTC have entered Britain in Bloom, I have volunteered to litter pick prior to the arrival of the judges. This was done manually with out a problem. Its not rocket science.
Sadly, the High Street is again littered with cigarette butts. It is not enough to only respond to complaints. A proper clean needs to take place regularly. Similarly, more needs to be done to educate the public to use the available bins to properly dispose of their cigarette butts.
I want to see more enforcement and fines issued coupled with improvements to the CCTV to enable litter louts to get a instant ticking off. So called ‘Talking’ CCTV has already been successfully used in Middlesbrough, where people seen dropping litter or committing anti-social behaviour can be told to stop via a loudspeaker.
You can read more about ‘Talking’ CCTV here: BBC – ‘Talking’ CCTV scolds offenders. From the 4th April 2008 BDC staff will have the power to issue fixed penalty notices. Lets hope that this will improve things.