Liberal Democrat Councillor and leader of the opposition on Oldham Council, Howard Sykes MBE highlights in a letter to the Council, recent steps taken over the border in Bradford to tackle people who casually throw litter from the windows of their vehicle.
The steps taken by Bradford City Council involve issuing a Fixed Penalty Notice for littering on the car owner. Therefore, avoiding the difficult job of identifying the offender when observing littering from a moving vehicle.
Councillor Sykes has written to environment bosses at Oldham Council – Carol Brown and Helen Lockwood – urging them to adopt a similar in Oldham Borough.
“This is a simple thing we can do to help tackle the blight of littering. I hope the Council will adopt this without delay,” stated Councillor Sykes.E
The following is a letter to Carol Brown (Environmental Services at Oldham Borough Council) and Helen Lockwood (Deputy Chief Executive Oldham Borough Council) from Councillor Howard Sykes regarding the issue of littering in the Borough:
12 July 2019
Dear Helen Lockwood, Carol Brown,
Re: Fines for Litterers & Fly-Tippers
Recent Fixed Penalty Charge notices in Bradford have been issued to tackle people casually and criminally throwing litter from the windows of their car. As a Borough that contains hundreds of thousands of people, we must act now to contain the spread of discarded off hand waste in our area for fears that a little trickle of litter thrown from a vehicle here and there could mount up and seriously devastate the environment in which we live.
Plastic pollution is currently one of the world’s biggest environmental concerns. It may seem likely that large amounts of plastic waste are inevitable with such a big population, but we can help with the plastic pollution issue by being aware of its dangers and taking steps to reduce waste, by doing our bit, as a proud cooperative Council. Going back as far as July 2016, Oldham Liberal Democrats put forward a motion introducing a new Bin App to streamline waste management make recycling easy and accessible.
Even with this inclusive technology and local community groups like MAHDLO and Friends of Jubilee Colliery engaging in litter-picks over the years, the Council need to emulate other areas in their modern efforts to prevent littering.
These steps taken in the proposals by Bradford City Council seek to place the Fixed Penalty Notice with the car owner since identifying the sole individual responsible is often difficult for law enforcement when observing a moving vehicle.
The amount of rubbish in the region will increase as the population grows, and disposable plastic products, like water bottles and fizzy drinks cans, accumulate over time. Plastic pollution occurs when enough plastic has gathered in an area that it affects the natural environment and harms plants, animals, or humans.
In March 2019, the Oldham Liberal Democrats have called upon the Council to increase fines for dog fouling and we as a group think it appropriate to extend the fine to those who have taken it upon themselves to soil the locality with rubbish.
Considering this, can I ask what steps are being taken to tackle litterers? Plastic toxins in dumps and from litter can seep into our groundwater rivers and reservoirs, which people drink out of every day. In our parks and countryside, wind can carry plastic waste throughout the environment leaving no picturesque view safe from litter.
I hope you take the time to review this information and take the appropriate steps to be active on this environmental and social issue.
I look forward to receiving your response as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Howard Sykes