Stratford District Council has joined forces with Stratford-upon-Avon College with support from Stratford-upon-Avon High School to tackle the issue of litter on Shottery Fields.
Councillor Simon Jackson, Environment Portfolio at Stratford District Council said: "Littering is an environmental crime and a type of anti-social behaviour which affects the quality of life of the community and the local environment. Litter is unsightly, can be dangerous to wildlife and costs the District Council over £500,000 each year to clean up.
"Littering is an offence and anyone caught littering can be issued with a £75 fixed penalty notice. If that is not paid within 14 days they can then be taken to court and fined up to £2,500. The District Council aims to keep the district as clean and litter free as possible and although we only have a legal duty to clear litter from land which we are responsible for, litter really is everyone's responsibility. That is why the District Council has joined forces with Stratford-upon-Avon College and Stratford High School to try and help educate students and residents alike about the problem litter can cause."
Hazel Skwirzynska, Director of Learner Services of Stratford-upon-Avon College said: "We are delighted to support this initiative with the District Council and Stratford High School. The college takes its responsibility to the local community very seriously and works hard to impress upon our students the importance of environmental sustainability."
David Williams, Head Teacher of Stratford High School explained: "As a school committed to our community we are very aware of the impact litter has on our environment. It is an issue we already address on our own premises, and we are pleased to say we now recycle a large proportion of our waste. We have been very pleased to be involved with Stratford District Council's Shottery Fields initiative and welcome the opportunity to extend our student's environmental awareness beyond their immediate vicinity"
On-street recycling bins initiative
As part of a new initiative to increase recycling facilities in the district and to provide additional capacity for litter on Shottery Fields, the District Council is introducing new blue recycling bins. These bins will be positioned next to existing litter bins and will allow the following discarded materials to be recycled:
- Paper - such as newspapers, magazines, clean napkins
- Cardboard - such as food packaging
- Glass - including bottles and jars
- Cans and tins - such as drinks cans
- Cartons - such as juice cartons
- Plastic bottles and packaging - such as drinks bottles, yoghurt pots, plastic sandwich packaging, fruit punnets (but not 'soft' plastic such as cling film, crisp packets or carrier bags)
- Aluminium foil
For further information, or to report any litter problems, please contact Streetscene at Stratford District Council on 01789 260616 or by email at streetscene@stratford-dc.gov.uk
Blue recycling street bins have also been introduced in Henley Street and Sheep Street, Stratford-upon-Avon. It is anticipated that further blue recycling street bins will be rolled out across the District into other places and villages if the 'pilot' proves to be successful.
Community Clean Up Events
If you are planning to hold a litter clean up event, the District Council can provide some advice and support. If you contact the District Council before the event, we may be able to provide refuse sacks, recycling sacks, gloves or litter pickers for you to use and arrange collection of the sacks when you have finished your clean up event. Information about community litter clean up events is available from Keep Britain Tidy 'The Big Tidy' campaign: www.thebigtidyup.org or by phoning 01942 612 602.
Report it!
If you see any major litter or fly tip problems please let the Council know on-line at: www.stratford.gov.uk/doitonline. If you see someone throw litter from their car, you can report it at www.keepbritaintidy.org
- Litter can be anything from wrappers, cans, bottles, food, plastic bags, cigarette ends, apple cores, matchsticks, and chewing gum to larger items such as bags of rubbish and abandoned shopping trolleys
- The offence of littering relates to what is done with the litter, rather than what it is. That is throwing, dropping, or otherwise depositing something somewhere where you shouldn't (this includes throwing litter out of a car window).
- The Council provides a Street Cleansing service 365 days of the year, which includes picking up litter from open spaces and roadsides and emptying over 1,000 litter bins across the district. Litter bins are normally placed in areas of high pedestrian traffic or where we know litter is a problem. All of our litter bins are regularly emptied (some over 4 times a day).
- The Council has delegated powers to investigate and prosecute people who drop litter or dump rubbish ('fly tip').
- It can often take many years for littered materials to degrade for example:
- Plastic bottles can last indefinitely, and plastic dropped in a field today could still be there in the next millennium.
- Aluminium litter such as drinks cans last from 80 to 100 years, as do nappies.
- Plastic bags given away free by supermarkets last between 10 and 20 years.
- Cigarette butts, orange peel, banana skins and apple cores can last up to two years.
- Cigarette butts remain the most littered item in the UK. The second most widespread items are sweet and chocolate wrappers, with soft drinks containers in third place. Takeaway and fast food-packaging litter are forth highest.
