A new campaign against litter and street urination has launched in Richmond, after the Council reveals waste removal costs local taxpayers nearly £3m a year.
'Fight Dirty' plans to encourage Richmond residents to keep the borough clean by introducing new measures, such as more signs, bins, and fines, to combat the problem of litter.
As people flocked to public spaces this summer, the Council has warned that taxpayers will be footing a bigger bill - of £2.85 million a year - to clean up the mess.
Cllr Julia Neden-Watts, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee, said:
“Over the past few months we have seen a huge rise in the amount of litter left in our borough and reports of street urination and dog fouling.
“We will of course go on picking up all the rubbish that’s deposited on our streets and clean up the mess because we take pride in our borough’s appearance. But the cost of this task is enormous – so we all need to come together to Fight Dirty.
“Council Taxpayers are having to fund a clean-up operation that costs millions of pounds a year. Families that are already struggling to pay their bills do not need this unnecessary burden. If people make sensible choices about their waste and behaviours then we won’t have to spend such vast sums clearing it up.”
However, on social media it has been suggested the Council could do more to keep the public clean.
One user has commented that there are not enough bins in Richmond.
@theroyalparks Bigger bins? More bins? Richmond Park pic.twitter.com/vKRBESxiCK
— STEPHEN FERNS (@stephenferns) September 14, 2020
While in August Conservative Cllr, Geoffrey Samuel, called on the Council to solve the problem of access to public toilets on the Richmond and Twickenham Greens.
However the Council said they have already installed more bins in hot spots around the borough and increased their collections.
They also said they are working with local businesses to open their toilets to combat unacceptable problems with defecation and urination, and working with local supermarkets to restrict alcohol sales.
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