LAWR

STREET SCENE and to see all 14 Essex authorities coming together, with support from Essex County Council, McDonald's and Keep Britain Tidy, to run a campaign across the county is exactly the approach we need to see at regional and national level." With the cost of cleaning the Essex streets costing more than £17m a year, councils in Essex have welcomed the move. Harlow Council portfolio holder for environment Phil Waite says: "If people just put their litter in a bin, councils could save many thousands of pounds a year and that money could be used to fund vital services for the whole community." In fact, councils are spending £1bn each year on cleaning up litter. Tower Hamlets head of street clean Simon Baxter says that he would rather spend this money on education, libraries or vulnerable people. The KBT has estimated that this £1bn could be used to fund, for example, 4,400 libraries, 33,200 NHS nurses or 31,990 extra Fire Brigade fire fighters. Although Baxter says that everyone needs to do their part to tackle the issue, he says that social behaviour also needs to change. He maintains that dropping rubbish needs to be made socially unacceptable and "not cool". "I remember the litter recycling man on Wrigley's chewing gum packs warning people to recycle. But a logo alone is not going to change people's behaviour," Baxter explains. "You need educational campaigns backed up with firm enforcement policies." He says bringing back a "cuddly and cute" Wombles-style anti-litter campaign would not be effective in today's world. "What is needed is a picture of a 7ft rat warning about the consequences of leaving litter around - that would make you change your mind about litter." Tower Hamlets Council is investing in technology to help change people's behaviour. It recently implemented a litter reporting app for the public called 'Find It, Fix it, Love it' as part of its commitment to improve the appearance of the borough. The app is different from the commonly-used Love Clean Streets app because it gets people to report positive scenes as well as negative scenes to the council. Local authorities will always be at the frontline in street cleansing. However, it is clear that a broader stakeholder spectrum is needed in preventing litter. Retailers and manufacturers have a part to play in ensuring that they keep the level of packaging waste to a minimum. Progressive brands are already taking further steps to intervene in the situation. But without closer collaboration with local authorities it will be difficult to deal with a moment of thoughtlessness. " When big brands are making millions of pounds in marketing something for people to buy then they have a responsibility to deliver a message on their product " 18 Local Authority Waste & Recycling July 2014 • 72% of people think that Government should do more to prevent litter • 34% of people are less likely to buy from a brand if they see its packaging littered • 99% of town centres have cigarette litter • The Government does not have a national litter strategy Keep Britain Tidy litter facts: With the £1bn spent on clearing up litter, local authorities could fund 4,400 libraries, 31,900 fire fighters or 33,200 NHS nurses D:MAX S:MAX PRO:DEC Over 85% reduction in landfill Washed grit suitable as a non-structural fill secondary aggregate Mobile plant option offers processing at a number of sites Return on investment within 2 years cdenviro.com GULLY WASTE, ROAD SWEEPINGS & TROMMEL FINES RECYCLING Road Sweepings Advert 2014.indd 1 27/05/2014 09:01:51

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