Council litter marshals issuing 30 fines a week

The team of litter wardens, along with the council's partners LA Support, have been patrolling the region handing out on-the-spot fines as part of North Lincolnshire Council’s crackdown on environmental crime.

The fine amount is £150, reduced to £100 if paid within 10 days.

The team are also currently investigating 30 fly-tipping cases after extracting evidence from dumped rubbish, and reminding householders who allow their waste to be dumped face a £400 fine for breaching their household waste duty of care.

North Lincolnshire Council spends more than a million pounds a year cleaning up other people’s litter, including emptying more than 1,800 bins a week and cleaning up around 31,500 miles of roadside verges and footpaths - enough to stretch around the Earth one and a quarter times.

A spokesman said: "We are offering advice and support to the growing number of local litter-picking groups determined not to let selfish dumpers spoil our communities.

"We can give advice on safety issue, provide litter-picking equipment and collect any bags of rubbish you collect."

Forty volunteers recently turned out to help a mass clean-up and wildflower plant at Mortal Ash Hill (A18) in Scunthorpe, and more projects are in the pipeline.

As well as making the environment cleaner and greener, litter picking also improves health and wellbeing and creates a feeling of community pride.

To find a group near you, or to start one of your own, call North Lincolnshire Council on 01724 297670 or email [email protected].

You can also sign up the Great British Spring Clean, running from Friday (May 28) to June 13, a nationwide litter pick organised by Keep Britain Tidy and supported by North Lincolnshire Council.

To check if someone is licensed to dispose of waste, go to the fly-tipping section of North Lincolnshire Council's website.